Cruisers Women beat Larne Women 3:2 in the Premier League women's Group Stage on Thursday evening. The result keeps the hosts top of the table after five matches, moving them clear of the chasing pack. Larne remain rooted to seventh place with just two points from their opening round.
The game opened with Cruisers taking the lead through E. Leacock in the thirty-fourth minute, a well-taken finish that gave the home side early comfort. But Larne responded immediately after the break, with C. Doak pulling one back on the hour mark. To be fair, the away side had looked dangerous in those opening exchanges and deserved something from their early pressure.
And here's the thing about this match — it was decided in three moments rather than the ninety minutes. J. Rea restored Cruisers' advantage in the fifty-seventh, before R. Dennison made it 2:2 in the sixty-third. Larne refused to go away, but the home side had already built enough momentum to weather the storm. By then, Cruisers were running out of games to make up lost ground.
M. Reilly sealed the victory in the eighty-fourth, a goal that stretched the back line and left Larne searching for answers. The away end never stopped, but there was nothing left in their legs. Cruisers extended their unbeaten run with a result that felt inevitable given their recent form.
We had backed the home side at 70 per cent confidence before kick-off, and the prediction came good. Cruisers had beaten Larne 3:0 in their previous meeting just two weeks ago, and this performance showed they were in control of the tie from the start. The gap between these two sides is becoming impossible to ignore.
On the table, Cruisers sit on ten points from three wins, one draw and one defeat. Larne have lost three of five with only two draws to show for their efforts. The difference is stark — one side building momentum, the other paying for a sloppy opening to the season.