Carrick Rangers shock Linfield to progress in Irish Cup

Linfield's hopes of winning the Irish Cup for a fifth successive season were ended on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0 by Carrick Rangers at the Loughview Leisure Arena.

The Belfast Blues were overwhelming favourites to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition, but Carrick had other ideas and produced a stunning performance to dump the holders out of the cup.

It was a famous victory for Carrick, who are managed by former Linfield player Niall Currie. The win will give them huge confidence as they look to push on and finish the season strongly.

Linfield, meanwhile, will be bitterly disappointed with their performance. They were well beaten on the day and never really looked like getting back into the game after Carrick took the lead in the seventh minute through a stunning strike from Ryan Waide.

The defeat will also come as a blow to Linfield manager David Healy, who is under increasing pressure after a disappointing season.

Reaction

Carrick manager Niall Currie was delighted with his team's performance.

"We knew it would be a tough game, but we were confident that we could get a result," he said.

"The players were excellent today and they deserve all the credit. They worked hard for each other and they never gave up. It's a great day for the club."

Linfield manager David Healy was disappointed with his team's performance.

"We didn't play well enough today," he said.

"We never really got going and we were punished by a very good Carrick team. We need to improve quickly if we want to challenge for the league title this season."

What next?

Carrick Rangers will now face either Glentoran or Dungannon Swifts in the quarter-finals of the Irish Cup.

Linfield, meanwhile, will look to bounce back from this defeat when they face Coleraine in the league next week.