Crusaders FC face a stern test of their Premiership credentials this Saturday when they host league leaders Coleraine at Seaview. The north Belfast side are desperate to arrest a four-match losing run that has left them seventh in the league table with 15 points from 12 games, a full 16 points behind their weekend opponents. Their record of five wins and seven losses from those 12 games has them looking up at a significant gap in the title race.
This includes a 5-2 defeat to Warrenpoint Town in the League Cup on Tuesday, where a Rory Powell hat-trick overshadowed goals from Rocks and Reid. In the league, they have suffered consecutive losses to Ballymena United, Larne and Carrick Rangers. Their recent form across all competitions shows just one win and four losses in their last five matches, a sequence that began with a 1-0 league defeat to Linfield on 19 September. The 5-2 loss to Warrenpoint Town on 21 October was followed just days earlier by a 2-1 league defeat at Ballymena United on 17 October, where Rocks scored an early opener.
The last meeting between the sides, on 5 September, ended in a heavy 4-1 defeat for Crusaders, a result that highlighted the current gap. Coleraine, in contrast, are flying high at the summit. They have won their last four games and three of their last four league matches, including a notable 3-2 victory away at Larne. Their only recent setback was a 3-1 home loss to Linfield.
The challenge ahead
For Crusaders, the primary task is to tighten a defence that has shipped 23 goals this season, the second-worst record in the top half of the division, while scoring only 16 for a negative seven goal difference. The likely back-line at Seaview will include the experienced likes of Barr, Doherty and Dunlop. They must contain a potent Coleraine attack that last time out featured the pace and threat of Shevlin and Cooper.
A positive result against the league leaders could reignite a season that is in danger of drifting. The match kicks off at 3pm on Saturday 24 October at Seaview, Crusaders' famous north Belfast home ground.
