COLERAINE reached the last four of the Irish Cup as they were pushed all the way by north-west neighbours Limavady United…
Date:
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Result:
Limavady United 0-2 Coleraine
Goals – Cooper (’62 mins) & Shevlin (’78 mins)
Report:
COLERAINE sealed an Irish Cup semi-final spot after a 2-0 victory against north-west neighbours Limavady United.
Ruaidhri Higgins made five changes from last weekend’s loss at Dungannon Swifts as Rowan McDonald, Dean Jarvis, Will Patching, Senan Devine and James Akintunde were all restored to the starting line-up.
Coleraine made a fast start and went close to opening the scoring with just two minutes on the clock when Zane Okoro’s cross found Dean Jarvis at the back post but the full-back was unable to steer his shot on target.
In front of a bumper crowd on the Ballycastle Road, former Coleraine stopper Marty Gallagher was proving his worth between the sticks for the Roesiders as he denied Senan Devine three times in quick succession.
The best opportunities for Limavady in the first half arrived from the boot of John Butcher but his shots were both off target, whilst at the other end, Ryan McNickle made a superb interception as Rowan McDonald’s looping header looked certain to find the back of the net.
Limavady, who had beaten Lisburn Rangers and Linfield en-route to the last eight, tried their luck yet again just two minutes after the restart but Butcher’s curling attempt from 25 yards went straight into the gloves of Ryan Schofield.
Higgins turned to his bench by bringing on Jamie McGonigle and Matthew Shevlin around the hour mark as Coleraine took the lead on 62 minutes. A crisp passage of play resulted in Ben Wylie picking out Joel Cooper and he hit an unstoppable effort from 25 yards beyond the reach of Gallagher.
After Rodney Brown headed over for Paul Owens’ men, the Bannsiders somehow failed to make it 2-0 when Shevlin had an effort cleared off the line, before Mark Coyle’s follow-up was blocked amid a sea of bodies.
However, the two-goal cushion did land on 78 minutes as Cooper unselfishly did all the hard yards. The attacker chased down Tiarnan Boorman’s back pass, rounded Gallagher and laid the ball on a plate for Shevlin to convert from close range.
As the game entered its latter stage, both teams had chances to add to the scoreboard as Gallagher expertly dived to his left to thwart Shevlin, whilst Leon Boyd’s low effort was swatted away by Schofield.
The result now means the Stripes will face Larne in the semi-final early next month.
Line-ups:
LIMAVADY UNITED: Gallagher, Farren (Walker ‘87 mins), T. Boorman, P. Lowry, S. Lowry, R. Boorman, Butcher (Kennedy ‘87 mins), Brown, Mullan, Boyd (Parkhill ‘90 mins), McNickle (Tosh ‘72 mins).
Subs Not Used: Doherty (GK), McClintock, Martin.
COLERAINE: Schofield, Jarvis (Wylie ‘46 mins), Patching (Stewart ‘79 mins), Cooper, Ives, McDonald, Okoro (Shevlin ‘60 mins), Coyle, Akintunde (McGonigle ‘60 mins), Connolly (Dunne ‘66 mins), Devine.
Subs Not Used: Webb (GK), Boyle.