INSTITUTE: Larne hit Drumahoe men for six

Institute's Mark Scoltock was sent-off at Larne.

It was certainly a bad day at the office for Kevin Deery’s side, who had a lot of possession in the first half but never tested keeper Joel Madison, but they just weren’t at the races in the second half.

The Waterside men seemed to lose their head just after the interval as they conceded two goals and had Mark Scoltock sent-off in the space of three minutes.

The vistiors started brightly and hit the woodwork on three minutes as Ryan Morrow’s cross-cum-shot was tipped onto his own by Larne net-minder Madison, before Kevin Bradley headed behind for a corner.

From the resulting quickly taken corner Michael McCrudden’s centre found an unmarked Gareth Brown, but his header from six yards was straight at Madison.

Stute suffered a set-back when they fell a goal behind on five minutes with danger man Paul Maguire calmly slotting the ball home past keeper Martin Gallagher.

Against the run of play the home side doubled their lead on 35 minutes as Gallagher’s good punch fell to Ryan Kane on the edge of the box, he took a touch before firing low into the bottom left hand corner.

Early in second half Chris Rodgers’ low ball into the box from the right found substitute James McCabe, but after getting in front of Gallagher at the near post, he toe poked the ball inches wide.

Centre-back Scoltock picked up two bookings in quick succession; his second caution came about when he brought down Maguire on the edge after losing possession to the striker.

Kane’s resulting free-kick from the right hand side of the box caught out Gallagher, as the ball went into the side of the net he was guarding.

With Institute at sixes and sevens particularly at the back, Larne added a fourth on 58 minutes when the lively Maguire got in behind the Stute defence only to be denied by Gallagher, but McCabe was on hand to turn home the loose ball.

Another slick passing move by the home side resulted in their fifth goal on 68 minutes, as the ten men seemed to be chasing shadows, before Maguire calmly flicked the ball home from six yards.

Institute miserable day got worse two minutes later as the Inver Park men added a sixth, this time Mark Hillen broke in behind the Stute defence, before turning the ball home in-off the post from just inside the box.

The ten men did go close on 75 minutes but Stephen Curry’s left footed strike was kept out by Maidson. In the final chance of the game Maguire was inches away from completing his hat-trick, but his powerful header from 10 yards, which had Gallagher beaten, crashed against the bar.

Larne: Maidson, Bradley, Rodgers, McKenna, Thompson; Kane, Irvine (Henry 88), Templeton (Dorrian 61), Smith (McCabe 18); Maguire, Hillen.

Institute: Gallagher, Morrow, O’Donnell, Scoltock, D Curry; C Harkin, A Harkin, Doherty (Jarvis 61); McIntyre (S Curry 61), Brown (Pomeroy 61), McCrudden.

Referee: Mr Ken Gibbons.