Cooper double completes Coleraine comeback to end Larne unbeaten league start

Coleraine overturned a two-goal deficit to beat defending champions Larne 3-2 at Inver Park on Friday, with Joel Cooper scoring twice to complete the comeback. BBC Sport NI reported that the result ended Larne’s unbeaten start to the league season and strengthened Coleraine’s position at the top.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-xt7JbuHiY

James Simpson scored both Larne goals, opening the scoring in the 16th minute after Tomas Cosgrove combined with Paul O’Neill to create the chance. In Steven Crawford’s BBC match report, carried by AOL, Simpson then doubled the advantage five minutes into the second half with a finish that went in off the far post.

Lewis Webb prevented the deficit from growing further when he saved Dylan Sloan’s effort before Coleraine began their recovery. Cooper scored in the 60th minute after Matthew Shevlin’s header was blocked. Nine minutes later, Shevlin headed in Ben Doherty’s cross to bring the visitors level and erase the lead Larne had built.

Doherty also supplied the ball that led to the winner in the 81st minute. His cross was deflected towards Cooper, whose first-time finish beat Rohan Ferguson. Larne pressed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but Coleraine held on after scoring all three of their goals within a 21-minute spell.

Manager Ruaidhri Higgins told BBC Sport NI he was particularly pleased with his players’ response to falling two goals behind away to the champions. Larne manager Gary Haveron criticised his side’s defending. The hosts had conceded only three goals across their opening seven league matches before Coleraine doubled that total in one evening.

The victory followed Coleraine’s 1-0 win over Cliftonville, secured by a first-half Shevlin goal, according to the club’s matchday guide. That earlier match had also marked Doherty’s 100th appearance for Coleraine. Friday’s five goals contrasted with the teams’ previous league meeting on 15 August, which finished goalless.

Coleraine now sit six points ahead of Linfield and 11 ahead of Larne, although those gaps come with an important qualification. Linfield have two games in hand, while Larne have four. Higgins’s side therefore increased their points advantage without removing the opportunity for their rivals to close it through outstanding fixtures.