Larne had to show all facets of game to see off Carrick, praises Tiernan Lynch

Carrick Rangers 1 Larne 2

Larne midfielder Leroy Millar celebrates with the fans after scoring against Carrick Rangers

Larne boss Tiernan Lynch praised his players for showing both sides of their game to win the Boxing Day derby and keep themselves in the thick of the title race.

Leroy Millar broke the deadlock midway through the first half before Andy Ryan’s goal in the final quarter of an hour looked to have sealed victory away to Carrick Rangers.

However, Curtis Allen quickly cut the deficit to ensure Larne would be made to work for their points before clinching the 2-1 victory.

“I thought it was probably a game of two halves,” Lynch said.

“I thought we were excellent in the first half. We were really dominant and played some lovely stuff on a tough pitch.

“In the second half we knew what we were going to get, playing up the hill and Carrick putting balls on top of us.

“The players dealt with it brilliantly, other that one little mistake, but we withstood it well.

“People maybe look at the table and think it should be an easy game, but it’s far from it. It’s a derby game in difficult conditions, so we had to roll our sleeves up.

“On days like this you have to be clinical. You don’t always get a lot of chances in games like this, but thankfully we took our chances when they came along.”

The victory sets Larne up for a top of the table clash at Inver Park on Saturday when Linfield come to town.

Larne come into it with ten wins and one draw in their last 11 League outings, which has left them one point behind Linfield, who also have a game in hand.

“The run means nothing, it’s all about your next game,” Lynch added.

“We have to recover after a busy period with a number of players out and we’ll put together a game plan