Matchday Guide: Newry City

COLERAINE go in search of three successive wins in all competitions as they face Newry City away from home this evening (KO 7:45pm)…

Sports Direct Premiership

Overview:

Coleraine returned to winning ways in the Sports Direct Premiership last weekend after a 4-1 victory at home to Glenavon. A first-half equaliser from Josh Carson was added to strikes from Conor McKendry (2) and Matthew Shevlin as the Bannsiders picked up their first win against Glenavon since March 2020. The three points also propelled Coleraine into 6th place in the standings as Gareth Deane and Kieran Farren also returned to the squad following injury.

Newry City were also victorious in the Premiership last Saturday as they battled to a 2-0 win away at Ballymena United. Goals from Adam Salley and Lee Newell would send the visitors home with all three points – despite losing Ryan McGivern to a second bookable offence. Gary Boyle’s side were also in midweek action in the Mid-Ulster Cup as the holders lost 2-0 away at Glenavon. The border club are currently 9th in the Premiership table and will face Carrick Rangers away from home in the second round of the BetMcLean Cup.

Previous Meetings:

Earlier this season, Coleraine would pick up all three points following the 3-1 success against Gary Boyle’s side. In a low-key first-half, Coleraine would edge in front on 40 minutes as Josh Carson arrowed a low strike into the bottom corner for his first goal of the season. The lead would be doubled on 56 minutes as Jamie Glackin’s cross was on the money for Matthew Shevlin to head home from close range. However, Newry would half the deficit on 77 minutes as Lee Newell’s strike from distance found the bottom corner. Despite the prospect of a nervy ending, the Bannsiders would add a decisive third as Andy Mitchell pounced from inside the box to bag all three points.

Manager’s Thoughts:

“We’ve stood here and said it for years that I can have all the presentations and individual speeches and do everything you want, but there’s no better shot in the arm for players than performances, goals and winning matches,” Kearney said after last weekend’s win against Glenavon.

“That’s the wonder of momentum as when things go in that shape of not going brilliantly, it generally compounds and you can get stuck in a rot quite quickly and I’ve been in scenarios like this before.

“We’re not out of the woods by any stretch, its three points and we will very quickly reset on Monday night to get back to work again.

“The biggest credit I can give the players is that with everything that was thrown against them in the last week, they stuck together and came out with a big response.

“Newry changed manager in the summer and they came here earlier in the season and it was 3-1 on the day but parts of the game they caused us big problems.

“They’ll obviously be buoyed by their big result versus Ballymena and for us, it’s up there on a Friday night and we’ve got to go there and make sure we hit the same levels.”

Officials:

The match referee will be Steven Gregg.

The assistant referees are Kristian Hanna and Octavian George Neacsu.

Tony Clarke has been selected as the fourth official.

Admission:

Coleraine supporters will require tickets for the contest 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).