Offord nets first Linfield goal as Blues beat 10-man Larne

Linfield moved 20 points clear at the top of the Irish Premiership after they edged 10-man Larne 1-0 at Windsor Park.

Kieran Offord's first goal since his January move was enough to beat the Gibson Cup holders, who had striker Andy Ryan sent off just before half-time.

Ryan was shown a straight red card for his challenge on Kyle McClean before Offord then capitalised on a defensive lapse from the visitors to finish from a tight angle.

Larne's hopes of winning a third straight title are fading fast as they now trail the Blues by 25 points with five games in hand.

Ryan red card changes the game

After some early sparring, the first chance of the game went Linfield's way as Matthew Fitzpatrick unleashed a powerful strike after some nice work from Chris McKee, but he couldn't keep his effort down.

Five minutes before the break the visitors had their best chance of the first half, as substitute Paul O'Neill met Ryan's cross at the back post but couldn't generate enough power to really trouble David Walsh, who made a simple catch.

The big talking point of the first half was Ryan's red card just before the break, with referee Shane Andrews showing no hesitation in sending the Larne striker for an early shower after a strong tackle on McClean.

Linfield were determined to make their extra man count and did just that on the hour mark, as Offord opened his account with a cool finish through the legs of Rohan Ferguson.

That was his 11th Irish Premiership goal of the season, which was enough to seal all three points for the runaway leaders.