Linfield v Glentoran: Blues unerring while Glens unravel – the Big Two's contrasting fortunes

It was a night that seemed to have strong season-defining hallmarks in a title race that was shaping up to be one of the most thrilling for years.

A night that felt at the time like it could well be a go-to in the search for a turning point once the Gibson Cup had been handed out.

A night on which it seemed that that much-heralded factor in football - momentum - had grabbed its coat and got a taxi from south Belfast to the east of the city.

The night was Friday 11 February. In wet and blustery conditions at The Oval, Glentoran won one of the most eagerly-anticipated, yet ultimately quite scrappy, Big Two encounters for many seasons to take over from Linfield at the top of the table.

Conor McMenamin's winner on the hour moved the Glens three points clear of the Blues at the Irish Premiership summit and condemned their rivals to a third defeat in four games.

The narrative that night appeared very clear, with even the sub-plots stacking up in favour of the Oval outfit.

With the arrival Sean Murray, Michael O'Connor and Darren Cole, it looked like they had enjoyed another solid transfer window in January. Goalkeeper Aaron McCarey, having made crucial saves to deny Linfield, spoke afterwards of his journey to redemption from that crazy clash with Bobby Burns in November. They were looking forward to an Irish Cup quarter-final against Championship side Newry City, while manager Mick McDermott spoke of his joy at having a dressing room of players that hate to lose.

Even the home crowd seemed to be cranking it up, unveiling a huge Jay Donnelly banner before kick-off that referred to him as 'The Striker' - a pointed reference to a Linfield social media post when the ex-Cliftonville forward equalised in the festive 1-1 draw between the sides.

Contrast that with Linfield, however, who a week before had gone out of the Irish Cup with barely a whimper to Larne. It was a defeat that followed an even more crushing one, 3-0 away to Coleraine in the league, in what was an utterly toothless performance from the defending champions.

And the mood music surrounding Windsor Park did not appear to be hugely upbeat, either. A large section of the Linfield fanbase was strongly questioning a January transfer market which delivered a raft of short-term loan signings in forward areas when many supporters were demanding a striker with a proven goalscoring pedigree.

That said, Blues boss David Healy was philosophical as he stood on the side of The Oval pitch reflecting on what he'd seen, calmly claiming that they did not deserve to lose the match and only did so due to a mistake in defence and a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal.

He was bullish about their title bid, too, taking solace from what he described as a "steely belief in the dressing room", stating that "the players are hurting and smarting a little bit at the minute but they will have the bit between their teeth going forward, I can guarantee".

They would prove to be wise words. Fast forward just over two months and, with the sides about to meet again on Friday night in another crucial clash at Windsor Park, the narrative for both clubs is considerably different. The Glens' season has unravelled while the Blues have been unerring.

Since beating Linfield, McDermott's men have won just three of their seven league outings, drawing one and losing three, culminating in the low point of a 4-0 home defeat by Crusaders on Saturday. It is a run of form that has seen them go from being three points clear at the top to dropping to third and six points behind leaders Linfield - and five behind second-placed Cliftonville - with four games to play.

However, the on-pitch slump in the league is barely even half the story of the last few months at The Oval. They went on to win that Irish Cup quarter-final 1-0, but played an ineligible player in Joe Crowe and were subsequently dismissed from the competition by the Irish FA.

In the aftermath, McDermott blamed the online Comet system used for registering players and listing them for each match, saying it was "not fit for purpose" and that is should have flagged that Crowe was ineligible.

Amid public statements from McDermott that the club would "not go quietly", they appealed against the decision and, when that was dismissed on all four grounds, they announced that they are seeking the right to arbitration. The move has meant the semi-final between Ballymena United and Newry is still not played, two weeks after its original date, placing 7 May as cup final day in doubt.

That is not all. The first few weeks of March also saw a series of outspoken tweets from McDermott's Twitter account - which included vague references to collusion, conspiracy, morals and integrity - all of which seemed to do nothing to help performances on the pitch while also invoking a strong response from supporters across the Irish League.

A third-place finish would mean the Glens have to make it through the play-offs to gain a place in Europe - unless, of course, they are successful in their bid to be reinstated to the Irish Cup and go on to win that.

Victory over Linfield at Windsor on Friday night could blow the title race open again, however, and the Glens are more than capable of doing that - especially given their added determination to respond to that heavy loss to the Crues.

Linfield's story since that Big Two defeat in February is a much more smooth, succinct and successful one.

They bounced back with a six-game winning run in the league before drawing 0-0 with Cliftonville in their top-of-the-table clash at Solitude last Saturday. Nineteen points from 21 is an emphatic response from a team hunting down their fourth consecutive title.

And those sub-plot narratives at Windsor have also taken on a much more positive tone, with on-loan strikers Chris McKee and Eetu Vertainen of Finland having weighed in with goals each and young permanent signing Ethan Devine now having three last-minute goals that have secured vital results for Healy's men.

That upturn in results - it was three defeats in four before 11 February, don't forget - also coincided with the return from injury of influential midfielder Chris Shields, and the ever-demanding Linfield fanbase will have been a lot happier with what they have seen from the last seven matches.

They will know too, though, that the Glens will arrive in south Belfast on Friday night fully determined, and fully capable, of grabbing another Big Two win and forcing their way back into the title race.

All eyes turn to Windsor Park, then. This one may be too late in the season to be a turning point, but it will have a huge bearing on where the Gibson Cup ends up come the end of the month.