AS the SuperCupNI tournament gets underway tomorrow, colerainefc.com caught up with Aaron Moffatt who will be leading the Bannsiders at this year’s event…

The Stripes will compete in the Minor Section alongside Glenavon, Portstewart and Kilmarnock in the group stage.

Moffatt gave us the lowdown for the week ahead and how the players should embrace the occasion.

What are your thoughts heading into the SuperCup NI tournament? How have preparations been?

As a group, we’re all very excited as we approach SuperCup. Preparations have been really good, as we have been training three times a week all year, and recently, we have played matches on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to replicate what SuperCup will be like. From a technical point of view, the boys are well ahead of where they need to be, however, as a collective, we are lacking some height throughout our team, which causes us issues with physicality at times.

Your group is an interesting one? Some big matches and a derby against Portstewart?

Yes, our draw is interesting. We have Glenavon on day one, which is always a battle and played in the right manner. Then, on day two, we have Kilmarnock, which is a great draw as, as we know, this is the side that ex-Coleraine player Brad Lyons is currently playing for and also previously managed by Kenny Shiels, whose grandson, Luca is playing for us. Finally, on day 3 we have Portstewart. We always seem to draw Portstewart in cups, so no surprise we play again! Again, this should be a great contest between two teams showing what talent the local area has to offer.

How great would it be to have some supporters cheering you on throughout the 5 days?

It would be fantastic if the lads had some local support over the week of a great football tournament and I’m sure they will. The SuperCup, or previously known as the Milk Cup, has lots of fond memories for many people in the North West area and is always a well supported event from football fans all over Northern Ireland and beyond. This gives our lads the opportunity to live and be treated like a professional footballer for the week. Win, lose or draw, we will create lifetime memories for our lads.

We would like to thank our sponsors Bob and Berts, Lynas Food Service, Henderson Food Service, GC Services, M3 Mechanical, Exitech, IBS Tills, Greenmount Spar and AL Interiors.

SQUAD:

1. Tommy Bustard
2. Carter Maguire
3. George McClean
4. Kai Henry
5. Noah Corkish
6. Jay Small
7. Ronan Moffatt
8. Luca Kearney
9. Keelan Walker
10. Odhran Devine
11. Oscar Spence
12. Alfie McLay
14. Joseph Conway
15. Kealan McAtamney
16. Ollie McEvoy
17. Kyden Marshall
18. Conor Wilson
19. Syzmon Bednarz

MATCHES:

Monday, July 24: Coleraine vs Glenavon (11am) at Parker Avenue, Portrush.
Tuesday, July 25: Coleraine vs Kilmarnock (11am) at Broughshane.
Wednesday, July 26: Coleraine vs Portstewart (11am) at Anderson Park, Coleraine.