Blues win to move 15 clear as Oval game abandoned

Joel Cooper's first-half hat-trick gave Linfield a 3-1 win over Portadown on Saturday as the Blues moved 15 points clear at the top of the Irish Premiership table.

Cooper struck three times in the first 26 minutes at Shamrock Park, with Tabu Rabby Minzamba pulling a goal back for the hosts in the second half.

The leaders are now unbeaten in seven games in the league, although their record of six matches without conceding a goal in all competitions comes to an end.

Glentoran meanwhile were denied the opportunity to move above Dungannon Swifts into second as their meeting with Larne at the Oval was abandoned in the second half because of floodlight failure with the score 0-0.

The sides will meet in the County Antrim Shield final at Seaview on Tuesday night.

Elsewhere Crusaders moved into sixth spot with a 2-0 win over Coleraine thanks to Jacob Blaney and Harry Jewitt-White goals, while Jonny Addis and Stephen McGuinness were on target in Cliftonville's 2-0 victory over Loughgall, ending a run of four straight top flight defeats for the Reds.

Carrick Rangers drew 0-0 with Ballymena United at Taylors Avenue.

A quickfire Cooper double in the opening six minutes gave Linfield a two goal cushion early on, with the forward slotting beyond Aaron McCarey first with his left foot from an acute angle, before scoring his second with his right foot after some tidy work from Matthew Fitzpatrick.

Cooper completed his hat-trick midway through the first half as he was gifted the ball by Portadown captain Gary Thompson before finding the roof of the net with a cool left-foot finish from a central position.

The hosts pulled one back on the hour mark through Minzamba, who bundled the ball home after Baris Altintop's strike fell to him.

The Ports huffed and puffed after pulling a goal back, but the Linfield defence stood firm to ensure they took three points back to south Belfast.

Crusaders ended a three-game losing streak with a hard-earned triumph at Coleraine, their third league success over the Bannsiders this season.

Blaney headed the visitors in front on the half hour before second half substitute Harry Jewitt-White sealed the win with a breakaway goal deep into added time.

The home side missed a litany of chances in the early stages before Crusaders broke the deadlock.

Rhyss Campbell blazed wide from a good position, Connor Murray was denied by a good save from Jonathan Tuffey while Matthew Shevlin failed to convert when through one on one with the Crusaders' keeper.

They were made to pay for their profligacy when the visitors scored with their only chance of the half.

Ross Clarke delivered a free-kick to the back post where Blaney outjumped the home defence to nod past replacement keeper Max Little, on for the injured Rory Brown, hurt in a challenge with Harry Franklin in the early stages.

The game followed a similar pattern after the restart as Murray's curling effort crashed off the crossbar and Johnny Tuffey dived low to deny Dean Jarvis.

Second half sub Corey Smith was denied by a fingertip save by the impressive Tuffey before moments later crashing a right foot shot against the post with the keeper beaten.

The points were secured deep into added time when Josh O'Connor broke free down the left wing before squaring for unmarked fellow second half replacement Jewitt-White.

The game at the Oval ended prematurely in the 54th minute when the floodlights failed at the east Belfast stadium.

The Glens had the first chance of the game when Danny Amos sent a curling free-kick into the box for Kodi Lyons-Foster, who couldn't steer the ball home from close range.

A crucial tackle from right-back Jonny Russell then denied Joe Thomson's effort after a Glentoran mistake in midfield had given Conor McKendry time and space down the right wing to play the ball back for the onrushing Thomson.

The home side then had two huge chances in first half additional time with James Singleton firing home a clever pass from the edge of the box by Jay Donnelly, but the linesman's flag shot up as the midfielder was offside.

Singleton had another opportunity seconds later, but couldn't keep his strike from a Russell cross on target.

Glentoran made a bright start to the second half with the industrious Russell sending the ball across the face of goal with David Fisher unable to make the connection needed to test Rohan Ferguson.

At Solitude, Cliftonville captain Addis edged the home side in front with a towering 51st-minute header, soaring highly to meet Arran Pettifer's perfectly weighted free-kick and power home the breakthrough goal.

The hosts' victory was sealed in dramatic fashion when McGuinness showed predatory instincts in stoppage time, reacting quickest to Pettifer's blocked effort to guide a composed finish into the bottom corner.

A cagey opening period saw glimpses of promise from both sides, with the Reds crafting the clearer opportunities. Michael Glynn almost broke the deadlock with a sublime half-volley that whistled agonisingly over before James Carroll produced heroics to deny Pettifer from converting Ryan Markey's inviting delivery.

The Villagers found their rhythm as the interval approached, Carroll switching from saviour to threat when his close-range effort rattled the woodwork following McCloskey's clever play. Dean Smith's men thought they had struck gold when Nathaniel Ferris pounced on David Odumosu's parry, only for the assistant referee's flag to silence their celebrations minutes before the interval.

The visitors showed renewed vigour after the restart, with Robbie Norton's goal-bound effort being desperately blocked.

At Taylor's Avenue, Carrick and Ballymena slugged out a forgettable scoreless draw.

In a largely uneventful first half, Paul Heatley brought two saves from Ballymena goalkeeper Sean O'Neill, the second a smart stop from the former Crusaders forward's shot from an acute angle.

Ballymena's best chance came in first-half stoppage time when Alex Gawne's swerving effort was well tipped over by Carrick keeper Ross Glendinning.

The second half also struggled to spark into life with Danny Gibson heading wide from a Heatley cross in a rare opening as Carrick recorded a fourth scoreless draw in their last five league outings.