FEBRUARY would see Coleraine exit the Irish Cup but produce their performance of the season in a victory at Windsor Park…
The month started with a visit to Dungannon Swifts in the Irish Cup as the two teams clashed at the County Tyrone venue in consecutive weeks. However, things wouldn’t go according to plan for the Bannsiders as they were eliminated from the competition. The hosts took an early lead as Gael Bigirimana’s stunning strike from distance found the top corner. After several missed chances, Coleraine finally drew level on 82 minutes when Declan McManus headed in on his debut to send the game into extra-time. The decisive blow was landed by the Swifts on 113 minutes as a ball picked out the run of Andy Mitchell on the left-hand side. The ex-Coleraine man picked out Tomas Galvin inside the box and the attacker made no mistake with a well-executed finish to end the Bannsiders’ Irish Cup hopes.
With the transfer window about to close, there would be movement both in and out of the club. Arriving on a short-team deal was defender Charles Dunne who completed a move from Scottish Premiership side St. Mirren. The club agreed an undisclosed fee with Loughgall for Kirk McLaughlin to make the move to Lakeview Park, with teenage striker Sam McClintock agreeing a loan deal with Limavady United until the end of the campaign.
Charles Dunne signed late in the transfer window and made his debut against Cliftonville.
The Bannsiders had to quickly put the Irish Cup disappointment behind them as they hosted Cliftonville in Premiership action. Both teams had chances in the opening 45 minutes as Rhyss Campbell saw a goal-bound effort being deflected wide, whilst at the other end, Destiny Ojo failed to get a meaningful contact on Luke Conlan’s dangerous cross. The game always looked like ending scoreless and that would prove to be – despite Declan McManus almost netting in fortuitous circumstances late on.
A few days later, Coleraine left Carrick Rangers with all three points as Rhyss Campbell’s 76th-minute strike proved to be the difference. The best of a chance of a low-key first-half was created inside the opening minute as Levi Ives hit a rasping drive over the crossbar after being picked out by Matthew Shevlin. Carrick had the first two chances after the interval when Jake Hastings and Cian O’Malley both had sights of goal. Coleraine would soon go up a gear and carved out two big opportunities of their own but neither Ives or Campbell hit the ball on target. However, Campbell went one better by landing the only goal of the contest as he stabbed the ball home from Connor Murray’s corner kick.
Coleraine left Taylors Avenue with all three points courtesy of Rhyss Campbell’s close-range finish.
That momentum was quickly halted as Glentoran left the Ballycastle Road on Valentine’s Day. In truth, the first-half failed to have any real quality but Glentoran did strike first on 31 minutes. A trademark delivery into the area by Daniel Amos picked out Jordan Jenkins and he did the rest by glancing a header into the back of the net. Glentoran then stretched their lead with seven minutes to go as Marcus Kane’s cross from the left-hand side was met by a towering header from Kodi Lyons-Foster which gave Rory Brown no chance of stopping. Coleraine did set-up a grandstand finish at the death when Matthew Shevlin pounced on a defensive lapse, with Ronan Doherty and Corey Smith going close thereafter but to no avail.
Coleraine slipped to a 2-1 home defeat to Glentoran on Valentine’s Day.
The month ended with a visit to league leaders Linfield and the Stripes produced a magical performance as they left 2-0 victors. The Bannsiders took the lead on 22 minutes when a clever passage of play resulted in Kyle Spence and Connor Murray playing a neat one-two, with the latter finishing into the bottom corner. Linfield’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes landed at the foot of Joel Cooper but his attempt from an acute angle was kept out by Rory Brown. Just after Kyle Spence rattled the crossbar, Dean Shiels’ men doubled their advantage when Murray won a 50/50 battle before lashing the ball into the bottom corner. The Stripes were rarely troubled after that with Brown preserving his clean sheet as dived low to keep out Kieran Offord’s deflected effort as they sealed a first win at Windsor Park since 2019.
Player of the Month: Charles Dunne
Goal of the Month: Connor Murray vs Linfield