Linfield’s Chris Johns ready for title race that will go down to the wire

The Blues hardened their challenge on Saturday night by moving three points clear following a tough, tedious shootout with Oran Kearney’s Coleraine at Windsor Park.

David Healy’s side created the two big opportunities in a tension-filled 90 minutes.

Niall Quinn’s first-half drive crashed back off a post before Shayne Lavery headed wide of an open goal near the finish.

But the Bannsiders could have nicked it right at the end when substitute Eoin Bradley bore down on goal...only to see his effort pawed to safety by the alert Johns.

With second-placed Larne beaten across town at Cliftonville earlier in the day, ex-Coleraine man Johns believes it was a big chance missed.

“I don’t know whether it’s points dropped, or a point gained,” he stated. “I guess we’ll know by the end of the season.

“But it feels like points dropped at this moment in time.

“Larne have dropped a number of points and we haven’t capitalised the way we could have, that’s the frustrating bit but there is no point in dwelling over what might have been.

“It was a very tight game from start to finish, with very few chances at either end.

“Both teams began to create a little bit more near the finish and we may have edged it.

“There is a lot of quality in both sides, so it’s hardly surprising the game was delicately balanced.

“Games are going to be like that, especially against the top sides...we have Glentoran and Larne coming up.

“It’s the toughest league campaign I’ve played in for sure, even some of the so-called bottom six play very good football and are difficult to beat.

“It’s a tough league all-round, I guess we must take the point and move on.”

Johns believes the Blues have the artillery and the talent to see out the campaign.

“It seems like bits of magic are winning us games this season,” he said. “We are solid enough (at the back) and some of the quality we have in the dressing room is frightening.

“If we could unlock that quality to anywhere like its full potential, we have the capabilities to steamroll teams...fingers crossed we unlock that potential.

“The depth of the squad is frightening...we could put two teams on the park of the same quality.

“I reckon both would get into the top three in the league.

“We’ve another massive game on Tuesday against Glentoran, they are a good side, it will be a tough.

“But are ticking the games off, we certainly don’t want the league to be pulled up early.

“Hopefully, it will go to the full 38 games – it’s keeping us all sane.”

Coleraine boss Oran Kearney admitted he was happy to leave the international arena with a point.

“I think overall we probably have to be content with a draw and say a draw is a fair result,” he said. “I don’t think there were massive chances for either side and we both maybe could have won it in the last 10 minutes.

“If ‘Skinner’ (Bradley) makes a good contact he could have scored and if we’d snatched it in that way we’d have been delighted but I think overall a draw is probably a fair result.

“We are missing a few players and we are in to the depths of our squad.

“We are now away to Carrick on Tuesday night, they are bit like us, they had a tough start to the season but have found their feet and they are as tough opposition as there is at the moment.”

LINFIELD: Johns, Haughey, Callacher, Stewart, Millar (Nasseri, 72), Lavery, Clarke (Manzinga, 72), McClean, Fallon (Mulgrew, 72), Pepper, Quinn.

Subs (not used): Moore, Stafford, Newberry, Palmer.

COLERAINE: Deane, Kane, Canning, Lowry, Carson, McConaghie, Tweed (Jarvis, 81), Parkhill, Glackin, Nixon (Wilson, 72), Shevlin (Bradley, 78).

Subs (not used): Gallagher, O’Donnell, Allen, Brennan.

REFEREE: Andrew Davey.

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