Aaron Canning reaches special milestone but is hungry for more

The game at Warden Street marked Aaron Canning’s 300th appearance for the Bannsiders.

The Limavady man is currently in his second spell at The Showgrounds and joins the likes of Fay Coyle, Davy Jackson, Ronnie McDowell and Bertie Peacock in the 300 Club.

Canning is proud to be in such illustrious company but he is eyeing a few more appearances to his total.

“I suppose as a footballer it is nice to reach that amount of games for one club,” he told the club website.

“It probably doesn’t feel like I’ve played that many games but it is nice to get there.

“I know the 300 club has some famous names from years gone by so I’m proud to be on that list.

“I’m grateful to Davy Platt who took a chance on me at Coleraine when I was 16-years-old as he was key in my development as a young player.

“Obviously in the last few years, I have been thankful to Oran for bringing me back and he certainly brings the best out of me.

“I’ll keep playing for Coleraine for as long as I can and I’ll see how far the body lets me go.”

Canning has played his part in Coleraine’s nine-game unbeaten run, which has seen them haul in the top three in the Danske Bank Premiership.

At one stage Linfield, Larne and Crusaders looked out of reach for the Bannsiders, but a win for Oran Kearney’s men at Windsor Park this evening would leave them just five points behind the Blues.

“We knew we had to go on some sort of run to get where we want to be,” Canning continued.

“It’s been a good run against some top teams along the way, and whilst people were saying we dropped points against Cliftonville and Portadown, I have no doubts that they will also take points off the other teams.

“I thought we deserved the win on Tuesday night as we were solid at the back and Lyndon’s goal was a wonder strike and worthy of winning any game.

“The schedule is hectic but we can’t complain about it as it’s the same for all teams,” he added.

“We have a good strength in depth and Gareth (McConaghie) has been unbelievable, Stephen O’Donnell will be a great player to have back when fit, and we also have the likes of Howard Beverland and Steven Douglas who are both vastly experienced.

“It is a shame we don’t have Adam Mullan available as I think he is one of the best defenders in the league.”

The Bannsiders are sweating on the fitness of striker James McLaughlin, who was forced off with a knock in the derby win over Ballymena United.

With Eoin Bradley and Matthew Shevlin still recovering from injuries of their own Oran Kearney could be forced to shuffle his attacking options.

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