Bannsiders lift League Cup on this day four years ago

ON THIS DAY...

Four years ago today (February 15 2019), Coleraine defeated Crusaders 2-1 to lift the Bet McLean Cup final.

Here we reproduce the report and pics from that day.

IN THE end, the winning of this match - and the destination of the Bet McLean League Cup - came down, not to what happened on the pitch, but, rather, what was said in the sanctity of the changing rooms at half-time.

Crusaders players, who had been in almost complete control for much of the opening 45 minutes, spent much of the interval raging against the decision of match referee Ian McNabb to award Coleraine a penalty, from which Stephen Lowry scored to level the game.

In contrast, and just a slight distance further down the corridor, Coleraine’s XI listened intently as manager Oran Kearney forensically laid out for them the way in which they would wrestle back that control and win the match.

Which is what exactly happened.

The Bannsiders took a firm grip on proceedings on the restart and never relaxed. So much so, that by the time the final whistle sounded, Crusaders were a well beaten team, Jamie McGonigle’s late, late chance notwithstanding.

It’s a miss which will haunt the former Coleraine striker for some time to come.

Unmarked, eight yards out, he volleyed high over the crossbar when all he had to do was hit the target. A goal at that stage and the Crues were right back in it with extra-time to come.

It was an unhappy ending for the Dungiven man who had earlier fired his team ahead, in front of a large and vociferous Coleraine support.

A poor clearance from Chris Johns exposed his defenders and McGonigle took full advantage, racing through a yawning gap to fire low past the keeper for the game’s opening goal.

Johns looked unusually shaky in the opening quarter as Crusaders continued to dominate. However, they failed to add to their advantage whilst on top, something they would come to regret later in the game.

Coleraine struggled to gain a foothold but were thrown a lifeline when referee McNabb awarded them a penalty shortly before half-time as Jamie Glackin was pushed in the back by Billy Joe Burns.

COMPOSURE

Stephen Lowry kept his composure to send Crusaders goalkeeper Sean O’Neill the wrong way from the spot to level and, suddenly, from out of nowhere, Oran Kearney’s men were back in the game.

They took full advantage, edging in front for the first time early in the second half when James McLaughlin, without a goal in months, reacted quickest to nod home from virtually on the goal line after O’Neill had flapped at a Josh Carson corner.

The goal, which sparked scenes of wild celebrations in the East and South Stands, had the opposite effect on the Crusaders players. Suddenly, they appeared directionless, a team low on confidence and lacking ideas.

They reverted to type, launching long diagonal balls in the direction of Jordan Owens’ head, but the Coleraine defence, superbly marshalled by captain Stephen O’Donnell, was well prepared for what was coming.

On the sideline, too, there was frustration. Stephen Baxter rang the changes. The ineffectual Paul Heatley was the first to be hooked after failing to impose himself on Lyndon Kane. Midfield enforcers Declan Caddell and Jordan Forsythe didn’t last much longer.

Reece McGinley, David Cushley and Rory Hale were the men who replaced them but their arrivals had minimal impact; the pattern of the game was now set. Coleraine were firmly in charge, bossing their opponents and dictating the pace of play.

It was a masterful, confident and composed display from a mature Bannsiders outfit.

WINNING UGLY

“We’re delighted to win ugly,” admitted goalscorer Stephen Lowry.

“That's the kind of performance that Crusaders would probably have done to us five years ago.

“But we showed real character there.

“You look at their team on paper before the game, it’s really strong.

“They’ve three good players up front and an experienced midfield and we were a bit makeshift to be honest.

“We had players playing out of position and nursing a few injuries so to go 1-0 down and come back shows massive character from us.

“Oran gave us that bit of belief to be honest.

“We never get too flustered under him. You just know it's gonna work out and that's just what happened,” he added.

A member of the Coleraine side which lost in the final of this competition eight years ago to the same opponents, Lowry admitted he was delighted to finally complete the collection of Irish League winners’ medals.

“I lost this final in 2012 when Chris Morrow scored the winner,” he continued.

“I was a young player then. I lost my man and I’ve thought about it over the years. A good Irish League player should be tracking his man and scoring a few at the other end.

“Now, I’m a wee bit older and streetwise and we did to them what they did to us in 2012.

“It’s just lovely to win that medal as it was the only one I hadn’t won.”

Lowry isn’t the only one to have changed since that meeting at Ballymena Showgrounds.

Oran Kearney, too, is clearly a different manager.

TEAMS

Coleraine: Johns, Kane, Mullan (Allen ’55 mins), Canning, Lowry, McLaughlin (Fitzpatrick ’83 mins), Carson, O’Donnell, Parkhill, Glackin, Traynor (Jarvis ’24 mins). Substitues not used: Gallagher (GK), Douglas, Bradley, McConaghie.

Crusaders: O’Neill, Burns, Lowry, McGonigle, Caddell (Hale ’76 mins), Forsythe (Cushley ’71 mins), O’Rourke, Owens, Brown, Heatley (McGinley ’63 mins), Dummigan. Substitutes not used: Doherty (GK), Beverland, Thompson, McElroy.

Referee: Ian McNabb.