The first half was a dour contest, with little of note produced by either side. Too often, simple passes went astray, and move of more than three or passes were rare. The best Coleraine chances of the first half fell to Brendan Aspinall and David McCallan. After 6 minutes, Aspinall rose to meet Robbie Brunton's right wing free kick, but his header drifted harmsessly wide. On 30 minutes, McCallan nearly broke the deadlock when he drove in a fierce shot which former West Brom man Paul Reece could only parry into the air, gratefully grabbing the dropping rebound as he fell beckwards. Between times, Cliftonville had chances of their own when the dangerous Stokes had a shot blocked, and Collins went close with a header.

The second half started in heavy rain, and again neither team appeared able to sieze control of the game. Cliftonville dealt easily with a feeble Coleraine strikeforce, while the Coleraine defence dealt nervously with any offensive action from the Reds. Greg O'Dowd had drifted will out of the game by the time he was replaced on 61 minutes, and substitute Johnny McIvor had an almost immediate impact. Four minutes after his introduction, he skipped past 2 defenders on the right wing and produced an inviting cross for David McCallan at the far post, from which the top scorer made no mistake. Any Coleraine thoughts of seeing out the time remaining to hold onto the lead lasted only 7 minutes. Robbie Brunton was hopelessly outclassed by Tim McCann who easily turned inside the left back and set the ball on a plate for Barry O'Connor to score from close range. The response from the league leaders was disapointing as they failed to create a single chance of note for the remainder of the game, while Cliftonville always looked dangerous without carving out any clear-cut scoring oportunities.

1. Wes Lamont

Inconsistent kicking, but otherwise a steady return to first-team action. (7)

2. Oliver McAuley

Ollie has been slightly off the boil lately and this was another unspectacular performance. However, he was no more disapointing than most of his defensive colleagues. (7)

3. Robbie Brunton

Another below-par performer. Turned inside-out by McCann for the Cliftonville goal (6)

4. Brendan Aspinall

Continues to appear slow and awkward on the ground - but confident and dominant in the air. (6)

5. Paul Gaston

A quiet game, although Paul could have been quicker of the mark to cover O'Connor for the Cliftonville goal. (7)

6. Eamon Doherty

Worked hard in a congested midfield - but gave the ball away too often. (7)

7. David McCallan

Took his goal well, and continued to work hard throughout. (7)

8. Greg O'Dowd

Another below-par performer. Continues to drift from his wing berth, and was replaced after an hour. (6)

9. Danny Shipp

Very disapointing. Failed to hold the ball up, and appeared to have lost interest by the end. Must do better. (5)

10. Sam Shiels

Sam doesn't really get involved from midfield, and it appears to be affecting his confidence. The time may have come to pick either Shiels or Shipp as McCallan's partner and leave the other on the bench. (6)

11. Stephen Young

Not at his best. Misplaced far too many passes. (6)

sub Johnny McIvor

Made an explosive entrance by beating two men and supplying the cross for McCallan's goal, but failed to get realy involved after this contribution. (7)

sub Conor McKeever (for Shiels)

Was only given 7 minutes and couldn't make a contribution in that time. (7-)