OK – ‘We have to up it again’

COLERAINE boss Oran Kearney acknowledged that he doesn’t want his players to let go of the position they find themselves in as the Bannsiders welcome Larne to The Showgrounds this evening (KO 7:30pm)…

Danske Bank Premiership

Overview:

The Bannsiders suffered their first loss in 17 matches last weekend as they were beaten 2-1 by Cliftonville at Solitude. A goal in each half from Jamie Harney and Paul O’Neill gave the Reds the advantage, before Ben Doherty pulled a goal back from the spot. A search for an equaliser was thwarted as Eoin Bradley was dismissed for a second bookable offence and he misses tonight’s clash. Oran Kearney’s men remain in second spot in the table and trail leaders Linfield by ten points having played two games less.

Larne are unbeaten in their last five games with two wins and three draws, including last weekend’s entertaining clash with Glenavon that ended 2-2 at Mourneview Park. Tiernan Lynch’s side are fourth in the table and are only three points behind Glentoran in third.

Previous meetings:

This will be the third meeting between the two clubs this season and each side has registered a win for their efforts. In November, Larne secured all three points at The Showgrounds as a brace from David McDaid proved to be the catalyst for a deserved win for Tiernan Lynch’s troops. The Bannsiders would have a lot of the ball after the break but they failed to overly test Conor Devlin in the Larne goal.

In January, Coleraine made the trip to Inver Park and made a blistering start as a penalty from Stephen Lowry and James McLaughlin’s smart finish had the Stripes well in control after 11 minutes. The Inver Reds grew into the contest and pulled a goal back as Albert Watson headed home from a corner but the Bannsiders held out for a vital victory.

Manager’s Thoughts:

“To be fair to the players, it has been a great run but it has been talked about more outside of the changing room than in it,” Kearney said.

“They’ve gone on a real good blast since the start of December to put ourselves in the position we are in, and now we are in that position, I don’t want to let go off it.

“We want to grab what’s ahead of us and try and make it as hard as possible for the teams around us by winning games.

“We have 12 games left and we have Larne twice, Linfield twice and Glentoran three times, so there’s a big pile of football and big games still to be played.

“The great experiences for me in the last couple of years have been involved in runs like this, I want it again and we want more of it again.

“We’ve got to up it again, lick our wounds from the Cliftonville game and make sure we get right back at it.”

Admission:

Supporters are not permitted inside the stadium due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

However, the fixture will be shown live on the BBC Sport NI website and via the Red Button.

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