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Steven Crawford

Impressive Coleraine put a dent in Larne's title ambitions

Larne's Danske Bank Premiership title hopes were dealt another blow as they slipped to back-to-back defeats for the first time this season, going down 2-0 at home to Coleraine.

Just three days after losing to Linfield the Invermen were second best against the impressive Bannsiders, who recorded their third clean sheet in a row.

They were resolute in defence and impressive in attack as first half goals from Matthew Shevlin and Conor McKendry sealed the points for Oran Kearney's men.

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The hosts got off to the worst possible start though as they found themselves behind inside four minutes.

Coleraine took a quick free-kick on the right-hand side with McKendry cutting back on to his left foot before whipping a great ball in for Shevlin to head in from close range.

Larne were starting to see more of the ball as we moved towards the midway point of the half, but chances were proving harder to come by.

They finally forced Gareth Deane into action on 29 minutes as Lee Bonis fizzed in a shot from 25 yards, which the keeper did well to palm away for a corner.

The Bannsiders should have doubled their lead 11 minutes before the break as Shea Gordon's misplaced pass sent Shevlin in on goal, but his weak finish was blocked by Ferguson in the home goal.

Paul O'Neill was denied an equaliser thanks to a great block by Stephen O'Donnell.

The big defender got in front of the Larne striker to deflect the ball on to the crossbar from Ben Doherty's cross.

And it proved vital as the visitors extended their advantage in first half stoppage time.

From a swift breakaway McKendry drew a top drawer save out of Ferguson to force a corner.

The Bannsiders took it quickly with McKendry holding off two defenders before finding the net with a left foot strike.

Coleraine continued to look the side most likely to score as we moved into the second half with both Shevlin and McKendry going close to adding to their earlier strikes.

Larne were becoming increasingly frustrated as they struggled to break down their opponents.

Despite dominating possession a Millar header straight at Deane was all they had to show for their efforts

Boss Tiernan Lynch's mood wasn't helped as he found himself in the referee's notebook after disputing a decision by the officials.

Coleraine were defending resolutely as Farren produced another goal-saving challenge to deny substitute Matty Lusty a shot at goal as the game moved into the final ten minutes.

Doherty had Deane at full stretch from a free kick as the hosts tried desperately to give themselves a lifeline but it was too little too late for the home side.

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