Jordan Owens seals another win for Crusaders

Just when it looked as though what was a feisty games at times would fizzle out and finish scoreless, Owens at other ideas.

The result helped maintain Crusaders impressive start to the Dansk Bank Premiership campaign – they’ve lost only once to champions Linfield – while Oran Kearney’s Coleraine find themselves playing catch-up, having tasted defeat twice in their opening five games.

It was the bustling Eoin Bradley who gave the home team their first fright of the night.

His penetrating run on the right, carved open the Crues back line and, when he cut the ball back to Ben Doherty, his first-time show was somehow blocked by a posse of legs.

But the action quickly switched to the other end. Ross Clarke whipped in a corner kick from the left which was met by Philip Lowry, whose thundering header was magnificently pawed clear by the alert Gareth Deane.

It was end to end stuff. The Crues created another chance on 16 minutes. Jordan Owens managed to out-muscle Steven Douglas and Stephen O’Donnell and when he got a glimpse of goal, he could only flick the ball into the arms of a relieved Deane.

Jamie McGonigle, operation wide on the left then created another chance for Owens. The former Coleraine man’s miscued shot fell invitingly for the big striker, but he totally miskicked in front of goal.

But it was the Bannsiders who almost broke the deadlock 10 minutes before the interval. Chris Hegarty hauled down Jamie Glackin 25 yards out and when Doherty fizzed in the free kick, it was nodded down by Curtis Allen for O’Donnell, whose effort was somehow scrambled off the line by Adam Lecky.

Kearney decided to reshape his side in a bid to boost his attacking options. He withdrew the ineffective Curtis Allen and sending on Ronan Wilson, which meant Glackin moved forward to partner Bradley.

And, it almost paid an immediate dividend when that man Bradley tried his luck with a 25-yard free kick that he expertly curled around the Crusaders wall, but O’Neill got down smartly to beat away at the base of the post.

But Crusaders broke the deadlock with another trademark Owens goals 19 minutes from time.

Forsythe, the master of the dead boll situation, floated in another peach of a free kick and this time big Owens lost his marker and his header arrowed into the bottom corner, giving Deane no chance.

The Crues, now playing with a swagger, almost did it again when substitute David Cushley fired in a corner from the left, which Dean did well to claw out from under the crossbar.

CRUSADERS: O’Neill, Burns, Hegarty, Lowry, McGonigle (Caddell 82), Forsythe, Lecky (Cushley 71), Ruddy, Owens, Thompson, Clarke.

Unused subs: Shields, Wilson, Kennedy, Hale, O’Rourke.

COLERAINE: Deane, Kane, Douglas, Doherty, Lowry, Bradley (Parkhill 80), Carson, O’Donnell, Glackin, Allen (Wilson 53), Nixon.

Unused subs: Gallagher, Jarvis, Tweed, Traynor.

REFEREE: Steven Gregg.