Punters checking out the best betting offers for new customers, and considering where to place their cash on this year’s Danske Bank Premiership, may be struggling to zero in on a team. At this stage of the season, the 2022/23 campaign looks to boast the potential to turn into a thrilling race for the line.
Leaders Cliftonville hit the sports news headlines when beating defending champions Larne at Solitude to confirm themselves as genuine title contenders, but are but one of five sides involved in the race.
Linfield themselves can never be ruled out, whilst Larne will grab top spot on goal difference should they win their game in hand. Also still in the mix are Crusaders and a Coleraine outfit who are one of the form sides in the division as we head into the second half of the season.
Unbeaten Run Extends to 10
Back in early November, Coleraine were going through something of a sticky patch, with a home defeat to top-half rivals Crusaders representing a third defeat in just six games. The season looked to have the potential to go either way at that stage, but The Showgrounds club have since rebounded in some style.
Heading into their latest league outing, which took them to the other Showgrounds ground to take on Newry City, Oran Kierney’s men were unbeaten in nine outings. That run saw the side progress in both cup competitions, and pick up 15 valuable league points.
Struggling towards the foot of the table, Newry City weren’t expected to bring that unbeaten run to an end, even playing in front of their own fans – and so it turned out.
A Comfortable Win, Despite Late Scare
On a pitch which is already showing clear signs of the rigours of the season, the visitors were the quickest out of the blocks and looked to have taken an early lead. Matthew Shevlin and home keeper Steven Maguire coming together in the area and Shevlin finishing from a tight angle, only for play to be brought back for a foul on the keeper.
With the tide of play continuing to flow towards the Newry goal, that respite seemed likely to prove only brief, and Coleraine deservedly took the lead in the 34th minute. Josh Carson taking charge of a free kick around 25 yards out and central, and curling a lovely effort up and over the wall and into the right-hand side.
The score remained the same until the break, and the interval did little to improve Newry City. 19 minutes into the second half Coleraine grabbed their second, and decisive, goal. Not a classic this one, but they all count – Newry captain Darren King making a complete hash of attempting to clear an innocuous throw-in from the left-hand side, the ball falling to a grateful Michael McCrudden who smashed home low into the left-hand side.
The visitors should have been out of sight headed into the closing stage, with only a goal-line clearance and a couple of smart stops from Maguire keeping Newry in it. Then despite never really being in the game, the hosts were handed a lifeline in the 75th minute, with a large dose of help from the referee, who awarded the hosts a penalty for a Josh Carson foul on James Teehan, which at first glance looked to be both a clean tackle, and outside the box.
No VAR in the Danske Bank Premiership though and the decision stood – Daniel Hughes stepping up to coolly despatch into the bottom right. That decision almost proved costly too. Slipped clean through in the left of the area, Teehan looked set to level matters, only to be denied by an outrushing Gareth Deane. The hosts wouldn’t get a better opportunity, as Coleraine held on for a thoroughly deserved three points.
Next up, a home clash with rock-bottom Portadown.
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