COLERAINE commence their Premiership campaign tomorrow as the Bannsiders are the visitors to Dungannon Swifts (KO 3pm)…

BOYLE SPORTS PREMIERSHIP

Overview:

Coleraine begin their BOYLE Sports Premiership campaign after finishing second in the standings last season. The Bannsiders ended the campaign three points behind eventual champions Larne but did end up with silverware after beating Dungannon Swifts in the Irish Cup. Ruaidhri Higgins’ side have already been in competitive last action after competing in Conference League qualifying against HJK Helsinki.

Dungannon Swifts finished last season in sixth place which marked back-to-back top-six finishes for the men from Co Tyrone. Rodney McAree has been busy adding to his squad so far this summer as Michael McIlhatton, Barney McKeown and Kris Lowe have joined, alongside former Coleraine man Jamie Glackin.

Previous Meetings:

Coleraine and Dungannon Swifts met each other on five different occasions in all competitions last season.

  • August 19, 2025 (BSP) – Coleraine 2 (McManus ’26 mins & Glackin ’35 mins) Dungannon Swifts 0
  • October 18, 2025 (BSP) – Coleraine 4 (Okoro ’13 mins, Marron own goal ’21 mins, Cooper ’55 mins & Patching ’61 mins) Dungannon Swifts 0
  • February 28, 2026 (BSP) – Dungannon Swifts 3 (McAllister ’11 mins, Alves ’20 mins & Wallace ’36 mins); Coleraine 1 (Akintunde ’50 mins)
  • April 28, 2026 (BSP) – Dungannon Swifts 1 (Moore ‘3 mins); Coleraine 2 (Cooper ’28 mins & Coyle ’50 mins)
  • May 2, 2026 (IC) – Dungannon Swifts 2 (Doyle ’55 mins & Mitchell ’66 mins); Coleraine 3 (Shevlin ’19 mins & ’60 mins, Cooper ’46 mins)

Manager’s Thoughts:

“We’re really excited that the first of 38 games is here,” Higgins said.

“But we know Dungannon Swifts are a really good side, they’ve real strength in depth and we watched them at the weekend.

“They’ve played in really big matches in recent times, so it’s a really tough first fixture.

“However, we want to go there, stamp our authority on the game and try to win it.”

Officials:

The match referee will be Ben McMaster.

The assistant referees are Stephen Bell and Adam Jeffrey.

Tim Marshall has been selected as the fourth official.

Admission:

Coleraine supporters require tickets for the fixture which can be purchased 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 X account (@ColeraineFC).