Cup View-ing

COLERAINE will hope to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Tennent’s Irish Cup as Dergview are the visitors to The Showgrounds (KO 3pm)…

The Bannsiders will be hoping for a return to winning ways after last weekend’s defeat to Dungannon Swifts. That loss means the Stripes now trail fourth-placed Glenavon by two points as the race for the European play-off spots intensifies. As for the visitors, they picked up a morale boosting 4-1 win over Limavady United last time out and move from the bottom of the Bluefin Sport Championship table.

Incredibly, this will be the third meeting between the two sides this season as the Irish Cup holders ran out comprehensive winners in pre-season action. The last clash ended up in a 2-1 win for the Bannsiders in the Eventsec North-West Cup as two penalty-kicks from Eoin Bradley was enough to progress into the semi-final of the competition.

Bannsiders boss Rodney McAree will be able to give debuts to Dean Shiels and Dylan King following their arrivals through the week. There is no such joy for Cormac Burke and Dylan Davidson who are cup tied, with fellow midfielder Josh Carson suspended. There is hope that Aaron Canning, Stephen O’Donnell and Aaron Burns will be able to feature after making progress following injury setbacks. However, Lyndon Kane, Aaron Traynor and Alexander Gawne will remain on the sidelines.

McAree knows that the opposition have started to pick up results in their quest to avoid relegation.

“Cup competitions are all about shocks so we have to make sure that there is not going to be one here,” he said.

“It will be a tough game, we had Dergview watched and they put in a good performance.

“They have turned a corner and have started picking up results so it will be a difficult match.

“We are at home against a championship side so we have to fancy our chances.”

As ever, those unable to attend can follow the latest updates via the club’s official Twitter account (@ColeraineFC).

Supporters are reminded that entry is via cash gate ONLY, with entry costing adults £11 and £7 concessions.