Newry Town 2 Coleraine 3 Ulster Cup 1st Round 1st Leg Saturday 17 August 1996 A comfortable victory was almost thrown away by careless defending when Newry were almost allowed to equalise in the last minute of this 1st Leg clash. Coleraine started brightly and took the lead after about 20 minutes when Doherty put Shiels away on the right wing. Shiels crossed low, and David McCallan ran the ball into the net. Newry equalised with a goal direct from a free kick about 5-10 munites later, but Coleraine regained the lead almost immediately when Pat McAllister powered home a header from a Doherty corner. The second half saw few chances for either side, but Coleraine seemed to seal the game with 10 minutes remaining when Eamon Doherty collected the ball on the edge of the area after good work by McAuley and hit a swerving volley into the bottom corner. The game seemed all but over, when Newry ensured a grandstand finish by scoring with a shot which caught Lamont out of position. Newry almost snatched a draw when they managed to scooop the ball over the bar from under the crossbar, but Coleraine held on for the win which should see them through Saturday's second leg. 1. Wesley Lamont Out of position for the second goal, also blamed by some sections of support for the first. (6) 2. Oliver McAuley Ollie is currently in the best form of his Coleraine career. This was another good performance (7) 3. Robbie Brunton Withdrawn through injury, but showed up well. (7) 4. Brendan Aspinall Possibly his best performance of the season so far, but still room for improvement (7) 5. Paul Gaston The usual strong performance. (7) 6. Eamon Doherty Man of the match again. Involved in all three goals and the source of most good monents (8) 7. Sam Shiels A quiet game by his high standards (7) 8. Greg O'Dowd Substituted by McIvor in the second half, but had some inspired monents. (7) 9. David McCallan Opened his account for the season. When both McCallan and Shiels turn it on at the same time Coleraine will have a strike force to be reckoned with. (7) 10. Pat McAllister A close second for man of the match. Took his goal well, and formed a formidable midfield partnership with Doherty. (8) 11. Michael Surgeon Yet another good performance. Along with McAuley, the most improved player of the season so far. (7) sub Johnny McIvor (for O'Dowd) Looked very sharp coming off the bench.(7) sub Andy Ramage (for Brunton) Never really got into the game, although he did have one effort on target near the end. (6)