Ruaidhri Higgins hopes to cap off first year at Coleraine with Irish Cup success as substitutes play pivotal role in extra-time win against Larne

The Bannsiders booked their spot in the showpiece decider as Matthew Shevlin’s extra-time winner proved to be the difference in a 2-1 victory against Larne at Windsor Park.

Coleraine held the half-time lead as Joel Cooper finished off a fine team move on 13 minutes but league leaders Larne rallied back to level just after the hour mark when Matthew Lusty fired beyond Ryan Schofield from Jordan McEneff’s cross.

However, Coleraine had the final say on 112 minutes when Mark Coyle’s cross wasn’t dealt with by Larne stopper Rohan Ferguson and Shevlin pounced from close range for his 20th goal of the season.

Higgins was appointed as Coleraine manager on May 2 last year and he could complete a memorable first year in the dugout if he can get his hands on the Irish Cup on May 2 this year.

"This is our first year together as a new ownership, new players, new staff, all the above and people sometimes forget that,” the former Derry City chief said.

"And I know there's a lot of work to do, but if we could pick up the trophy in early May, it would be a brilliant start together and that's the ambition now – it has to be.

"I’m ecstatic for everyone connected to the club...our players, our staff, our supporters, Dale (CEO), Henry (owner), Henry's family that we have reached the final.

"Just everyone really connected to the club, all the backroom staff that nobody really sees that do such a brilliant job and there's so many of them.

"I'm just ecstatic for everybody that we can have a big, big day to look forward to in early May.”

Higgins credited his players for their response after seeing their lead cancelled out by Lusty’s equaliser, believing they fully deserved to go through in the end.

Shevlin was utilised from the bench to devastating effect and Higgins pin-pointed the impact his changes had on the game.

He stated: "When we were 1-0 up, just before Larne scored, we weren't brilliant in that period.

"But then when Larne scored, strangely enough, we took control of the game back again.

"But I thought in extra time, we definitely looked the team in the ascendancy.

"Shevlin misses a brilliant, brilliant chance in the first half of extra time and then he goes and does what he does in the second half of extra time to get us into the final.

"Shevlin’s been injured, as we know, he damaged his ribs against Cliftonville, so he's only trained for a couple of days.

“But you look at the impact that all the substitutions had in the game.

"Young Senan Devine, the level of maturity. I know he only played 15 minutes or whatever it was, but the level of maturity that he played with

"All the substitutions made an impact and there was a few outstanding individual performances within the game as well."