Larne produced a commanding display to beat Crusaders FC 3-0 away from home on Saturday. The result keeps them firmly in the Premiership title race, sitting third on 19 points after seven games.
Doherty opened the scoring after 36 minutes, finishing a well-worked move. McEneff doubled the advantage seven minutes into the second half, effectively sealing the points. Substitute Sandiford added a late third in the 89th minute, capping off a dominant performance.
The only blemish for Larne was a red card shown to Gallagher with a quarter of an hour remaining. It did little to disrupt their rhythm, however, as they recorded a fifth consecutive league win.
This victory sets up a key top-of-the-table clash next Friday night. Larne host league leaders Coleraine at Inver Park, looking to close the nine-point gap. The sides played out a goalless draw when they last met in August. Check the full schedule for that key fixture on our fixtures page.
Manager Gary Haveron confirmed the three scorers in Saturday's 3-0 win at Crusaders all netted their first league goals for the club. Ronan Doherty, Jordan McEneff and Greg Sandiford were the men to break their ducks. Assistant manager Mick O'Boyle was also sent off alongside Chris Gallagher. Larne, third with 19 points, remain the only unbeaten side in the Premiership this term. They have now won five consecutive league matches, scoring 15 goals and conceding just three.
Manager Gary Haveron said the sending off soured an otherwise excellent performance. "The sending off sours what was a really good day's performance," Haveron stated. The win, which came on October 10, extends Larne's unbeaten start to 7 games. They have now scored 15 goals and conceded just 3 this season. The side sits third with 19 points, nine behind leaders Coleraine.
