Tiernan Lynch hails teenager's contribution as star man's fitness still unclear

Tiernan Lynch has hailed the contribution of defender Logan Wallace. The teenager was handed an Irish Premiership debut in the win over Glentoran last week after a defensive injury crisis for the Invermen.

And he repaid his manager's faith in him as he retained his shirt for Sunday's game against Coleraine making a telling intervention at the death to make sure his side secured another three points.

Lynch, whose side take on Crusaders tonight in the co Antrim Shield semi-final at Inver Park, feels there is still more to come from the 19-year-old.

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"Logan got threw in at the deep end at The Oval as we had four centrebacks out and he was absolutely superb," said Lynch. "He played well enough that he kept the shirt and that's where he is right now.

"He's a young player and it's going to take a while to bring the very best out of him, he's still learning the game, but I thought he was magnificent against Coleraine." Lynch was delighted to see his side pick up another win in the league especially after their exertions against St Gallen in the UEFA Conference League.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game going into it," he said. "It was a massive occasion on Thursday night and over the last few weeks we've had to chop and change our team so we needed to try and find a bit of stability and continuity.

"There were tired legs but we were able to get a bit of continuity but we knew the longer the game went on the more difficult it would be for them. But great credit to them they showed great character and determination and got their rewards in the end."

The only disappointment for Lynch is the absence of striker Andy Ryan, who sat out the win over Coleraine, with the Larne boss unsure how long he will be missing for. "We're not sure about Andy," he said. "He's being monitored at the moment. But we're not sure if it's going to be a week, 10 days or two weeks at this moment."

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