Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
R A IN E S LE E T SNOW
Oran’s men defy the icy conditions to seal victory at Showgrounds
BY ANYONE seeking any sign of a sag in Coleraine’s title resolve won’t have found it at a wintry Showgrounds on Saturday.
This was a win dug out rather than crafted by weaving moves and beautiful football, but it showed another side to the league leaders.
Darren Mccauley’s rifled shot on 35 minutes proved decisive as the Bannmen sustained their six point lead at the top of the Premiership.
Midway through the season, Coleraine are still sitting pretty looking towards the second half of the campaign. Not that boss Oran Kearney (right) is allowing his mind to wander too far ahead with high profile games against Cliftonville and Linfield all incoming on December 30 and January 1.
He said: “Ballinamallard away on Saturday is our biggest game now. That’s all that we’re looking at. Our eye is always on the next game.
“Yes, at times I would look slightly ahead but from a changing room point of view, Ballinamallard is all we are thinking about.
“The other games will take care of themselves when they come around.
“We’re just trying to chalk off every game. Each game will bring their own challenges and problems and that’s what we’ll prepare for.” Former titlewinning Arsenal sides were famed for getting the job done by 1-0 scorelines and Kearney took pleasure from a narrow win on a sticky pitch.
“You don’t have to win every game 2-0 or 3-0,” he said.
“A 1-0 lead always has an edge to it, but a
1-0 win and a clean sheet is as good a victory as you’ll get.
“We were hard to beat all over the pitch and we showed that resilience you need. I also spoke to our lads before the game about being patient and we showed good discipline.”
On Mccauley’s 11th goal of the season, a left foot shot that arrowed past the diving Stuart Addis, Kearney added: “I was right behind it and he hit the sweet spot.
“First goals are really important and if we’re honest, there wasn’t a lot in the game at that time. It was in the melting pot.” Kearney also had a word of praise for keeper Chris Johns who produced smart saves to deny Grant Hutchinson and Ryan Mayse.
“He was the first player I mentioned in the changing room after the game,” he said. “It’s not easy for a goalkeeper to be a spectator at times and then produce top saves.”