soccer

Cliftonville beat Crues as Glenavon win at Bangor

Cliftonville beat Crusaders 5-2 in the Irish Premiership while Glenavon defeated Bangor 3-1 to boost their survival hopes.

Brian Healy, Luke Conlan, Micheal Glynn, Harry Wilson and Josh Kelly netted against the Crues, who last won a match on 3 January.

Conor Falls scored twice as bottom side Glenavon moved to within seven points of the Crues with a 1-0 win at Bangor.

Later on Saturday, Portadown face mid-Ulster rivals Dungannon Swifts at 17:30 GMT.

Linfield host rivals Glentoran at 18:00 GMT, which is live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport app and website.

On Friday, Irish Premiership leaders Larne stumbled with a 3-2 defeat at home to Carrick Rangers.

Coleraine beat rivals Ballymena United 1-0, which allowed the Bannsiders to cut the gap at the top to two points, albeit having played a game more than Larne.

Big win for Glenavon

Glenavon made a bright start when Peter Campbell squared for Falls, whose shot was blocked behind off defender Lewis Francis.

The visitors deservedly took the lead on 28 minutes when the same two players again combined with Campbell breaking forward and sliding a pass into the path of Falls, whose shot found the net via the body of Bangor's debutant keeper Lee Axworthy.

It took Bangor an hour to have a meaningful effort on goal when Ben Cushnie's low strike was well held by Jacob Carney down to his left.

Axworthy pulled off a fine save to deny Nathaniel Ferris but from the resultant Campbell corner, McKeown made a run to the near post and delivered a glancing header with the ball going into the net through a ruck of players.

Bangor's misery was compounded with six minutes left when keeper Axworthy was caught in possession by Falls who rolled the ball into the unguarded net.

Bangor pulled a goal back two minutes later when Ben Arthurs headed home from a Tiarnan Mulvenna corner but it was merely a consolation for the Seasiders.

Derby delight for five-star Reds

Cliftonville made the perfect start when Healy struck in the fourth minute, when he latched onto Rory Hale's long ball through the middle and fired low past Musa Dibaga for his fifth goal for the Reds.

Minutes later, the Reds strengthened their grip on the contest when Conlan rose at the near post to head Glynn's corner into the net.

The pressure continued in the 15th minute as Hale teed up Glynn from 20 yards but his effort whistled past the far post.

Crusaders responded when Thomas Maguire pulled the ball back for Adam Brooks, who failed to hit the target with a close-range snapshot.

Their persistence paid off just before the break as Fraser Bryden diverted Jordan Forythe's delivery into Brooks' path, which allowed the forward to react first and head home from close range.

Cliftonville regained their two-goal cushion early in the second half when Hale found Glynn on the edge of the area and the defender drilled low into the bottom corner.

Declan Caddell's side reduced the deficit again just before the hour mark, when Scot Rough gained a yard on Shaun Leppard to head Finlay Thorndike's corner beyond Lewis Ridd.

Victory was sealed for the Reds with 12 minutes remaining as Harry Wilson collected a loose ball in the Crusaders' half and rifled it past Dibaga.

Deep into injury time, Josh Kelly claimed his first goal in Cliftonville colours when the Glentoran loanee got the final touch to Hale's free-kick to make it three home wins in a row for the Reds.

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