Banishing the Blues...
Thursday, 2 February 2012
The pain is all too evident as Coleraine manager Oran Kearney watches his side lose Saturday’s IRN-BRU League Cup final to Crusaders. They have an immediate chance to get the defeat out of their system with the visit of Linfield on Tuesday evening.
FORMER Linfield striker Aaron Boyd is likely to feature against his former club in this evening's Carling Premiership clash as Coleraine seek to put behind them the disappointment of Saturday's IRN-BRU League Cup final defeat to Crusaders. Boyd, signed from Ballymena Utd in the transfer window, has yet to kick a ball for his new club but is likely to replace another former Blues' old boy, Curtis Allen, who sits the game out through a one-match suspension.
The match comes just three days after the Bannsiders went down tamely 1-0 to Crusaders but boss Oran Kearney believes it is the perfect game for his players.
“We've got to move on and there's no better game to do that than Linfield at home," said the former Linfield midfielder.
“Everybody is disappointed at what happened on Saturday but it's gone now and we've still got a lot to play for this season.
“We want to finish as high as we can in the league while we have an important Irish Cup game coming up in a couple of weeks so we've got to keep going," he added.
A single goal from Chris Morrow was enough to seal the win for Crusaders on a day when the Belfast team's greater experience proved decisive.
Meanwhile, Coleraine have confirmed the transfer of striker Leon Knight to Glentoran for a fee believed to be £7,500.
The move went through on Monday and brings to FOUR the number of ex-Coleraine frontmen currently at the Oval.
“I'm delighted that it's all sorted," admitted Oran.
“Negotiations have been going on for weeks but we weren't going to lie down. We had a fee in mind and I'm delighted with the way things have turned out.
“It's unlikely that anyone else will be coming in at this stage but with Aaron returning to fitness and Kyle and Michael Hegarty nearly there we already have a much stronger looking squad."
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