Brute force and ignorance was the order of the day as right from the first whistle, Crusaders made their intention clear - to elbow, push and kick their way over a Coleraine team who obviously had the upper hand in terms of skill, tactics and finesse. On 10 minutes, Greg O'Dowd challenged for the ball on the right side of midfield when he received a deliberate elbow in the face, resulting in a broken nose and a visit to hospital. The incident looked bad enough from the upper deck of the North Stand, but the variety of angles shown on television coverage really made clear the intention of the Crusaders player. In the days of video evidence, surely a long ban is on the cards for the Crusaders thug. Herbie Barr, refereeing his first (and surely his last) cup final set the tone for his performance for the evening and waved play on. The referee's assessor in the stand must have filled a notebook on Mr Barr's inept display.

The first good chance of the game fell to Crusaders when Glen Hunter missed with a close range effort, but Coleraine took the lead after 40 minutes of a tight first half. Ollie McAuley won a free kick on the right wing, and Robbie Brunton floated the ball into the penalty area where it was met sweetly by the head of Pat McAllister.

At half time, Coleraine manager Kenny Shiels was dismissed from the field after attempting to point out to the hapless referee that tackles from behind, over the ball challenges and leading with the elbow were usually frowned upon in the modern game, but the red and black striped official took a different view. Crusaders had most of the play in the second half, but poor delivery into the penalty area seemed to indicate that Coleraine would hang on. Then, in the 90th minute as the Coleraine fans prepared to celibrate, a cross came in from the left. Robbie Brunton intercepted and got the ball trapped between his feet six yards from his own goal, and in trying to clear under pressure, managed to stab the ball into the corner of the net. Extra time loomed.

Extra time saw the introducton of Andy Ramage for the ineffective Michael Surgeon and Mario proceeded to inject some steel into the battered Coleraine midfield. As the extra period ticked away, so the players prepared themselves for a penalty shootout.

Pat McAllister hits the bar (0-0)
Trevor McMullan scores against his former club (0-1)
Robbie Brunton eases the pressure converting high into the net (1-1)
Chris Morgan sees his effort brilliantly saved by Lamont (1-1)
Brendan Aspinall sidefooted low into the corner (2-1)
Stephen Baxter converted (2-2)
Sammy Shiels made no mistake (3-2)
Paul Dwyer shoots low and hard through the hands of the despairing Lamont (3-3)
Paul Gaston places his spot kick low into the left corner (4-3)
Kevin McKeown fires against the crossbar (4-3 and game over)

1. Wesley Lamont

Commanding in the air and unbeatable on the ground. It took Robbie Brunton to beat him. (9)

2. Oliver McAuley

We'll have to stop being surprised by Ollie's brilliance. (9)

3. Robbie Brunton

Forget about the own goal. Robbie produced another magnificant display and provided the cross which gave Pat McAllister the goal. Showed enormous character when taking his penalty. (9)

4. Brendan Aspinall

Snuffed out the threat from the most feared striker in the Irish League. (9)

5. Paul Gaston

Another 5-star display. (9)

6. Eamon Doherty

The midfield was less effective than usual due to Crusaders' long-ball tactics, but Eamon displayed a voracious appetite for hard toil. (7)

7. Sam Shiels

Tired towards the end, but got through vast quantities of work. (7)

8. Greg O'Dowd

Had his nose smeared over his face after 10 minutes, but his importance to the team was demonstrated by lack of width after his departure. (7)

9. David McCallan

Held the ball up well. (7)

10. Pat McAllister

Captain Marvel. The engine room of the team. An inspirational figure. etc. etc. (8)

11. Michael Surgeon

Struggled to get involved, but it wasn't Surgey's kind of game. (6)

sub Johnny McIvor (for O'Dowd)

Kept chief thug Alan Dornan well occupied (7)

sub Andy Ramage (for Surgeon)

Played for most of extra time and added much-needed steel. (8)

Don't just take my word for it - see what the Irish News had to say.