Larne's Gary Haveron picks out 'clever' moment behind win at 'really difficult place to come'
Gary Haveron highlighted ‘clever’ Andy Ryan after the Larne striker’s early finish set his side on the path to away-day delight in Coleraine.
Larne kicked off and closed the scoring at The Showgrounds – with Ryan on hand to break the deadlock after six minutes by poking the ball home despite the presence of both Max Little and Charles Dunne for the hosts.
"He got hurt in the goal and got a bit of a bump after colliding with Charles Dunne, who is a big lump of a lad,” said Larne head coach Gary Haveron. "It looks like a bit of a dead leg but he got his toe to a finish and it was very clever.
"That's the type of striker he is, he's an intelligent footballer and he got us off to a flyer."
Coleraine left it level before half-time thanks to Declan McManus’ goal.
"I'm disappointed with the goal that we conceded as it was so unlike us,” said Haveron. "There was a man in the middle of the box completely unmarked and it was a breakdown in communication between defence and midfield as to who was responsible.
"We came in at half-time, we regrouped and went again and I'm delighted with the three points.
"It's a really difficult place to come, especially for us over the last number of years.
"We've had that nip-and-tuck with Coleraine and it's always a different challenge, added to the fact that they have invested heavily.
"The squad they are assembling is quite impressive and they are riding the crest of a wave with their recent results.
"To come here and get three points I'm absolutely delighted with...the boys showed character here today, which you have to show at this stage of the season."
Haveron had praise for the tactical approach by his side, with Paul O’Neill’s penalty kick proving decisive for 2-1.
"We were always a threat on the counter-attack and Tiarnan (O'Connor) has done unbelievably well to win us the game (fouled for the penalty kick),” said Haveron. "We've had a really long season to this point and chasing after teams is probably not the right thing to do...so you have to be gritty, have the right shape about you, a structure.
"The structure is what we built from and when they put a lot of men forward, they left spaces at the back, which we exploited and we got our rewards today."