Gareth McConaghie ready for another tough battle with Crusaders

McGonigle has been in impressive form of late as the Crues got back to winning ways in style.

Defender McConaghie is all to aware of the front man’s qualities, but he feels the Bannsiders have enough about them to shut out McGonigle and Crusaders other hit men.

“I’m looking forward to playing against Jamie,” said the Dervock man.

“I played against him earlier in the season but I wasn’t 100%, so I’m looking forward to playing against him again and it should be interesting.

“I think he’s beginning to fire on all cylinders, he’s scoring a few goals, but our defence is more than capable of keeping Crusaders quiet.”

The Bannsiders currently lie one point ahead of Stephen Baxter’s men in the league table.

There have been some great encounters between the sides in recent seasons and McConaghie is expecting another one tonight.

“They are all big games but especially top-of-the-table clashes are a bit more interesting,” he said. “We will be ready for Crusaders and the crowds at The Showgrounds for the past couple of games have been fantastic.

“It’s just a matter of us ticking over and making sure the fans come in.”

Coleraine boss Oran Kearney is also expecting a thrilling clash at The Showgrounds.

It was a tough schedule for the Bannsiders over the Christmas period, but Kearney was delighted with the response of his players, and getting nearly a week’s recovery following their Irish Cup win over Glenavon last Saturday.

“It’s a huge game and our matches with Crusaders are always ding dong battles,” he said.

“I’d expect Friday night to be no different.

“We’re through the rut of games that we wanted to get through and we’re happy with our output and what we’ve achieved.

“The key thing is to get those batteries charged again so we can kick on for the next part of the season.

“Josh Carson has played five full 90 minutes and so has Lyndon Kane.

“Josh’s stats are through the roof and Jamie Glackin is not far behind him.

“It has been an unbelievable effort from our boys to be fair, but it was brilliant to know that we didn’t have a game now for another five or six days.”

The Crues come into the game in great form having won their last three games with a 12-0 scoreline.

Boss Stephen Baxter admits his side will have to be at their best to get something at a ground which hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for them of late.

“Maybe our players need to bring their A+ game to The Showgrounds, because we haven’t won up there for a day or two,” he said.

“It’s a tough place to go, they are flying high, have done exceptionally well and are a great side, we’re going to have to be at our best to get something out of that game, no doubt.

“But we are playing pretty well, very confident in what we are doing ourselves. It’s a big game at the top of the table, so we are looking forward to it.

“You need to be trying to win some of these games ahead of the run-in, Linfield are playing Cliftonville so there are big games all around and it’s going to be that way, the league is, it’s so tight.

“It’s brilliant. They are all very important games, we look forward to them. We will prepare well, as will Coleraine.

“It’s a long time since we saw a title race like this, normally it’s two teams going for it at this stage.

“Maybe in four weeks time we’ll know more but I think it’s brilliant. You’ve got to be on the money every week no matter who you are playing.

“I hope there are three or four involved at the end of the season and I hope we are in the mix! It’s good for our league, the supporters, the excitement around the league,” added Baxter