COLERAINE produced a commanding performance to register a 3-0 pre-season victory against near-neighbours Portstewart...

With the Bannsiders in double-duty, boss Ruaidhri Higgins elected to split his squad as they were also scheduled to take on Newbuildings United.

Coleraine threatened first on five minutes when Jay Henderson and Keelan Walker linked-up well inside the box, with the former seeing his goalbound effort being blocked by a rushing Michael Stewart.

Soon after, Senan Devine managed to keep the ball alive and whip the ball to Dylan Boyle who saw his curling effort from the edge of the box go inches over the crossbar.

Just after Rowan McDonald also failed to test Harry Pearson in the Portstewart goal, the hosts finally struck on 28 minutes. Devine took centre-stage as he weaved his way into the box to find Henderson and he made no mistake with a clinical finish.

Just before the break, Higgins' side doubled their advantage when Walker showed great tenacity to charge into the box and Devine was in the right place at the right time to convert.

Devine will feel he should have had his second not long after the restart when he ran onto a through ball but the midfielder was foiled by Pearson who quickly ran off his line.

A few minutes later, Devine was heavily involved yet again as his clever flick released Dean Jarvis in a promising position inside the box but the defender struck wide.

To their credit, Portstewart kept pushing to get into the contest as Caolan Loughran went inches wide with a free-kick, before Alex Gawne's header was held by Lewis Webb.

The final notable action of the contest arrived with a matter of minutes to go when Trialist B was brought down inside the box. The same player stepped up to drill his penalty under the body of Pearson.

COLERAINE: Webb, Trialist A, Lyons-Foster, Jarvis, Ives, Boyle, McDonald, Trialist B, Devine, Henderson, Walker.

Subs: Robinson (GK), McCourt, Campbell, Cowan, McAuley.