Northern Ireland round-up: Arkins inspires Portadown

Vinny Arkins led leaders Portadown FC to another victory on today to hold off Glentoran FC.

Arkins on fire
Arkins struck twice in the second half for his 33rd and 34th goals of the season to earn victory against rock-bottom Ards FC at Shamrock Park where Ards are playing their home games while their Castlereagh Park ground is redeveloped. Arkins opened the scoring from the spot on the hour following a foul on his strike partner Gary Hamilton and he then rose highest to head in a Kyle Neill corner from the right to make sure of the victory.

Glentoran triumph
Glentoran FC remain three points behind the leaders in second place after a 1-0 win against Newry Town FC. Striker Darren Armour scored the only goal of the game after just 40 seconds, latching onto a pass from Pete Batey, but the visitors could not build on that ideal opening.

Joy for Cliftonville
Champions Linfield FC lost 3-1 against Cliftonville FC in a historic match at Solitude. Pat Wall scored twice for the home side as they won against Linfield for the first time in 70 years, and Coleraine FC took advantage to grab third spot as they won 2-1 at Glenavon FC.

Crawford inspires Omagh
Omagh Town FC enjoyed a rare success against their bogey team Crusaders FC thanks to a hat-trick from Andy Crawford. Crawford put Omagh ahead after just four minutes with a low shot but it was not until the 83rd minute that he made the three points safe with a left-foot snapshot. Crawford completed his treble to make it 3-0 a minute later when he converted a penalty awarded following a foul on Dermot Doherty.

New boys seal promotion
Meanwhile, Lisburn Distillery FC and Institute FC have both secured promotion into the new-look 12-team Irish league next season, after victories over Dungannon Swifts FC and Ballymena United FC respectively. Both teams are still trying to win the first division title.