LURGAN BLUES BOUNCE BACK
After a difficult week for the club Glenavon bounced back to defeat Carrick Rangers at Mourneview Park.
In their first outing since Gary Hamilton's departure, the Lurgan Blues were handed an early boost when Carrick were reduced to ten men following Kyle Cherry's dismissal on 16 minutes for a dangerous tackle on Jack Malone.
As the game settled the sides traded chances with Malone coming close from the edge of the box only for the ball to curl just wide of the target while, at the other end, Emmett McGuckin was denied by Rory Brown after he had been played through on goal.
Glenavon did have the ball in the net just before the break but Peter Campbell's header from a Niall Quinn free-kick flicked on by Matthew Snoddy was ruled out offside.
David Cushley might have edged Carrick in front on the hour but his strong goalbound strike was well kept out by Brown.
The deadlock was broken three minutes later when Glenavon substitutes Aaron Prendergast and Stephen Teggart combined for the former to send an effort sailing past Ross Glendinning.
Quinn came within a whisker of doubling Glenavon's lead moments later only to crash the ball off the woodwork from the edge of the box.
Rangers levelled with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining, however, when Danny Purkis spotted Brown off his line and sent a spectacular effort from distance beyond the keeper and into the top corner.
But the home side hit back six minutes later with what proved to be the winner when Malone sent Glendinning the wrong way from the spot after Joe Crowe had upended Campbell in the box.
Glenavon: Brown, Kerr, Snoddy, Malone, Campbell, Quinn, Baird, Wallace, Garrett, Nesbitt, Ward subs Purvis, Rogers, Mooney, Teggart, Prendergast, Mulvenna, Henderson
Carrick Rangers: Ross Glendinning, Forsythe, Surgenor, Watson, Cushley, McGuckin, Maciulaitis, Crowe, Cherry, Purkis, Tilney subs McCauley, Allen, Mills, Buchanan-Rolleston, Andrews, Withers, Reece Glendinning
Substitution 
Substitution 
