Danske Bank Premiership: Linfield 0 Coleraine 0
COLERAINE boss Oran Kearney saluted his team’s resilience after grinding out a crucial point against Linfield at Windsor Park.
Both teams approached the game in the best possible shape – Linfield unbeaten in their previous 12 outings and Coleraine not having conceded in their last six League games.
Linfield’s Daniel Finlayson had the best chance of the game in the first half, only to see Coleraine goalkeeper Marty Gallagher pull off a wonder save.
The point, however, keeps both teams in the mix as the Danske Bank Premiership title races goes into the new year.
What made the point that little bit sweeter for Kearney was the fact he was deprived of the services of goalkeeper Gareth Deane and Josh Carson – they were both ill – while defender Conor McDermott sustained an injury in training.
“Credit to boys they all put in a great shift,” said Kearney.
“We’ve been on a great journey over the six or eight weeks and how we’ve gone about our business.
“As much as it was only a point we won, it was the manner how we achieved it really delighted me. No one was sulking because we were missing a few players.
“The boys who stepped in, did the business. I thought Marty (Gallagher) was exceptional. He had a few saves to make, and that’s what I wanted to see.
“It was a performance I was proud of, but it’s one that I’ve grown to expect from this group. We brought quite a few fans up with us, so it was nice they went home reasonably happy – the boys left everything on the pitch.”
Following the early sparring, it was the Blues who had the first sniff at goal on 17 minutes. Jamie Mulgrew took off in a surging right win run and, when he drilled in a delicious cross Eetu Vertainen’s header flashed just wide.
The big Finn went close again in his team’s next attack when Matty Clarke’s corner kick found Joel Cooper on the edge of the box, the little magician flicked the ball to Vertainen, whose right-footed volley fizzed past the post.
Defender Clarke was next to try his luck. After picking up a pass from Chris Shields, he cleverly turned away from Jamie Glackin before screwing his shot from the edge of the box just wide of the target.
Coleraine had Gallagher to thank for keeping the scores level in 32 minutes when he somehow got a glove tol Finlayson’s thumping header to paw clear following another wonderful delivery from Clarke.
Cooper then burst into action five minutes before the break. He gobbled up a long pass from Finlayson and, after jinking past Aaron Jarvis, he cut in from the right, but his low drive was easily gathered by Gallagher.
Linfield kept their foot on the gas after the restart and, Vertainen should really have done better when Mulgrew clipped a great cross to the back post, but the big Finn could only direct his header wide.
Healy’s men were right out of luck again on 67 minutes. Cooper tricked and teased his way clear on the right and when his low cross found Robbie McDaid at the back post, he shamefully failed to hit the target.
And, as the clock ticked down, it was Cooper who almost broke the deadlock on 82 minutes with a blistering drive from the edge of the box that arrowed wide.
LINFIELD: Johns, Roscoe, Newberry, Shields, Cooper, McDaid (McKee 68), M Clarke, Finlayson, Mulgrew, Vertainen, Palmer (A Clarke 68).
Unused subs: Walsh, McClean, Devine, Pepper, Quinn.
COLERAINE: Gallagher, Kane, D Jarvis, A Jarvis, McKendry (Fyfe 74), Farren, O’Donnell, Lynch, Glackin (McCrudden 84), O’Mahoney (Lowry 61), Shevlin.
Unused subs: McDowell, Mullan, Brown, McLaughlin.
REFEREE: Ian McNabb.
