Irish Premiership: Crackin' Crues, galvanised Glens and feelin' the Lurgan Blues

Two games on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Monday.

This weekend's Irish Premiership action may have been staggered, but it certainly didn't lack the usual drama.

BBC Sport NI picks out five talking points from the latest round of games.

With Linfield's European commitments, the onus was on Crusaders to put points on the board and apply the pressure before David Healy's men begin playing catch-up.

And they've done just that. After confidently dispatching fellow high-flyers Dungannon Swifts 3-0 at Seaview on Saturday, Stephen Baxter's men have taken 13 points from a possible 15, with Larne the only side to have stopped the north Belfast side from winning.

But after that slight blip the Crues reaffirmed their title credentials with a dominant victory over the Swifts as Philip Lowry struck either side of a rare Billy Joe Burns goal.

For Baxter, it's been a thoroughly satisfying start and one in stark contrast to last season, which saw them take just seven points from five games - and 10 from eight.

The buoyant mood around the Shore Road was further improved by confirmation that Crusaders had completed the signing of Swifts forward Paul McElroy, rounding out an impressive transfer window which also saw the arrivals of Dungannon pair Jarlath O'Rourke and Chris Hegarty.

With Jamie McGonigle's move also bolstering Baxter's attacking options, Crusaders look ready for another title tilt.

It's been a hugely disappointing start for Glenavon.

After a third-placed finish last term, the Lurgan Blues have accrued just four points from five games, have already lost three times and have conceded 10 goals, while their only victory was at home to bottom-placed Warrenpoint Town.

Friday night's 4-0 defeat at the hands of Coleraine was particularly bruising, with manager Gary Hamilton admitting he could take no positives from a poor second-half display.

After Stephen Lowry struck two goals either side of the interval, the Glenavon heads dropped. New Bannsiders signing Nedas Maciulaitis shone, winning a penalty for Ben Doherty to add a third before slotting home a fourth in style having danced his way through the home side's defence.

Hamilton has enjoyed great highs in his eight years at Mourneview Park. Now, he faces a real battle to stop this season becoming a real low.

It's almost like Oran Kearney has never been away.

Under him, Coleraine won the Irish Cup and pushed Crusaders all the way to the title in 2018. Last season may not have brought the same sense of achievement under Rodney McAree, but Kearney looks to have already revived the club's Gibson Cup aspirations.

The Bannsiders are unbeaten in six games in all competitions this season. There have been disappointments, of course, such as conceding late goals to draw with Cliftonville and Glentoran, but the manner in which they swept aside Linfield and Glenavon has been difficult to ignore.

Coleraine's response to McGonigle's departure has been emphatic, too, drafting in Maciulaitis, Aaron Jarvis and Martin Gallagher.

Their next four games include Dungannon, Crusaders and Larne at home as well as a trip to Ballymena United. It's a tough run but, as we've seen in recent weeks, the north coast club can power their way past any team in the division.

Given that they finished 12 points above the relegation-promotion play-off and narrowly missed out on the Irish Cup final, last season was a success for Warrenpoint.

But August was a desperately poor month for Stephen McDonnell's side, losing all four league games and conceding 17 goals. To add insult to injury, they were dumped out of the League Cup by Championship side H&W Welders.

McDonnell, 27, was visibly crestfallen after watching his players go down 5-1 to Cliftonville at Milltown on Saturday. The only positive, perhaps, is that 'Point have nearly two weeks until their next game, at home to Carrick Rangers, a match they simply must win if they're to kick-start a season that is already threatening to get away from them.

Most of the talk after Glentoran's 4-0 defeat of Institute on Monday understandably centred on players who arrived during a busy summer at The Oval.

Hrvoje Plum was named man of the match after he replicated his dead-ball mastery against Coleraine with another perfectly placed free-kick.

The Croatian also supplied the cross for Robbie McDaid, who continued his own fine form after a match-winning double against Ballymena last week.

Plum isn't the only Glens new boy making waves, though. Fleet-footed Dutchman Elvio van Overbeek caught the eye once more as he notched his fourth assist in as many games while Antonio Duric, Plum's compatriot, marked his debut with a goal.

There hasn't been much to shout about at Glentoran in recent years. With their foreign imports already loving life in the Irish Premiership, this season could prove much more fruitful.