I knew we’d get a spot kick after pre-match chat with boss: Lowry
COLERAINE: Johns, Kane, Mullan (Allen, 55 mins), Canning, Lowry, McLaughlin (Fitzpatrick, 82 mins), Carson, O’Donnell, Parkhill, Glackin, Traynor (Jarvis, 24 mins). Unused subs: Gallagher, Douglas, Bradley, McGonaghie.
CRUSADERS: O’Neill , Burns, Lowry, McGonigle, Caddell (Hale, 76 mins), Forsythe
but not with a huge amount of force and most observers felt the penalty award was harsh.
Was it a clumsy challenge? Yes — but a penalty? Any manager on the receiving end of that decision would say it’s a soft one.
A minute later, when the protests were silenced, the composed Lowry found the corner of the net as keeper Sean O’Neill went the opposite way.
And when Crusaders were still bemused by that decision, Coleraine edged in front in the 52nd minute when O’Neill was unable to punch clear from Josh Carson’s corner and McLaughlin nodded the ball across the line.
O’Neill complained that McLaughlin had tripped him and there did appear to be contact with the striker but referee Ian McNabb saw nothing wrong with it.
For McLaughlin, who missed the 2018 Irish Cup fairytale victory through injury, it was a sweet moment he had been waiting for.
There was time for late drama and more Crusaders agony deep in stoppage time when (Cushley, 71 mins), O’Rourke, Owens, Brown, Heatley (McGinley, 63 mins), Dummigan. Unused subs: Doherty, Beverland, Thompson, McElroy.
Referee: Ian McNabb (Newtownabbey)
Man of the match: Stephen Lowry
Match rating: 7/10
Rory Hale’s deep free-kick was headed back across goal by Jordan Owens and McGonigle blasted his volley over the bar.
It was an horrific miss and final confirmation it wasn’t going to be Crusaders’ night.
But the Crues’ second-half performance wasn’t good enough. The penalty decision knocked the stuffing out of them and some of their belief was left behind in the dressing room.
Coleraine managed the game better and, just as Storm Dennis wasn’t at its most menacing, Crusaders were unable to generate enough power.
With both teams evenly matched and in dangerous form, it was a final that caught the imagination and Coleraine won’t care about Crusaders’ anger with the officials.
The celebrations at the finish showed what it meant to Kearney and his staff. Clearly that hunger and desire was shared by the players who were given extra energy by their phenomenal supporters.
Man of the match Stephen Lowry, on his 243rd appearance, deservedly savoured his first trophy with Coleraine but the class act, on and off the pitch, still had words of comfort for McGonigle.
“Jamie is destined for great things, he will find that miss hard tonight but that can happen,” he said.
“We dug in and did what Crusaders have often done to us. It did seem a soft penalty and it got us back into it. That gave us a lifeline and confidence. It was an ugly win but we will take it and I knew it would be a game like that.” Crusaders will swallow this pain but they have the comfort of knowing there are two big prizes still to grasp.
Coleraine, however, are still eyeing a treble with the Gibson Cup and Irish Cup also in their sights. Kearney (left) wants his players to be greedy and surely this glory night will whet their appetite for more.
Treble success would be a phenomenal achievement, particularly in this era of heavy investment, big squads and improved training regimes, but, as Kearney might say, these things can sometimes be written in the stars.
STEPHEN Lowry hailed Coleraine’s character after their BetMcLean League Cup final victory over Crusaders at Windsor Park.
Lowry showed plenty himself, stepping up to net the game changing penalty in Saturday’s decider.
The Crues were leading 1-0 thanks to a fine early strike from former Coleraine favourite Jamie McGonigle and were in control of the contest until referee Ian McNabb awarded a contentious 37th minute penalty to the Bannsiders when Jamie Glackin went down after tangling with Billy Joe Burns and Rodney Brown in the box.
Crusaders players were furious. Lowry kept his cool to draw the sides level. Stephen Baxter’s side never recovered.
James McLaughlin headed home from close range in the 53rd minute — a goal disputed by Crues goalkeeper Sean O’Neill, who felt he was pushed in a crowded area — and within an hour Oran Kearney’s side were lifting the trophy.
Lowry had not taken a penalty for two years. He was a Linfield player then and missed it in an Irish Cup semi-final victory over Dungannon Swifts.
With regular penalty takers Ben Doherty and Eoin Bradley injured, Kearney turned to his experienced midfielder.
“I am not our designated penalty taker. Oran said to me when I was getting a bite to eat before the final that he was going to put me on them,” he explained.
“I told him I hadn’t hit one in a while but, at the same time, I wasn’t going to shy away from it. He tested me out on the pitch before the match and said ‘where are you putting it?’ and I said bottom left and he said ‘that’s good enough for me’. I wasn’t changing my mind.
“I think Oran thought my experience might help. When he put me on them, I knew we were going to get a penalty. It was a soft one though. Had that been given against me, I’d be angry about it.
“I actually hit one in training on Thursday night and missed it but thankfully when it counted it went in.”
Winning the League Cup means Lowry has now claimed every domestic medal available to him.
For team-mate Lyndon Kane, it was his first.
Having skippered the side earlier in the season in the absence of club captain Stephen O’Donnell, the towering defender asked Kane (above) to collect the silverware with him.
It was a touching moment appreciated by Kane, who has fought back from three leg breaks and celebrated his 23rd birthday in style on Saturday night.
“It wasn’t planned that I would go up and lift the Cup with Stephen. He just asked me which was a fantastic gesture,” said Kane.
“It was a wonderful feeling. I have supported Coleraine all my life and missed our Irish Cup final win in 2018 through injury so to win this one and be able to lift it with Stephen was very special.”