COLERAINE are on their travels for the final time in the Premiership campaign as they are the visitors to Crusaders this afternoon (KO 3pm)…

SPORTS DIRECT PREMIERSHIP

Overview:

Coleraine were beaten last weekend as Larne left the Ballycastle Road with all three points. After falling behind to Andy Ryan’s simple finish, the Bannsiders responded to level at the break as Declan McManus fired beyond Rohan Ferguson. In truth, Dean Shiels’ men looked the more likely to find a winner but they were caught with a sucker-punch on the counter-attack when Paul O’Neill netted from the spot after Tiarnan O’Connor was brought down by Charles Dunne.

Crusaders come into the fixture after a 4-0 home defeat to automatic European qualification-chasers Glentoran. In a below-par performance, the Crues were inflicted with the loss as Charlie Pattisson, David Fisher, Jordan Jenkins and Kodi Lyons-Foster all scored for Declan Devine’s men. Like Coleraine, the Hatchetmen know they can no longer finish higher than fourth after the regular 38 games have been played.

Previous Meetings:

Coleraine ended up empty-handed as the two teams met each other in October at Seaview. The hosts made the breakthrough on 23 minutes as the Bannsiders lost possession deep inside their own box which allowed Kieran Offord to pick out Stewart Nixon who made no mistake with an emphatic finish. Just after Connor Murray hit the top of the crossbar with an effort from the edge of the box, Coleraine drew level on 35 minutes. A crisp passage of play saw Jamie McGonigle find Dylan Boyle and the summer signing grabbed his first Coleraine goal by sending an effort into the bottom corner. After a slow start to the second-half, Coleraine found themselves behind yet again on 56 minutes after losing possession from their own throw-in. As a result, Jordan Stewart was played through one-on-one with Max Little and he made no mistake with a clinical finish. Dean Shiels’ men had chances to salvage a point that their performance at least deserved but they slipped to a 2-1 loss.

Coleraine suffered another 2-1 defeat at the same venue as the Bannsiders bowed out of the BetMcLean Cup. After a strong start, Coleraine took a deserved lead in the first-half as Connor Murray’s hanging cross was headed into the back of the net by Matthew Shevlin. Dean Shiels’ side were guilty of missing several guilt-edged chances after that and Crusaders punished as they drew level several minutes after the restart through Philip Lowry’s finish. Just when the game looked like entering extra-time, Crusaders had different ideas as Lowry netted a late winner to seal their passage through to the quarter-final.

Remarkably, Crusaders clinched another 2-1 victory against Coleraine on the Ballycastle Road In an entertaining first half, Jordan Stewart opened the scoring with a close-range header before Kieran Offord added a second after a defensive mix-up for Coleraine. Matthew Shevlin pulled a goal back in the second half, but Kyle McClelland was sent off soon after as Declan Caddell’s side held on for victory.

The fourth instalment was also won by Crusaders as they left The Showgrounds courtesy of a 2-0 success. After the Bannsiders squandered three or four big chances, Coleraine conceded with Crusaders’ first meaningful attack of the game on 36 minutes. A dangerous cross swung in by Ross Clarke found the head of Jacob Blaney who made it 1-0 to the Crues. Coleraine looked to get back into the contest after the restart and hit the crossbar on 53 minutes when Connor Murray’s thunderous effort clipped the top of the woodwork. Johnny Tuffey was once again proving his worth between the sticks as he palmed away Dean Jarvis’ sweetly hit half-volley, with Glackin unable to steer a shot from the resulting corner below the crossbar. You felt it wasn’t going to be Coleraine’s day with 25 minutes remaining as substitute Corey Smith cut in from the left-hand and his strike hit the post. After numerous crosses into the box and sustained pressure, Crusaders made it an away day to remember as they made it 2-0 at the death. A swift counter-attack by Josh O’Connor resulted in the Scotsman laying the ball on a plate for Harry Jewitt-White to tap into an empty net.

Head Coach’s Thoughts:

“We expect a hard game, it seems like we’ve played Crusaders so many times this year but seems like we haven’t played them in a while, so it’ll be good to go there,” Shiels said.

“We have a few demons to put right in regards to the amount of times we’ve played them and been disappointed being on the wrong end of results against them.

“We’ve had really good performances against them, I think in every game we’ve played them we’ve played them really well but the motivation is to go and beat them and gather momentum going into the play-offs.

“The target all season has been to try and finish as high as we can.”

Officials:

The match referee will be Evan Boyce.

The assistant referees are Brian Wilson and Niall McGuinness.

Declan Hassan 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).