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Coleraine v Crusaders

Sat 23rd Feb 2008 3pm

After a 7 goal thriller between these two teams at Seaview earlier in the season I suppose we should have expected a scoreless bore. Just shows you how wrong you can be. After a slow start the game sparked into life near the half hour mark and from then we were treated to a goal fest with both sides sharing six goals. Coleraine made the early running and made Aaron Kerr produce a great save which none of the officials noticed. Kerr made another fine save from long range a couple of minutes later. Crusaders went close when Stephen McBride hit the ball from out on the left and it sailed just past the post. Until the 28th minute most of the action took place in a crowded midfield and was uninspiring. Crusaders then took the lead when Coulter floated a high free kick into the Coleraine box. It was cleared but only to Stephen Hyndes who cracked it low into the bottom corner of the net. The lead only lasted 5 minutes when a Carson free kick was drilled high into the top corner of the Crues net. With 3 minutes remaining of the first half Crusaders regained the lead when Coulter met a cross at the back post and headed across the goal down past O'Hare in the Coleraine net. In injury time the Crues had Stephen McBride to thank for going into the break with their lead intact. He produced defensive heroics to block two goal bound efforts in quick succession.

Half time Coleraine 1 - 2 Crusaders

Crusaders made a good start to the second half when Jordan Owens held the ball up well and laid it on for Davy Rainey but he couldn't stop his shot going over the bar. Coleraine came close to an equalizer when a scramble in the Crues six yard area was eventually picked up by Kerr. Owens came close to opening his account for the first team when he rose well but his header drifted just past the post with O'Hare beaten. On the hour mark Coleraine levelled when a Carson header looped over the advancing Kerr. By now it was end to end stuff and Owens won a great header to put Rainey through on the Coleraine keeper but his first touch took the ball too close to O'Hare and he was able to smother it. Coleraine thought they had taken the lead when they got the ball over the line from a corner but it was ruled out for a foul on Kerr. In the 79th minute Crusaders took the lead for the third time when Rainey picked out Coulter with a cross across the Coleraine box and he beat his marker and knocked the box back into for Seamus Brown to side foot past O'Hare. This time the lead only lasted a minute when Carson completed his hat trick with a fine drive into the top corner. Coleraine had their keeper, ex hatchetman Davy O'Hare to thank for getting a point out of this encounter when he made two great saves to deny Rainey and Coates late on. The final whistle went and we could all breathe again.

Full time Coleraine 3 - 3 Crusaders

Team

1:Kerr; 2:Spence; 3:McBride; 4:Doherty; 5:Smyth; 6:Coates; 7:Coulter; 8:Morrow; 9:Owens (Brown 66); 10:Rainey; 11:Hyndes.

Other Reports

Lisburn Distillery v Crusaders 16th Feb 2008

Crusaders v Linfield CIS Final Sat 2nd Feb 2008

Crusaders v Dungannon Sat 26th Jan 2008

Armagh City v Crusaders Sat 12th Jan 2008

Portadown v Crusaders Sat 5th Jan 2008

Crusaders v Cliftonville 26th Dec 2007

Glentoran v Crusaders 15th December 2007

Crusaders v Glenavon 11th December 2007