COLERAINE and HK Helsinki renew acquaintances yet again as the two teams meet in Conference League action at Inver Park this evening (KO 7.45pm)…
CONFERENCE LEAGUE SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND SECOND LEG
Overview:
Coleraine were last in action in the Finnish capital as they suffered a 5-0 defeat in the first leg. The Bannsiders created numerous opportunities at the Bolt Arena but couldn’t find a way to breach the Helsinki goal. The loss also came at a cost as Mark Coyle suffered a rupture ACL injury, with Aidan Wilson also having to be withdrawn.
HJK Helsinki were 1-0 winners in the Finnish top-flight on Sunday an early goal by Santeri Haarala sealed all three points against TPS Turku. That result means they moved up to third spot in the table after playing 17 games so far. The winners of tonight’s tie on aggregate will face either Motherwell or HB Torshavn in the next round.
Manager’s Thoughts:
“We want to get a result, we want to go into the season feeling good about ourselves, so we need to go and put on a good display and try and get a result,” Higgins.
“We want to limit the amount of defensive mistakes that we made in our last game, and to be honest a lot of our stuff in possession was good, we were happy with it, it’s just being a wee bit more clinical and then being a lot more ruthless in our own defensive third.
“We had good periods of possession on Helsinki, we played some good stuff, and it’s just being clinical at both ends of the pitch.
“I’m sure that’ll come as we get into the next few weeks.”
Officials:
The match referee will be Seth Galia.
The assistant referees are Michael Gerard Macias and Fausti Guerrero.
Timothy Reach has been selected as the fourth official.
Admission:
Coleraine supporters can buy tickets for the fixture which can be bought HERE.
Coleraine supporters will be housed in the Main Stand and Church End Stand of the ground. Those in the Main Stand are to enter the stadium via the Inver Road only, with Church End Stand ticket holders to enter via Church Road only.
Helsinki fans will be allocated in the McKay Stand – with tickets available HERE. Away supporters are to only enter the stadium via the Church Road End only.
The match will be streamed live on the NIFL TV website HERE.
As ever, those unable to watch the fixture can follow the latest developments via the club’s official Twitter account (@ColeraineFC).