Report by Glenn Kelly
Crusaders’ Premiership form deserted them as impressive Larne demolished the visitors 4-1 at Inver Park to move top of the table.
Larne dominated early possession and Crusaders struggled to get a foothold in the game. This early pressure from the hosts told in the 9th minute when Lee Bonis opened the scoring with a cool finish. Just six minutes later Larne doubled their lead when Leroy Millar smashed home. Crusaders’ heads were still spinning when Paul O’Neill added a third in the 19th minute with a simple finish. Lee Bonis got his second and Larne’s fourth in the 35th minute with an accurate finish from close-range. Crusaders could only muster a consolation response in injury time through Philip Lowry.
Crusaders manager Stephen Baxter made just the one change from the side that defeated Dungannon Swifts last week, with Rory McKeown coming in for McCauley Snelgrove. Larne made two changes on the pitch and one off it, with manager Tiernan Lynch missing through illness and being replaced by brother Seamus.
There was little to choose between the sides when they last met in the league at Seaview in September, playing out a 1-1 draw. However, from the outset of this game it was all one-way traffic. Larne looked extremely dangerous on the ball with Crusaders looking vulnerable in defence struggling with the host’s pace.
The early pressure told in the 9th minute. Millar playing a through ball to Ben Doherty, who played the ball across goal to £100k man Bonis who made no mistake from close range to give Larne the lead. Six minutes later Millar made it 2-0 to the hosts, the ex-Ballymena United captain smashing past Crusaders keeper Jonny Tuffey after an excellent through ball from Aaron Donnelly.
Just four minutes later Millar turned assister, showing a burst of pace down the right before sliding the ball into the path of O’Neill who made no mistake to score the host’s third. Crusaders had a decent shout for a penalty in the 22nd minute when McKeown collided with Larne keeper Rohan Ferguson but the referee singalled no penalty.
Things could have got worse for the visitors if it wasnt for Tuffey making an excellent stop from close range from O’Neill. However, the endless threat from Larne told once more in the 35th minute when Bonis got his second of the night, directing home from close range from an O’Neill cross. Half time could not come soon enough for Crusaders.
The second half brought a distinct lowering of intensity from both sides, with the majority of possession in the middle third of the pitch and neither goalkeeper being truly tested. However, Crusaders got a consolation goal in the 92nd minute with Lowry heading home from a smart McKeown cross.
Crusaders battled valiantly but looked to be missing the spark of recent weeks. For Larne, they go top of the table and seem to have fully recovered from their 4-0 defeat to Glentoran. A week is truly a long time in football.
Next up for Crusaders is a Tuesday night trip to Coleraine Showgrounds where Baxter and his men will be hoping for a much improved performance.
Larne: Ferguson, Want, Sule, Randall, O'Neill, Bonis, Doherty, Donnelly, Bolger, Millar, Cosgrove subs McIntyre, Kelly, Kearns, Scott, Gordon, Hughes, Sloan
Crusaders: Tuffey, Hegarty, Weir, Lowry, Lecky, (Thompson 45') Forsythe, (Barr 60) O'Rourke, Winchester,(Snelgrove 83) Larmour, McKeown, McMurray (Owens 83) Unused Subs Murphy, Ebbe, Steele.
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