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Listen: Sportsound BBC Radio Ulster This video can not be played Listen: Sportsound BBC Radio Ulster Carrick Rangers 0-1 Dungannon Swifts Cahal Mc Ginty nets inside three minutes Cliftonville 1-0 Glenavon Eric Mc Woods opens scoring Linfield 1-0 Crusaders Lewis Barr puts into his own net Portadown 0-0 Ballymena United Cliftonville 1-0 Glenavon Tiernan Lynch Derry City manager and former Larne boss on BBC Radio Ulster It was probably too easy for Cliftonville. It was one ball over the top and Mc Woods ran to it. Michael [O'Connor] will be very disappointed with that goal. Cliftonville 1-0 Glenavon A delay in the restart as both Eric Mc Woods and Mark Byrne receive treatment following a hefty collision in the build-up to the goal. Mc Woods was slow to rise after scoring but is back on his feet, while the Lurgan Blues keeper looks to have seen his afternoon cut short. Lewis Barr o. g. (5 mins) The home side hit the front as Kirk Millar's corner appears to deflect in off Crusaders defender Lewis Barr. Cahal Mc Ginty (3 mins) A corner kick delivery is not dealt with by the home defence and the Swifts keep it in the box. It drops to captain Cahal Mc Ginty who has time to pick his spot low and hard into the bottom corner from around eight yards out just right of centre. It's the first chance of the game and the first goal. Eric Mc Woods (3 mins) It's a dream start for the Reds. Eric Mc Woods times his run perfectly to race in behind and latch onto Jonny Addis’ pass, before calmly slotting past a hesitant Mark Byrne to give Cliftonville the lead inside three minutes. Linfield 0-0 Crusaders A chance for Linfield inside the opening 60 seconds as Kyle Mc Clean digs out a cross from the left. Isaac Baird meets it with a header but it lacks the power to beat Jonny Tuffey who saves easily. Portadown 0-0 Ballymena United Referee Declan Hassan blows the whistle to get us started at Shamrock Park. Can Portadown make it two wins in a row, or will Oran Kearney pick up the three points in his first game as Ballymena manager? Cliftonville 0-0 Glenavon Straight from kick-off, Glenavon keeper Mark Byrne goes route one and picks out Niall Quinn high on the left. His whipped cross threatens to cause early panic, but Jonny Addis clears inside the six-yard area. Linfield 0-0 Crusaders Referee Steven Gregg starts the action on a drab afternoon in south Belfast. Carrick Rangers 0-0 Dungannon Swifts We are under way at a wet and windy Taylor's Avenue. The hosts get us going, kicking left to right on referee Mark Milligan's whistle. It's 11th v 5th, here we go! Cliftonville 0-0 Glenavon Referee Louise Thompson whistles to get the ball rolling in north Belfast, where the visitors are searching for a first league win at Solitude since May 2018. Can Michael O’Connor’s men finally put an end to that long wait this afternoon? The Grinch at Inver Park Carrick Rangers v Dungannon Swifts The hosts make two changes from last weekend's defeat at the Coleraine Showgrounds with Ben Buchanan-Rolleston and Paul Heatley coming into the side in place of Aidan Steele and Ryan Mc Kay. For the Swifts, Rodney Mc Aree makes five changes from last week's win at the Ballymena Showgrounds. In come Peter Maguire, James Knowles, Mal Smith and Bobby-Jack Mc Aleese. Carrick Rangers: Gartside, Burns, Callacher, Gibson, Lecky, Mc Cullough (C), Buchanan-Rolleston, Crowe, Cherry, Heatley, Snoddy Subs: Pengelley, Waide, Clucas, Steele, Mc Kay, Scott, Mc Cawl Dungannon Swifts: Dunne, P. Maguire, Knowles, Dillon, Glenny, Mc Ginty (C), Smith, Mc Aleese, Wallace, Mitchell, Junior Subs: Glass, S. Scott, T. Maguire, Callan, Johnston, Liggett, Mc Allister Carrick Rangers v Dungannon Swifts Cliftonville v Glenavon Jim Magilton makes two changes from the side that drew 2-2 with Glentoran, with Rory Hale and Ryan Curran coming into the starting XI as Conor Pepper serves a suspension and Conor Falls is named among the substitutes. Michael O’Connor also shuffles his pack following last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Bangor, with Kyle Mc Clelland and Bridel Bosakani drafted in. Peter Campbell is sidelined through injury, while Corey Smith drops to the bench. Cliftonville: Morrison, Lavery, Addis, H. Wilson, Hale, Curran, Casey, Keaney, Mc Woods, Hawthorne, Sheridan. Subs: Ridd, Falls, Leppard, Gormley, Barr, Fapetu, Tohill. Glenavon: Byrne, Mc Mullan, Burns, Murphy, Mc Keown, Malone, O’Kane, Mc Clelland, Bosakani, Mc Govern, Quinn. Subs: Hamill, Mallon, B. Wilson, Kee, Smith, Mc Gerrigan, Mc Shane. Cliftonville v Glenavon Linfield v Crusaders Linfield make one change from last week as they aim to stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 games. Experienced skipper Jamie Mulgrew replaces Sean Brown in the Blues' only switch from their 0-0 draw at Larne eight days ago. Crusaders boss Declan Caddell didn't hold back in his criticism of his side's 4-0 home defeat by Portadown and he responds by making three changes today. Brendan Hamilton, Finley Thorndike and Lewis Barr all earn starting spots at the expense of Jacob Blaney, Jordan Forsythe and Elliot Dunlop. Linfield: Johns, Mc Gee, Hall, Roscoe, Mc Cullough, Baird, Mulgrew, Mc Clean, Millar, Morrison, Fitzpatrick. Subs: Walsh, Gorrin, Allen, Archer, Brown, Taylor, Graham. Crusaders: Tuffey, K Forsythe, Easton, Barr, O'Rourke, Hamilton, Williamson, Anderson, Thorndike, Brooks, Bryden. Subs: Dibaga, Dunlop, J Forsythe, Mc Cart, Clarke, Donnelly, Beattie. Linfield v Crusaders Portadown v Ballymena United Niall Currie has named an unchanged line-up from the team who were the 4-0 winners last time out against Crusaders. He will be hoping for similar performances from Ben Wylie who grabbed a double during the game, as well as the in-form Eamon Fyfe who extended his goal tally this season to eight. New Ballymena boss, Oran Kearney, makes two changes to interim manager Ciaran Caldwell's squad which lost 2-1 to Dungannon Swifts. Joel Thompson and Zach Nolan are replaced by Matthew Clarke and Dylan Mc Geouch as the new boss aims to make his mark. Portadown: Mc Carey, Isamala, Altintop, Mac Kinnon, Chapman, Wylie, Mc Cullough, Gibson, Fyfe, Teelan, Thompson (C). Subs: Moore, Rea, Ukek, Mayse, Mc Cartan, Annet, Quinn. Ballymena United: Breen, Lafferty, Toure, Jarvis, O'Connor, O, Donnell (C), Clarke, Mc Geouch, Edogun, Mc Callion, Corbally Subs: O'Neill, Gould, Mc Eleney, O'Reilly, Thompson, Taylor, Hood. Portadown v Ballymena United First game as new Ballymena United manager and one of Oran Kearney’s first duties is to speak to Joel Taggart for Sportsound. Oran Kearney on BBC Sportsound Portadown v Bangor (15: 00 GMT) Former Dungannon Swifts and Coleraine manager Dean Shiels speaking on BBC Radio Ulster about his brother-in-law, Oran Kearney, becoming the new Ballymena United boss: "I was not surprised that he is back in the game, more surprised the job came up. "I think once the Ballymena job came up, it is a great fit for Oran. "His job being close in Ballycastle and it is part time which suits him as well. "It is a good club and a good opportunity for Oran to get back in. He has been hungry to do so, and I think it is a perfect fit for him. " New Ballymena United manager Oran Kearney says he wants to see his side make gradual progress as they attempt to move up the Irish Premiership table and make an impression in the cup competitions in the second half of the season. The former Coleraine boss was appointed as Jim Ervin's successor last weekend after the former Linfield and Ballymena defender parted ways with the Sky Blues on 30 November. United sit ninth in the league standings, having picked up just 11 points from a possible 45 from their past 15 top-flight outings. Kearney's first game in charge will be Saturday's trip to face Portadown at Shamrock Park, followed by a home match against Carrick Rangers the following week. In January, his team face a testing Irish Cup fifth round tie at home to Larne and a Bet Mc Lean Cup semi-final away to Linfield. "I just want to get better, we want a good strong second half of the season, a good off season in relation to changes that we make, and it's just about progression, " said Kearney in an interview with BBC Sport NI's Thomas Niblock. "When I look at other clubs I've been at it's about getting things the way that you want them and and making progress game-by-game, month-by-month, year-by-year. "For me the most important thing is getting a team out there that can win games of football, bring as many supporters to the ground as possible and hopefully have a successful period. " Read more of what the new Ballymena boss had to say here. Oran Kearney has taken over the reins at Ballymena United Portadown v Ballymena United (15: 00 GMT) Oran Kearney was appointed as the new manager of Ballymena United last Sunday. Kearney took over from interim boss Ciaran Caldwell and has been joined by former Cliftonville midfielder Barry Johnston as his assistant, with Michael Doherty arriving as goalkeeping coach. Jim Ervin departed as manager seven days previously following an up and down run of results, with the Braidmen since defeating Larne in the Bet Mc Lean Cup but losing to 2-1 at home to Dungannon Swifts in the Premiership where they currently occupy ninth place. The 47-year-old is a former player at the club, making 121 appearances and scoring 34 goals between 2002 and 2005. "I'm very excited, it's been a whirlwind week, " he told Ballymena United's website. "There's a real urgency to want to do well and a desire for success. It'll be a challenge, but I think this club has the infrastructure, the fan base and a lot of good things going for it. "We will look to develop a relationship with the players and try and put my stamp on things as soon as possible. Everybody starts on a clean slate, it's up to players to impress in training to get into the team and move us forward. "I had an enjoyable time here as a player and in recent days a lot of those emotions have come back from my time playing here. I urge the fans to get behind me and the players and push us on for this second half of the season. " Since retiring as a player, Kearney has enjoyed a successful managerial career, winning the 2018 Irish Cup and 2020 League Cup during two spells with Coleraine which sandwiched a brief stint with Scottish club St Mirren. He stepped down as manager in 2024 to assume the role of sporting director, but left that position earlier this year. Kearney's first game in charge will be today's trip to Portadown before his first home game the following week against Carrick Rangers. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.