Larne beat Bangor to continue unbeaten start

Irish Premiership Larne 1 - 0 Bangor FT Defending Irish Premiership champions Larne continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 1-0 win over Bangor at Inver Park. The home side dominated possession in the first half but struggled to break through a resolute Bangor defence. However, Dylan Sloan broke the deadlock on 76 minutes when his effort from range found the top corner. The result means that Bangor have now registered just a single point in their opening five games, while the Inver Reds have now won their past two fixtures. Sloan secures three points for Inver Reds In the opening few minutes, a mix-up in the Bangor defence gifted Paul O'Neill an opportunity, but the striker fired wide. Larne then had another opportunity to break the deadlock on 16 minutes with both Matt Ridley and Dan Bent having efforts blocked before the Seasiders eventually cleared their lines. As the half progressed, chances grew few and far between with Ronan Doherty and Tiarnan Mulvenna both having efforts saved at either end. Gary Haveron's side then believed the visitors should have been reduced to 10 men when Matty Lusty's run through on goal was cut short by Alfie Mitchell. However, Steven Gregg cautioned the defender. Rohan Ferguson was called into action to thwart Jay Boyd's effort before Doherty came close once again in the final minutes of the first half. It was a slow start to the second half with neither team having a chance until the 62nd minute when Patrick Solis Grogan made a great save to tip Sean Graham's effort over the crossbar. Haveron turned to his bench and brought on Mark Randall in an attempt to spark the match to life. The experienced midfielder nearly made an instant impact when he fired towards goal, only for his shot to be deflected wide with Matt Ridley unable to fire home the resulting corner from the back post. Larne broke the deadlock when Montel Gibson passed across to Sloan 25-yards out, whose left-footed strike flew past Solis Grogan. Shortly after, Sloan had another go from a similar distance but could not find the top corner once again. Larne now face Portadown on Saturday, while Bangor travel to the Oval to play Glentoran as their wait for their first win of the season continues.