COLERAINE are on their travels for the first time this season as the Bannsiders take on Cliftonville at Solitude this afternoon (KO 3pm)…

SPORTS DIRECT PREMIERSHIP

Overview:

Coleraine started their Premiership campaign with a late 1-0 win against Larne at The Showgrounds. Just when it looked like the game was going to end scoreless, Joel Cooper produced the goods to cap off a memorable debut. The Bannsiders gave four other debuts to our summer arrivals as Aidan Harris, Kodi Lyons-Foster, Lewis McGregor and Will Patching also got up and running.

Cliftonville – who were involved in European qualifying – started their season with a 3-1 defeat at Bangor. The Reds have been busy adding to their panel as Conor Barr (Derry City – loan), Rhyss Campbell (Coleraine), Conor Falls (Huddersfield Town), Adebayo Fapetu (unattached), Tom Lavery (Sunderland – loan) and PJ Morrison (Alloa Athletic) have all joined the ranks.

Previous Meetings:

The two clubs met on four occasions last season; three in the Sports Direct Premiership and in the European play-off final.

  • October 22, 2024 – Cliftonville 2 (Gormley ’18 mins and ’66 mins); Coleraine 1 (McGonigle ’30 mins)
  • February 4, 2025 – Coleraine 0 Cliftonville 0
  • March 18, 2025 – Coleraine 2 (Shevlin ’72 mins & ’82 mins); Cliftonville 2 (Curran ’66 mins & ’87 mins)
  • May 11, 2025 – Coleraine 0 Cliftonville 2 (Hale ’31 mins & Piesold ’66 mins)

Manager’s Thoughts:

“When you go to Solitude…you know it’s going to be tough,” Higgins said.

“The fact that they lost at the weekend, you would expect a real positive reaction from them, so we need to be ready for that.

“We’ve got really good players. I know they do and they’ll cause us issues, but there’s no doubt that we’ll cause them issues as well.

“We just have to keep believing in what we’re trying to do.

“We are going to Solitude to try and win the game – there’s no other way of approaching it.”

Officials:

The match referee will be Christopher Morrison.

The assistant referees are Stephen Donaldson and Shane Geary.

Shane McGonigle has been appointed as the fourth official.

Admission:

Coleraine supporters can purchase tickets for the fixture which can be bought HERE.

We would urge supporters to arrive at the ground in good time and respect residents and businesses in terms of parking your vehicle.

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