The most anticipated series of matches of the Irish Premier League season – the traditional Boxing Day derby – brought its fair share of drama and excitement on Friday.
Leaders Larne trailed Carrick Wanderers and looked on the verge of a first league defeat in 11 games, but two late goals saw them extend their impressive unbeaten run and extend their lead over the chasers.
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Glentoran made history with their first ever festive derby win over Belfast rivals Linfield at Windsor Park, while the other four games all featured decisive results, with the Crusaders, Ballymena United, Portadown and Dungannon Swifts all claiming victory.
BBC Sport NI looks back at some of the highlights from these six games.
Carrick Rovers 1-2 Larne
Against a backdrop of much change at the club at the start of the season, Larne has largely flown under the radar when it comes to predicting who might be the Irish Premier League champions, but Inverman have emerged as favorites to win the Gibson Cup next spring.
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Friday’s come-from-behind victory over neighbors Carrick Wanderers demonstrated their ability to deliver results, always a feature of potential champions, and they now sit six points ahead of nearest challengers Coleraine.
Gary Haveron’s side have also shown at least three qualities of a potential champion: their unbeaten record at home this season, a good defensive platform (having conceded just nine goals in the top flight so far) and the ability to win by one goal, as they have in their last six wins.
This would all be without the help of injured influential duo Cian Bolger and Andy Ryan, who are yet to feature in a game this season.
Their fortunes contrast sharply with East Antrim neighbors Carrick Wanderers, who are currently winless in seven games, losing five of them.
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Taylor Avenue, who are 11th in the table, will have a nervous look at bottom-placed Glenavon, who are now just six points adrift.
Linfield 0-1 Glentoran
When Linfield boss David Healy appeared to underestimate his side’s chances of retaining the League of Ireland title recently, observers put it down to the Blues manager’s “mind games” but that prediction looks dangerously close to coming true.
Back-to-back defeats, first away at Glenavon and then a 0-1 defeat at home to arch-rivals Glentoran on Boxing Day, have left Windsor Park at a disadvantage as they try to close the 13-point gap on leaders Larne despite having a game remaining.
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Tuesday night’s visit to Coleraine will be crucial for Healy’s side, with the losers of that game facing an uphill battle to keep their title ambitions alive.
Things were looking brighter for Glentoran as they made it two wins in a row with a superb Joe Thomson goal.
Confidence was restored seven days ago with a 2-1 win over Coleraine, a win that ended a run of just two points from five games for Declan Devine’s side.
The east Belfast club also have little room for error but sit 11 points behind the leaders with a game in hand.
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Ballymena United 2-0 Coleraine
Oran Carney’s first derby in charge of Ballymena United against Coleraine was a memorable one for Sky Blues fans, with the home side winning 2-0 thanks to Dale O’Connor’s brace.
Braided supporters hope the result will help their side kick-start the new season and find the consistency that has long eluded them.
The club, currently in ninth place, will be wary of being dragged further into the relegation zone, but are actively looking forward to possible progress towards the top half of the table.
Defeat to A26 derby rivals further severely undermined Coleraine’s faltering title ambitions as they were reversed for the fourth time in seven top-flight games and the sixth time in the league season.
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The Bends are by some margin the league’s top scorers, aided by the firepower of prolific duo Matthew Shefflin (12 goals) and Joel Cooper (11 goals), with head coach Ruaidri Higgins hoping the latter’s knee problem can continue to be managed effectively.
Tuesday’s encounter with Linfield is crucial as they continue to challenge for a first title since 1974.
Cliftonville 0-2 Crusaders
Given the recent form of both sides ahead of the north Belfast derby in Solidarity, few neutral observers would have seen such a result.
Cliftonville are unbeaten in eight games in the top flight but had to concede second-best to their neighbors as the Crusaders claimed victory on the day.
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Jim Magilton’s side are sixth in the table and will aim to retain their top-half spot for the remainder of the season.
The Crusaders come into this game having suffered a fifth straight defeat and head coach Declan Caddell hopes a festive derby win will gain momentum and boost confidence towards the end of the season.
The victory moved Seaview up to 10th ahead of the two teams’ meeting at Seaview on Tuesday and gave them much-needed breathing space over basement side Glenavon, with a gap of eight points currently standing.
Portadown 1-0 Glenavon
Portadown manager Neil Currie admitted the Ulster derby might not have been easy to watch but he was delighted with three points thanks to Luke Wilson’s winner.
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The win keeps Shamrock Park within touch of the top half of the table, with them in seventh place, a point behind Cliftonville above them.
Four wins in the past six games provide Port with plenty to build on.
Glenarvon’s form remains patchy, with three wins and five losses in their last eight Premier League games.
Home performances are crucial for the Lurgan Blues, who have won four of their last five games at Morneview Park, including notable wins over Glentoran and Linfield.
Six points adrift of the bottom, they will take further steps to stay in the Premier League when they host Dungannon on Tuesday.
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Dungannon Swifts 1-0 Bangor
Dungannon Swifts’ early season troubles appear to be a distant memory as they consolidated their fifth spot in the table with a festive win over Bangor.
Rodney McCurry’s side looked to be struggling to shake off their European hangover at the start of the season, losing six of their first seven league games, but somehow bounced back with 11 wins from their next 14 games.
The Swifts are another team laying the foundations for a home revival, top scoring in seven of their last eight games at Stanmore Park.
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Bangor are in eighth place with seven wins and four draws from 21 games, representing an outstanding performance since their return to the top flight.
Boss Lee Feeney is keen to get more points on the board as soon as possible to prevent any danger of slipping into the lower reaches of the table.