Glentoran fans vent anger after latest defeat against Larne at The Oval

Another defeat for hapless Glentoran; another protest from frustrated supporters, and another season out of the Danske Bank Premiership title race.

The East Belfast boys are now a whopping 14 points adrift of League leaders Cliftonville. What’s even more alarming is the fact that they have won merely two of their last 12 games in all competitions – that was against lowly Portadown and Intermediate League side Moyola Park in the Irish Cup.

Striker Lee Bonis grabbed the only goal of the game at the weekend, directing a cross from new boy Micheal Glynn into the bottom corner to earn Larne a deserved victory.

The mood changed immediately among the fans once Bonis’s header crept in at the base of the post. And, their anger boiled over when referee Christopher Morrison brought the game to an end.

It was then irate fans went to work, demanding the resignation of manager Mick McDermott. They chanted, ‘out, out, out’. They booed the players and the entourage in the Glentoran dugout as they headed for the dressing room.

But that was only the start. The angry masses then gathered in the carpark behind the main grandstand, again calling for McDermott to ‘get out of their club’. It could have been worse only for a heavy police presence.

Indeed, the Larne players and staff had to use a different exit as they attempted to escape the East Belfast pandemonium. But they were thrilled going back up the road with three points.

“It’s going to be a hectic race to the wire in terms of the title,” said impressive midfielder Leroy Millar.

“It’s the tightest League I’ve seen in a long time. Any of the teams in the top six can put together a run of five, six or seven games. Look at Coleraine in recent weeks, they are now unbeaten in 11 and are right back in the mix.

“It’s an old cliché and everyone says it, but you must just take one game at a time and simply chalk them off. It was vital we took three points, especially after Cliftonville being held to a draw by Carrick Rangers on Friday night.

“That result helped give us a little bit of extra incentive to pick up all three points against the Glens – thankfully the boys got the job done.”

Millar admitted the platform for the victory began in the week leading up to the game.

“We worked on a game plan all week,” he said. “Fair play to the management, Tiernan, Seamus (Lynch) and Gary (Haveron), it worked out well and thankfully, we managed to carry it out.

“I should have scored right at the end. It was a super flick from Lee (Bonis), although it was a good save by the keeper.

“It was tough conditions, so fair play to both sets of players. Thankfully, we left with all three points.”

GLENTORAN: McCarey, Marshall, McCullough, McClean, Kane, McCartan, Devlin, Burns (Purkis 75), R Donnelly (Clucas 50, Wilson 71), J Donnelly, McGinn (Wightman 75). Unused subs: Webber, O’Connor, Plum.

LARNE: Ferguson, Cosgrove, Want (Watson 57), Bolger, A Donnelly, Gordon (Thomson 64), Millar, Sule, Glynn, O’Neill (Banda 86), Bonis. Unused subs: Pardington, Kelly, Maguire, Hughes.

REFEREE: Chris Morrison (Belfast).