End of 2020

COLERAINE will play for the final time this year as they make the trip to Cliftonville tomorrow evening (KO 5:30pm)…

Danske Bank Premiership

Overview:

Oran Kearney’s men recorded a much needed win against Warrenpoint Town last weekend as goals from Ben Doherty and Stewart Nixon edged out the ‘Point at The Showgrounds. The fixture against Cliftonville will be the Bannsiders’ last involvement in 2020 as there will be no sporting activity in Northern Ireland between 26 December and 1 January under new Covid-19 restrictions.

Cliftonville currently sit in 5th position in the table and have 13 points from 10 games. The Reds had to settle for a share of the spoils last time out as they battled to a 1-1 draw against Glenavon at Mourneview Park.

Recent meetings:

Coleraine and Cliftonville met on the opening day of last season on the Ballycastle Road and Eoin Bradley’s effort looked like being enough to secure all three points for Oran Kearney’s men. However, on 89 minutes, a ball from Ryan Curran would find Joe Gormley unmarked inside the area and he found the bottom corner to steal a point for the Reds.

Last December, Cliftonville would score another late goal against the Bannsiders but this time Conor McMenamin’s header earned the win for the North Belfast side. However, Coleraine avenged that defeat as Alexander Gawne’s cross/shot sailed over Richard Brush to earn the Bannsiders all three points in January of this year.

Manager’s Thoughts:

“The only thing on our minds now is to go and try and win the next game,” Kearney said.

“It will be another tough game as Solitude is a tough venue to go to.

“We will work hard at training this week and see if we can put back-to-back wins together.”

Admission:

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, no away supporters will be permitted inside Solitude.

The match will be streamed live via the BBC Sport NI website and Red Button.

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