Matchday Guide: Cliftonville

COLERAINE will have Conor McDermott and Adam Mullan available for selection as the Bannsiders host Cliftonville this afternoon (KO 3pm)…

Danske Bank Premiership

Overview:

The Bannsiders will look to return to winning ways after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Ballymena United last weekend. Oran Kearney’s men enjoyed the majority of the possession on Warden Street but lost out as Ross Redman’s late free-kick sealed all three points for the hosts. The Stripes are currently fifth in the Premiership standings ahead of this weekend’s fixtures and will have Conor McDermott and Adam Mullan back from suspension after their dismissals against Ballymena. A mixture of youth players and senior players helped the Bannsiders reach the semi-final of the North-West Cup on Tuesday night.

Cliftonville lost for only the second time in the Premiership last weekend as they were beaten 4-0 by Larne at Inver Park. The Reds were dealt a blow early in the second-half as Sean Moore was given a straight red card, with the hosts taking full advantage as Lee Bonis hit a hat-trick alongside a strike from Paul O’Neill. Paddy McLaughlin’s occupy fourth spot in the Premiership table and will host Newry City in the quarter-final of the BetMcLean Cup.

Previous meetings:

Oran Kearney’s men would kick-start their Premiership campaign with a 3-1 success against the Reds as a good crowd was present on a sunny North Coast. Coleraine would take the lead just after the half hour mark as Evan McLaughlin was in the right place at the right time to stab home from Josh Carson’s cross, before the same player would double his tally as he fired into the back of the net after a long surging run. Cliftonville would pull a goal back on 57 minutes as Ryan Curran headed in from Levi Ives’ cross and the Reds would go close to equalising as Ronan Hale’s strike from distance came back off the crossbar. At the other end, the woodwork would come to the Bannsiders’ frustration as Dean Jarvis’ header clipped the post before the upright would deny Matthew Shevlin from scoring after he deflected Lee Lynch’s strike towards goal. However, a decisive third goal would arrive for Coleraine in added time as Jamie Glackin’s strike from distance bounced in front of Fynn Talley and sailed into the back of the net.

Manager’s Thoughts:

“We’ve got to put the ball into the back of the net and do the thing that we’ve been generally good at this season,” Kearney said.

“Cliftonville will be a wounded animal but we have our own agenda.

“As far as we’re concerned, we’ve got to get right back up on the horse.

“We don’t like losing games and you can see with the league already that it’s going to be crazy with how things are panning out.

“With that, it’s important that we try and push to stay in the area that we want to be in.”

Officials:

The match referee will be Lee Tavinder.

The assistant referees are Gavin Hegarty and Bogdan Sfirloaga.

Diarmuid Harrigan has been selected as the fourth official.

Sponsors:

The match sponsor is Colin McBride Residential.

Wilbert Marshall and Bertie McAuley have kindly agreed to sponsor the match ball.

The mascots this afternoon is Oscar Dunlop.

The Man of the Match award will be sponsored by Holley Optometrists.

Admission:

Season tickets are valid for the fixture, although, non-season ticket holders will require matchday tickets for the fixture which can be bought online HERE.

Cliftonville fans will also need tickets to enter the stadium which can be purchased HERE.

Both sets of supporters are kindly asked to read the following matchday arrangements HERE.

If you are not feeling yourself this evening and you have symptoms which you feel are similar to COVID-19, please stay away from the stadium and think of others.

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