Oran Kearney thrilled as holders Coleraine progress in League Cup

Oran Kearney was full of praise for his Coleraine side after they produced a five-star performance against Bangor to kick off their BetMcLean League Cup defence.
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The Bannsiders made sure there would be no chance of a cup upset at Clandeboye Park as they raced into a 4-0 lead at the break thanks to goals from Cathair Friel (2), Conor McKendry and Evan Tweed.

Friel completed his hat-trick after the break and Kearney was thrilled to see his summer acquisition get off the mark.

“It’s been tough for Cathair,” he said.

Coleraine boss Oran KearneyColeraine boss Oran Kearney
Coleraine boss Oran Kearney

“He picked up an injury in pre-season which set him back.

“He needed that tonight, he was itchy to get going.

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“Cathair is a goal scorer, he showed that tonight with his finishes.

“It will be a good lift for him and hopefully he can kick on now.”

Friel was one of several changes made by Kearney on the night and he was delighted to see there was no drop off in performance.

“It’s bang on what you would want on a night like this,” he said.

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“You know the standard that they are at and you know they are a good side.

“We’ve had the same group that’s played a lot of the games over the last month, so we had to manage the squad and get minutes into the boys that needed it, but we didn’t drop the standard.

“That was the thing that pleased me the most and we spoke about it before the game. To be fair the response from the guys was brilliant.

“We meddled with the formation a bit to suit the guys we wanted to play.

“We showed great quality particularly in the first half.”

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