Larne edged Bangor 1:0 in their Premiership opener on Tuesday evening, with D. Sloan's second-half goal proving decisive. The result leaves the home side in a better position than their visitors after matching days of action.
There were three yellow cards before the breakthrough, each landing at different stages of the contest. A. Mitchell went off the field at 15 minutes for a booking, followed by L. Harrison 24 minutes in. By then P. O'Neill picked up his caution in the 53rd minute, adding to the physical nature of the encounter.
The goal arrived at 76 minutes when D. Sloan found the back of the net. And here's the thing — it was a solitary result in a match where both sides had reasons to push for more. The home side ground out the win after some nervous moments.
Larne now sit eighth with four points from two games, having won one and drawn one. Bangor remain tenth with just one point from four fixtures, having lost three and played out a single draw. The gap between them is now three points.
The visitors arrived with mixed recent form, including a 2:2 draw against Ballymena United on Thursday and a heavy 0:4 defeat at Carrick Rangers. Their away record has been difficult, with losses to Dungannon Swifts and Cliftonville among their setbacks.
For Larne, this follows their 2:1 victory over Glentoran and balances against a 0:3 loss to Lincoln Red Imps. They showed resilience after that defeat, bouncing back with a 2:0 win before today's narrow success.
