Oran kearney happy to see Coleraine deliver the display he expects in win over Crusaders

Jamie McGonigle's quality brace earned Coleraine a 3-0 win over Crusaders at Seaview last night.
Coleraine's  Jamie McGonigle  celebrates with team mates after scoring one of his two goals in the 3-0 win over CrusadersColeraine's  Jamie McGonigle  celebrates with team mates after scoring one of his two goals in the 3-0 win over Crusaders
Coleraine's Jamie McGonigle celebrates with team mates after scoring one of his two goals in the 3-0 win over Crusaders

The victory moves the the Bannsiders to the top of the Dankse Bank Premiership table on goal difference from Linfield.

McGonigle’s goals came after Josh Carson had put the visitors ahead at half-time.

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Bannsiders manager, Oran Kearney admitted he had been frustrated with McGonigle recently but hailed the double scorer last night.

“Jamie is probably the best one touch finisher I have worked with,” he said.

“He still frustrates us, there’s a lot of work out on the pitch which could be better.

“At times I wonder if I’m too harsh on him, and then he goes and turns in a performance like that and it vindicates everything.

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“Those strikes tonight were typical Jamie strikes and it’s great to see them go in.”

Kearney admitted he had been waiting for the sort of display his side gave last night for a while.

“Yes we had eight points from four games but we hadn’t had a performance of note so far,” explained Kearney.

“Tonight was the first real performance that I would expect of Coleraine.

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“There’s more to come but the key thing at this stage is to get points on the board.”

“I hope that’s the switch hit and the start of more to come.

“For a lot of our guys that was the first trophy they had won back in May. It’s hard not to let the adulation and joy carry over.

“The last few games have been about getting the cobwebs dusted off. With every game we play we look a little bit more like it.

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“We’ve had a lot of ding dong battles down the years and tonight was no different.

“I thought we started the game well but Crusaders came into it in the last 20 minutes of the first half.

“They really knocked on the door at the start of the second half, but credit to our lads, they showed a lot of resilience and dug in when they needed to.

“We always felt if we could get through that initial 15 minutes the game would open up again and so it proved.

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“Its only three points. By our standards we have huffed and puffed a bit so far this season.

“The last few games have been about getting the cobwebs dusted off. With every game we play we look a little bit more like it.”