Stacked sports section this week

DESPITE some sports being called off due to pitch inspections across the Borough and further afield, the Chronicle always delivers.

As usual, starting from the back we cover Coleraine's Irish Cup success over Crusaders with a 4-0 finish at the Showgrounds. It was scoreless at the break, Mark Connolly broke the deadlock immediately after the restart before further goals from Will Patching, James Akintunde and Joel Cooper ensured a comfortable passage for Ruaidhri Higgins’ men. Coleraine have drew Carrick rangers at Taylor's Avenue in the sixth round of their Irish Cup campaign.

The return of the Dr McKenna Cup has been marred by bad weather, postponements and rule breaches but the semi finals have been set for Wednesday at 7-30 (weather permitting). The Donegal v Derry first round game fell foul of the weather resulting in the teams getting a point each. Then came the rule breaches by teams who used players who were in University Sigerson Cup squads.

Matty Boreland returns to boxing action next month in Belfast at the Waterfront Hall on the Quinn–Dodd card.
Boreland’s last outing came in September of last year and was successful, as he captured the Irish title with a sixth-round TKO victory over then-champion. A Commonwealth Silver fight had been touted but it has since fallen through, Matty eyes a summer fight after next months with the possibility of another title fight.

Football

Coleraine look towards their League match against Crusaders, and without a doubt look to replicate their result over the Crus from Friday evening. “Crusaders are in a really good run of form in the league so we have to be right at it, be ultra professional this week and get ready for them coming here Saturday,” said Ruaidhri Higgins.
“It's a completely different game but we're getting closer to what we want it to look like and what we think will help make this club successful. We just keep plugging away, we keep trying to win games of football. 

Coleraine are currently second in the league table, seven points behind leaders Larne having played two games more.
Glentoran sit in third, just two points behind the Showgrounds club, but, crucially, have three games in hand, with Linfield further back in fourth.

In other Showgrounds action, Limavady handily move into the sixth round of the Cup themselves after defeating Lisburn Rangers with a 4-1 finish. Paul Owens’ side were in control from the outset and produced a dominant first-half display to put the tie firmly in their grasp before the interval, adding further gloss after the restart. 

Limavady manager Paul Owens was pleased with the overall performance but admitted disappointment at conceding late on.
“I said at half-time that we wanted to try and keep a clean sheet,” Owens said. We conceded a poor enough goal, but they took it well on the counter attack. We were two-nil up at half-time and could probably have had one or two more, but we’ve been in these positions before and it hasn’t always been as pretty as we would have liked.

The transfer market has been active enough for Coleraine FC and for Portstewart FC. The Bannsiders have had the busiest of comings and goings so far. League of Ireland title-winner Mark Coyle, who has agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the Showgrounds following an undisclosed fee agreed with Shelbourne. 

In the shot-stopper department, Aidan Harris returned to St James Park after his loan expired with the Bannsiders.
During his time at the Showgrounds, the 19-year-old kept a total of eight clean sheets in 22 appearances across all competitions. Following Harris’s departure, Coleraine announced the 18 month deal of Lewis Webb, which keeps him at the Showgrounds until the end of the 2026/27 Season.

“The group that we have got is really high level,” said Webb.
“We push each other everyday, we ask big things of each other, the three months that I have been here I feel that I have come on a lot. Hopefully I can do more in the months to come.”

Striker Declan McManus has left the club by mutual consent, with the Bannsiders wishing him and his family the best for the future. Corey Smith has also departed, joining Dungannon Swifts on a permanent deal. Jack Scott has completed a permanent transfer to Portadown. Midfielder Stephen Fallon has joined Bangor on loan, seeking regular game time after a difficult period with injuries that limited him to just one appearance for the Bannsiders. 

Cead McGrath made the move to Marty Smith’s squad at Moyola Park on loan for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, striker Senan Devine has been recalled from H&W Welders following his loan spell, having impressed with 12 goals in 24 appearances for the Welders this season.

Portstewart announced on their social media that Dean Brown, Tiarnan McKinney and Orrin McLaughlin have committed their futures to the club by signing professional contracts. And Limavady United also welcomed back their former keeper Ricky Purcell, who left for Coagh in the summer.

GAA

Glenullin's All Ireland Club dreams were dashed in Croke Park by a strong An Ghaeltact team who were deservedly crowned Intermediate champions on disappointing afternoon. The game itself was also disappointing largely due to the dull short passing game by the winners. They kept possession for long periods moving at snail pace. They crowded the midfield area making it difficult for keeper Niall O’Kane to find a team mate with his kick outs. Glenullin did have some good spells in the second half but they were always chasing the game and had just one score in the first 47 minutes. (See pages 42-43 for Glenullin's full coverage.)

Derry kicked off 2026 in emphatic fashion as Ciaran Menagh's second stint as Oak Leaf manager began with an ultimately one sided 15 point victory over Antrim at Owenbeg on Wednesday evening.  This victory leaves Derry unbeaten in the competition since 2022. They won in 2023 and 2024, the competition was shelved last year so the win over Antrim was nine in a row without defeat. Derry senior hurlers got their season of to a winning start with a 5-25 to 0-8 victory over Queen’s University in the Conor McGurk Cup but given the number of key players who have yet to commit to the squad manager Johnny McGarvey will be heading into the new Division Two league with a very inexperienced team.

Motorsport

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council is delighted to announce that the ‘Joey 25’ celebration has been nominated for ‘Motorcycle Event of the Year’ at the prestigious Irish Motorbike Awards 2025. Billed as the biggest event of the biking year, the glittering awards ceremony will take place on Friday January 16 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Belfast, with many of the sport’s biggest names set to attend. The ‘Joey 25’ event, held in Ballymoney on Saturday May 24, marked 25 years since road racing legend Joey Dunlop had his accident in Estonia.

Congratulating the team on the nomination, Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens, Councillor Oliver McMullan said: “As a Council, we felt it was important to mark this poignant milestone anniversary. Joey was a local legend and a global ambassador – not just for Ballymoney, but for our entire region and beyond. It was only fitting that we held an event in his hometown to celebrate his life and achievements.

The Air Ambulance Northern Ireland will be the official designated charity of the 2026 Briggs Equipment North West 200 for a second year in succession during the May 4-9 race week, continuing a partnership that has already made a life-saving impact across Northern Ireland. Having raised over £36,000 at last year’s event, the charity is hoping to surpass that total in 2026 as it plans a new Party at the Paddock BBQ event for Saturday, May 2.

For full coverage of all sporting activity, see this weeks Coleraine Chronicle.