Irish Cup - Semi-Final | Ballymena V Coleraine

Words: Nigel Tilson

O R A N K E A R N E Y H E B O S S

Coleraine manager Oran Kearney would love a repeat of 2018 when he guided his team to Irish Cup glory.

“I think the general form of the players throughout the season has been superb and winning the League Cup against a very strong Crusaders team was testament to how well everyone was working.”

“It would be a massive achievement and brilliant for all our supporters to reach another Irish Cup final. We have good memories from the final in 2018. It’s a huge competition and it would be brilliant to get to another final,” he admitted. However, the pragmatic Bannsiders boss knows Ballymena United will be no pushovers in their last four clash. He pointed out: “Ballymena United are very strong opposition and have had an unfortunate season with injuries in particular. The majority of the players are still there from the squad that finished second in the league last season. That is the best indication of how tough a task it will be. They have plenty of star players who will need to be watched carefully. The Coleraine manager insists his squad are in fine fettle ahead of the cup clash. He revealed: “All our players have arrived back in good shape and are excited about the prospect of competitive football again. Lockdown has been necessary, but tough for everyone to go without training and matches. Everyone is looking forward to getting back out there again.” Before Covid-19 disrupted the football season – and life in general – the Bannsiders were in good form. The boss explained: “It was disappointing not to be able to complete the final league matches. We had put ourselves in a promising position and things were getting interesting for the final run-in. It will always be in the back of my mind what could have been.

FIFTH ROUND Saturday 4 January Glenavon

0 2

Coleraine

SIXTH ROUND Saturday 1 February Coleraine

3 0

Banbridge Town

QUARTER-FINALS Friday 28 February Larne

2 3

Coleraine

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