Stripes aiming for League Cup progress

COLERAINE travel to North Belfast as they face Crusaders in the third round of the BetMcLean.com League Cup at Seaview (KO 7:45pm)…

The Bannsiders continued their rich vein of form last weekend as Jamie McGonigle’s late finish sealed a 2-1 win over Linfield at The Showgrounds. As for Crusaders, they will be looking to bounce back from a 3-2 defeat against Glenavon.

The two sides have already met in the Danske Bank Premiership this season as Coleraine ran out 2-1 winners at Seaview. First-half headers from Eoin Bradley and Stephen O’Donnell sealed all three points for 10-man Coleraine, with Jordan Forsythe adding a late consolation for Stephen Baxter’s side.

Coleraine manager Oran Kearney will be without the services of Lyndon Kane, Brad Lyons, James McLaughlin and Eoin Bradley through injury. Meanwhile, Josh Carson must sit out the final match of his suspension. Despite a lengthy list of absentees, Kearney is remaining optimistic and has challenged his entire squad to continue their good run of form.

“The key thing we had Eoin out against Linfield, Brad will not make Tuesday night and Josh Carson is suspended,” Kearney said.

“We are without those three players and it’s not ideal.

“However, it presents the opportunity to players who are kicking their heels and it’s up to them to keep the shirt.

“We want to do well in every competition we are in.

“We had a two week break, but we are looking forward to getting back into a run of fixtures again.

“The boys have used a lot of energy against Linfield, but we’ll rest up and get ready for another big week.”

As ever, those unable to attend can follow the latest updates via the club’s official Twitter account (@ColeraineFC).