LINFIELD could not have left it any later to keep themselves in contention when they defeated Glentoran at Windsor Park last night.

Summer signing Paul Munster poached from four yards out with just thirty seconds of injury time left, to close the gap from four points to just one at the top of the league, prolonging the thrills in this title chase.

The defending league champions played a confident high line and it was their stamina and determination which eventually snatched the three points, although they did lack precision when finishing. Blues manager David Jeffrey said after the game; "We could have probably taken our chances a bit more accurately, in fact we definitely could have, but although I was fearing for my blood pressure, I am delighted with the win. I thought Glentoran were extremely hard to prise open and Daryl Fordyce was particularly good for them."

However, fears for Jeffrey's health could be founded since Munster is the first Linfield player to score in their last five league games. If Linfield continue to flounder in front of goal, retaining the title will be an uphill struggle.

There were no shortage of free kicks and corners but even with a banquet of set pieces, the expected goals never arose. This inability to score was best represented by a shock, and subsequently saved, penalty.

Michael Carvill could have closed in with just over fifteen minutes of normal time remaining when the linesman insisted that Glens skipper Paul Leeman handled the ball inside the area. Although the decision was rather inconclusive, 'keeper Elliott Morris perhaps served appropriately questionable justice as he bounded off his line to save Carvill's delivery.

Jeffrey conceded that as soon as their best chance was smothered by Morris, a draw was imminent. "I thought the opportunity had gone when we missed the penalty and Glentoran defended resolutely. We had a few half chances after that, nothing really clear cut, but the belief in the changing room changed that. By tradition we keep going and going right until the end, and with thirty seconds go, you need something very special."

However, it does not distract from Linfield's concerning record when it comes to missed penalties, and future takers will have to be reconsidered. "It is frankly embarrassing that our best players are missing from the spot, such as Oran Kearney, Glenn Ferguson, Steven Douglas and Kevin McHugh," Jeffrey admitted. "That is an area we are definitely going to have to review in training."

Morris was doubtlessly the most troubled of the two goalkeepers, even though his opposite Alan Mannus was often deserted by his keen back four. Linfield attacked from the back and many expected to see Glentoran catch the Blues on the break.

Glentoran's winless run at Windsor Park has now extended to nine years, their last victory in March 2000 when David Rainey and Rory Hamill scored. Glens boss Alan McDonald said; "Words cannot express how disappointing this is. We were quietly confident that we could have gone all the way and consolidated our position tonight but you can never tell what's in store with Linfield and this is another very, very hard example of that.

"I haven't had a chance to see the penalty on a replay but it's a case of 92 minutes of hard work down the drain. I haven't said too much to the players, we'll be back to work on Thursday night and concentrating on Institute on Saturday who will want to fight for a result before the league splits."

Footnote:
The sides meet again on Good Friday (April 10th, kick-off 8pm) in what will be the final live SKY match of the season.