Larne's Andy Ryan adds to milestone moments but puts title praise on squad 'mentality'

Ryan made his mark alongside strike partner Lee Bonis in 2023 to cement Larne a first Irish League prize in the club’s 133-year history then this week, 374 nights on from that landmark, he celebrated another key appearance on the scoresheet by securing a 1-1 draw with main rivals Linfield.

Now sitting three points clear with a superior goal difference, Ryan and his Larne team-mates head home into Saturday’s closing Premiership game free from pressure and with a trophy presentation the main focus.

The Scotland-born striker’s contribution has been central across the past two seasons to the Larne rise as the first provincial club since Portadown in the 1990s to wrap up consecutive Gibson Cup honours.

However, although he may stand alone in this season’s Irish League scoring charts, the 30-year-old was quick to spread the spotlight across the full Larne squad.

"At the start of this season people wrote us off, saying a one-hit wonder...but we proved a lot of people wrong,” said Ryan. "I think it was October/November time we were eight points behind and people wrote us off then.

"But in camp we knew if we stuck to what we were good at we'd full belief we'd bounce back. We're known for our nice football but one of our biggest strengths is our mentality.

"We've not had many but the bad performances and disappointments this season we've bounced back very strong. And that's credit to everybody.”

He added: "It feels great...touch wood, barring a miracle, it's back-to-back.”

Ryan views that “huge achievement” as another platform for future progress.

“The main thing for us is we built on last year,” he said. “So we've improved and that's what we have to do again.”