Larne boss Tiernan Lynch freely admits Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Coleraine at the Showgrounds felt like a painful kick in the privates.
The Inver Reds led 1-0 thanks to Ben Doherty’s 71st minute strike and saw Ronan Hale and Davy McDaid rattle the woodwork in either half.
McDaid’s lobbed effort onto the crossbar came just a minute before Matthew Shevlin forced home an equaliser for the Bannsiders in the third minute of added time.
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It was a frustating finale for Lynch who agreed with the passing suggestion that to concede so late in the game must have felt like a ‘kick in the b***s’.
“It does feel like that and I don’t think the players deserve what they got,” he said. “Credit to Coleraine who showed a never say die attitude, but we’re leaving frustrated.
“It’s hard to be overly critical because I thought we were dominant and played some really good football. We created some really good chances.
“If I had to be critical, it would be that we weren’t clinical enough. In the first half we overplayed at times when we had opportunities to get shots off.”
Larne’s biggest chance to put the game to bed came just before Coleraine’s equaliser when McDaid raced clear of Rodney Brown from the halfway line.
The striker had two options, advance further into the penalty area or attempt to lob Gareth Deane. He chose the latter and the ball soared over the keeper's head only to cannon back off the bar.
A minute later Shevlin was prodding home his 19th goal of the season after Josh Carson’s shot had been parried by Larne keeper Conor Devlin.
On such margins are games and results decided.
“It should have been 2-0,” said Lynch. “Davy maybe could have gone on and committed the keeper, but he took it early and tried to lift it over him.
“It was maybe the wrong choice, but if there’s one person you want in that position you’re taking Davy. I was actually halfway up the technical area because I thought it was in.
“Unfortunately it bounced back off the woodwork. It’s disappointing because it’s one of those situations where such a good performance now feels like a defeat.
“That’s not fair on the players because they worked so hard, bossed the game and deserved so much more out of it.”
Coleraine manager Oran Kearney said he was “happy to take the draw” with his team’s equaliser coming so late in the game.
“When you’re 1-0 down in time added on, if someone offers you a draw, you take it,” he said. “You take the point and move on.”
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