Linfield beat Glentorane 2-1 in the second round of the Premiership Regular Season on Friday. The result keeps the hosts in third place with 12 points from five games, while Glentorane drop to seventh with 6 points.
D. Leahy gave Linfield the lead in the 18th minute, and to be fair, the home side looked comfortable until the break. They had 46 per cent possession but managed only six corners, which by then suggested they were not dominating territory so much as controlling tempo.
K. Millar made it 2-0 in the 77th minute, and here's the thing: Glentorane had already carved them open once before, with 67 attacks against Linfield's 36. They took the game to the hosts all afternoon, but shots on target stayed level at four each.
J. Stewart pulled one back in the 90th minute and then added a second in 90+1, which had Glentorane believing they could salvage something. The crowd roared them on, but Linfield held their nerve through a flurry of yellows — Kane, Malone, McGee, and three more in stoppage time.
Then came the twist. Stewart, who had just got over the line for his side, was shown a red card in 90+2. The match ended 2-1, and Glentorane had opened talks about whether a penalty should have been awarded, but that is an assessment, not a fact.
The table goes out of the window in these games, really. Linfield have not won since their defeat to Ballymena United last week, and this result ended that run. They now sit four points clear of Glentorane, who have not won since their 2-0 victory over Limavady United.