LARNE TOO STRONG FOR PORTS AT SHAMROCK PARK
Goals from Andy Mitchell and Ronan Hale helped Larne defeat Portadown at Shamrock Park.
The deadlock was broken as early as the ninth minute. Ruairi Croskery was adjudged to have blocked a Tomas Cosgrove cross from the right with his hands on the edge of the area with Andy Mitchell duly stepping up to convert from the spot.
There was a long delay to proceedings following an injury to Ports skipper Luke Wilson and when play resumed John Herron almost doubled Larne's lead with a header from a Dean Jarvis cross but the ball grazed the crossbar.
Portadown levelled two minutes into added time at the end of the first half. The ball fell for Lee Bonis on the edge of the box and he showed composure to slot the finish between the legs of keeper Conor Devlin.
Larne had chances to regain the lead after the break through Cosgrove, who forced Carney into a diving save from distance, and Luke Wade Slater but he could only fire over after being teed up by Lee Lynch.
But Larne's winner did come on 70 minutes courtesy of a sensational strike from Ronan Hale who, from a tight angle on the right, sent a half volley with the outside of his boot into the top left corner to give Carney no chance.
Hale almost added a third soon after but Carney reacted with a great reflex save to tip the ball over the bar.
Then, with nine minutes left, Hale fired another half volley just wide before soon after at the other end Stephen Teggart came close to the equaliser with a first time effort from outside the box.
Portadown: Carney, Hall, Finnegan, McKeown, Salley, Bonis, Wilson, Croskery, Conaty, Kerr, Warde subs Buchanan (not used), Tipton (replaced Wilson 34), Murray (not used), Guy (not used), Teggart (replaced Croskery 68), Healy (not used), Murphy (not used)
Larne: Devlin, Watson, Robinson, Herron, McDaid, Donnelly, Lynch, A. Mitchell, Wade Slater, Cosgrove, Jarvis subs C. Mitchell (not used), Sule (replaced Herron 70), Randall (not used), Hale (replaced McDaid 64), McKendry (not used), Hughes (replaced Watson 46), Lusty (not used)
Substitution 
Substitution 
