Frustration for Oran Kearney as Coleraine labour to a point

It was a frustrating afternoon for Oran Kearney as his Coleraine side toiled with both Carrick Rangers and the elements at a windswept Loughview Leisure Arena.
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After a bright start the Bannsiders failed to click into their rhythm with the home side carving out the better chances on the day.

Kearney’s men had won their previous two meetings with Carrick this season in convincing fashion, but it was a very different affair on Saturday much to the annoyance of the Bannsiders boss.

“Yeah very frustrating,” he said after the game.

Coleraine boss Oran KearneyColeraine boss Oran Kearney
Coleraine boss Oran Kearney

“It’s two points dropped and it is disappointing from that point of view.

“I think the previous two times we’ve come here we’ve managed the conditions and the dimensions quite well but today, particularly with the wind, we struggled to get to grips with it.

“The pitch is still quite firm, the wind was really, really strong.

“It was like a game of hockey - the ball was out of play more than it was in play.

“And when it went out of play it took ages to restart again.

“We just struggled to get any momentum or rhythm going.

“We had a couple of chances in the first half, our best one was maybe offside.

“In the second half we had a lot of entries but not many chances.

“Even simple things - like corners, which have been really good recently, didn’t really come off.

“Today our delivery - on a day when you maybe need something from a corner - it didn’t happen, all the wee things just didn’t seem to fall into place.

“Last week we created a lot and even the weeks before and things were going really well on that front.

“However, today we just struggled for space, struggled to get key men on the ball in the right areas and our chances were more limited than they were in recent weeks.”

In the end the Bannsiders were indebted to their goalkeeper Gareth Deane, who made sure they left with at least a point in the bag.

“For us, and thanks to Gareth again, we’ve kept a clean sheet and that’s the key thing so,” said Kearney.

“He’s probably had a quiet month given the performances and results we’ve had.

“Today, to be fair to him, he’s produced two or three great saves which are important but that’s what Gareth’s all about.

“He’s got serious quality and when called upon we know the standard of goalkeeper that he is.

“Whether it’s two points dropped or a point gained we’ll not know until later on this season.”