Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ANOTHER THREE POINTS FOR AIR JORDAN
Owens rises to the occasion once again for Baxter’s men
TOTEMIC Crusaders striker Jordan Owens was the toast of Seaview again last night after bagging a crucial winner against Coleraine.
Just when it looked as though what was a feisty game at times would fizzle out and finish scoreless, Owens struck the killer blow.
The result helped maintain Crusaders impressive start to the Dansk Bank Premiership campaign – they ’ve lost only once to champions Linfield.
But Oran Kearney’s Coleraine now find themselves playing catch-up, having tasted defeat twice in their opening five games.
It was the bustling Eoin Bradley who gave the home team the first fright of the night.
His penetrating run on the right carved open the Crues backline but when he cut the ball back to Ben Doherty, the winger’s first-time shot was blocked by a posse of legs.
The action quickly switched to the other end.
Ross Clarke whipped in a corner from the left ft which was met by Philip hi li p
Lowry, whose thunndering header was s magnificently pawed clear by the alert Gareth
Deane.
It was end to end stuff.
The Crues created ated another chance on 16 mini utes. Jordan Owens managed to out-muscle Steven Douglas and Stephen O’donnell but when he got a glimpse of goal, he could only flick the ball into the arms of Deane.
Jamie Mcgonigle, operating wide on the left, was the source of another chance for Owens. The former Coleraine man’s miscued shot fell invitingly for the big striker, but he totally miskicked in front of goal.
The Bannsiders almost broke the dead deadlock 10 minutes befor before the interval. C Chris Hegarty h hauled down Jamie G Glackin 25 yards o out and when D Doherty fizzed in t the free-kick, it w was nodded down by Curtis Allen for O’ D o n n e l l , w h o s e effort was somehow scrambled off the line by Adam Lecky.
Kearney decided to reshape his side in a bid to boost his attacking options. He withdrew the ineffective Curtis Allen and sent on Ronan Wilson, which meant Glackin moved forward
to partner Bradley (inset).
The change almost paid an immediate dividend when that man Bradley tried his luck with a 25-yard free kick that he expertly curled around the Crusaders wall, but Sean O’neill got down smartly to beat away at the base of the post.
Crusaders then broke the deadlock with another trad emark O wens go al 19 minutes from time.
Forsythe, a master of the deadball situation, floated in another peach of a free-kick and this time Owens lost his marker and his header arrowed into the bottom corner, giving Deane no chance.
The Crues, now playing with a swagger, almost doubled their lead when substitute David Cushley fired in a corner from the left, which Dean did well to claw out from under the crossbar.