Shevlin loving life at Coleraine

JUST nine weeks into the season and before the first whiff of fireworks, Matthew Shevlin is reflecting on his highest ever goals tally in a campaign.

The Coleraine striker, who took his total in all competitions to 10 with a double in last week’s 2-0 win over Warrenpoint Town, is currently joint top scorer with Linfield’s Christy Manzinga.

Even better, he has eclipsed his previous best tally of nine with former club Ballymena United in 2018.

“It has been my best season in terms of goals but more importantly it has also been my most consistent run of starts,” said Shevlin.

“I’ve started every single game and that’s relatively new to me in my career so far, so I’m just as happy with that as I am with the goals. I feel as fit as I’ve ever been.”

Shevlin scored 14 goals in 79 appearances for hometown club Ballymena, making his debut as a 15-year-old in 2014, before moving to Linfield in 2019.

He struggled to nail down regular game time at the Blues, scoring twice in 21 games before swapping Windsor Park for Coleraine in January.

“I’ll always be grateful to Ballymena, and Linfield was a really good experience in terms of mentality and standards, I learned a lot there,” he said.

“I do feel as if I’ve found a natural football home at Coleraine and it suits me perfectly in terms of my game, running in behind.”

Shevlin, still only 22 despite being around the league for the past seven years, has learned a lot from experienced Coleraine strikers Eoin Bradley and Curtis Allen.

“Curtis has been out injured, but he is always offering me advice,” he said. “When he sees little things I can improve on, he’ll give me a few tips. He’s always in my ear, telling me what to do and where to be.

“Skinner (Bradley, inset) has also been great to play with because he attracts a lot of attention and leaves me space to run into.”

After losing their opening two league games, Coleraine have gone on a 10game unbeaten streak in all competitions and climbed to third in the table.

Ahead of today’s clash with Portadown, Shevlin said: “We have shown character to get back up there in a really competitive league.

“Portadown beat us in pre-season and with Matthew Tipton as manager, they’ll be up for it.”