Coleraine endured a disappointing evening at the Coleraine Showgrounds as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Larne, a result that sees them relinquish their position at the summit of the Irish Premiership.

Larne struck twice in quick succession towards the end of the first half, with Leroy Millar turning in a Tomas Cosgrove cross on 43 minutes before Sean Graham doubled the visitors’ lead just three minutes later. Coleraine were fortunate not to fall further behind before the break, as Conor McKendry nearly added a third for Larne.

Despite a spirited push in the closing stages, Coleraine could only find the net once, with Matthew Shevlin’s goal deep into stoppage time providing scant consolation.

The hosts were unable to conjure up a dramatic equaliser, leaving manager Ruaidhri Higgins to lament an “unacceptable” performance from his side.

placeholder image — Larne's Sean Graham shields the ball from Coleraine's Zane Okoro in Tuesday's clash at the Showgrounds. (Photo by Desmond Loughery/Pacemaker Press)

The defeat marks Coleraine’s first back-to-back losses of the season, following Saturday’s setback against Cliftonville.

Having started the campaign brightly under Higgins, who took charge late last season, Coleraine had entered the fixture at Ballycastle Road top of the table.

However, Gary Haveron’s Larne have now leapfrogged the title hopefuls, moving two points clear with a game in hand.

Speaking after the match, Higgins acknowledged the end of his side’s “honeymoon period” and called for a strong response as the Bannsiders look to get their campaign back on track.

“That is what I said in there, the honeymoon period is over,” Higgins told BBC Sport NI.

“We have to step up, all of us, and we will see in the coming days what we are made of really and it is important that we respond in the right manner to a bad four days.

“I demand that we respond in the right manner, get back on the horse and start winning football matches.”

Higgins was more disappointed by the manner of the defeat rather than the overall result and said his players must assume “collective responsibility” for the performance.

“You can take getting beaten, but the manner of the defeat was unacceptable really,” Higgins added.

"There is collective responsibility there. We are all responsible, I think.

“I think they did a number on us. They came, sat in and countered on us.

“We were weak in certain parts of the game which is extremely disappointing, and it is an unacceptable performance really.”

On Saturday, Coleraine will look to return to winning ways when they travel to face Crusaders at Seaview, who were beaten 1-0 by Linfield on Tuesday night.