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Reigning Champions Linfield were beaten by league leaders Coleraine at the Showgrounds this afternoon.

Linfield were met with the physical challenge they anticipated at the Showgrounds in Coleraine as the game got off to a start of high tempo. Coleraine started in a positive and aggressive manner as they asked questions of Linfield early on. The first big chance fell for the hosts early on when Ben Doherty went through in the box but the excellent Rohan Ferguson got out to make a good save at close range.

Ferguson saved Linfield again when Coleraine target man Eoin Bradley raced beyond Callacher to latch on to Josh Carson’s long ball, he took the ball into the box but again Ferguson came out on top with a vital block.

Ben Doherty also went close for Coleraine as he fizzed a volley just wide of the far post but the closest of all was Bastien Hery who picked the ball up 25 yards from goal before taking on a volley which beat Johns but struck the post and bounced to Coleraine safety.

Half Time: Coleraine 0 – 0 Linfield

Linfield manager David Healy changed from a back three to a back four at the break with Quinn moving into right back and McGivern at left back.

The second half saw few chances. Rohan Ferguson made a rare mistake but he was let off the hook when he was too casual playing out from the back. Bradley nicked the ball off the ‘keeper but Ferguson was able to block the shot.

The decisive goal arrived eight minutes from time. Defender Aaron Canning was the unlikely hero for Coleraine as he fired Jamie Glackin’s corner into the net for what proved to be the winning goal.

Linfield looked to respond but lacked quality in possession and particularly in the final third. Substitute Matthew Shevlin hooked a shot wide late on, Jordan Stewart had a shot deflected wide and Jimmy Callacher headed just over from a corner but those were only half-chances as Chris Johns went untested. it was a poor day all round and Coleraine keep their long-standing unbeaten home run going.

Full Time: Coleraine 1 – 0 Linfield

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1. David Healy : I thought overall our performance was short of where we needed to be to get a result