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Steven Crawford

Linfield leave it late as Eetu Vertainen secures much-needed win

Eetu Vertainen came off the bench to help ease the pressure on reigning Danske Bank Premiership champions Linfield grabbing a late winner in a 3-2 win over Glenavon.

The Blues were made to sweat on the points as a double from Matthew Fitzpatrick deservedly put the Lurgan Blues in front with 15 minutes to go after Kirk Millar had given the hosts an early lead.

But the impressive Joel Cooper and Vertainen produced sublime finishes to raise the mood with the Linfield faithful.

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David Healy made three changes to the side which lost to the Glens on Friday night with stalwarts Jamie Mulgrew and Jimmy Callacher returning to the starting eleven along with striker Chris McKee.

For the visitors Eoin Bradley made way for midfielder Matthew Snoddy in what was the only change for the Lurgan Blues after Saturday's narrow defeat by Crusaders.

Healy, who was given a warm reception by the home support before the game, said his side needed to "come out fighting" after their derby defeat.

But they could have found themselves behind twice in the opening four minutes as Peter Campbell forced Chris johns into action before Calum Birney flashed a header wide at the near post.

The hosts hit back and almost grabbed the opener on eight minutes as Joel Copper slipped in Robbie McDaid, but Rory Brown did enough to push it away for a corner.

Glenavon were posing a real threat on the break with Johns again called into action again on 15 minutes to deny Conor Scannell a tap in.

And what a vital stop it proved to be as a minute later Millar was on hand to coolly fire home from Cooper's lobbed cross.

To their credit though Glenavon kept plugging away and they were rewarded for their efforts four minutes before the break as Fitzpatrick showed great composure in the box to jink past Sam Roscoe-Byrne before slotting past Johns to deservedly level things up.

Tensions started to rise amongst the home fans as we moved past the hour mark with their team still labouring to make any headway.

And their mood was about to get worse as Fitzpatrick nodded in his and Glenavon's second with just over a quarter of the game to go.

Linfield were in desperate need of some inspiration, and that man Cooper provided it with a thumping left-foot finish which gave Brown no chance in the visitors goal.

The relief around Windsor Park was palpable, but the desire was for all three points.

And with four minutes to go it duly arrived as Vertainen was left unmarked from a Cooper corner, and the big striker lashed home an unstoppable finish from 12 yards.

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