Coleraine FC

Coleraine FC
	Coleraine FC
Basic data
Surname	Coleraine Football Club
Seat	Coleraine , Northern Ireland
founding	1927
president	Colin McKendry
Website	colerainefc.com
First soccer team
Head coach	Oran Kearney
Venue	The Showgrounds
Places	6,500
league	NIFL Premiership
2019/20	2nd place
home	Away

The Coleraine FC is a Northern Irish football club , in the NifL Premiership plays. The club was founded in 1927 and plays its home games in the 6,500-seat The Showgrounds stadium in Coleraine . The club colors are blue and white.

history

founding

Coleraine FC was founded in June 1927 as part of a founding meeting on the premises of the local Orange Order through the merger of the two local teams Coleraine Olympic and Coleraine Alexandra . Since you initially played all in white, the Coleraines team was also known as the Lilywhites in its early years . A few weeks after it was founded, Coleraine was added to the Irish League together with Bangor FC as part of a league expansion from 12 to 14 clubs . The club was able to keep up in the top division from the start and ended its first season in the spring of 1928 as sixth in the table.

Early years (until 1960)

In 1932, Coleraine FC won the first title in the Gold Cup final after beating local rivals Ballymena United 3-0 , but it remained the only one until after World War II . In the spring of 1948, less than two years after the resumption of league operations, Coleraine reached the final of the Irish Cup for the first time. However, the Bannsiders did not manage to win the cup at the first attempt, because they lost 3-0 to the big favorites Linfield FC in the end. The team fared no better in the 1952/53 season when they faced Linfield again in the cup final . This time, however, the 5-0 defeat was a little higher than five years earlier. In the 1953/54 season, Coleraine FC was finally able to celebrate their first title after the war by winning the City Cup. However, in the same year they lost to Glenavon FC with 1: 3 in the final of the Ulster Cup. With the second final victory in the Gold Cup after 1932 against Glentoran , Coleraine won another title in the 1958/59 season.

In the second half of the 1950s, however, the club struggled with growing financial problems and was consequently forced to take drastic austerity measures, which also affected the team with the reintroduction of amateur status. As four years earlier, Celtic Glasgow agreed in 1956 with its then stars Jock Stein and Bertie Peacock for a friendly against Coleraine to help the financially struggling club. Around the same time, the club caused a stir in Northern Irish football with the affair of the Derry City player John "Jobby" Crossan, when it could be proven that a transfer fee had been paid for the player despite amateur status. The Northern Irish Football Association IFA then imposed a fine on Coleraine, while Crossan with a life ban in all four football associations of the so-called Home Nations , i. H. Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was occupied. Jobby Crossan himself, who in the following years was extremely successful with Sparta Rotterdam and Standard Liège on the European continent and also played several internationals for Northern Ireland, was still in various English clubs after his pardon by the IFA in 1963, among others. a. for Manchester City , active.

1960s

The 1960s brought with it some upheavals and experiences for Coleraine FC, which should have a lasting impact on the history of the club. In 1961, Bertie Peacock was persuaded by then club president Jack Doherty to return to Coleraine after Peacock had ended his career at Celtic Glasgow . But it wasn't until 1965 that the Bannsiders won the first big title in the club's history on the third attempt after a 2-1 win in the final of the Irish Cup against Glenavon FC . This was the first time that Coleraine was allowed to compete in the European Cup Winners' Cup , where, however, the Soviet cup winner Dynamo Kiev promptly gave a lesson in football. In the same decade, other titles followed in the Ulster Cup, Gold Cup and City Cup. In addition, the club was able to decorate itself in 1969 with the all-Irish Blaxnit Cup, a predecessor of the Setanta Sports Cup , which has been held since 2005 , after defeating Shamrock Rovers FC from Dublin 4-2 in the final . A year later, Coleraine FC even managed to defend their title in the same competition and with the identical result against Sligo Rovers . Coleraine also represented Derry City FC in the international trade fair cup in the summer of 1969 , as the IFA's stadium was considered too unsafe to host European Cups due to the unrest that broke out in Derry . While they were able to prevail against the Luxembourgish club Jeunesse Esch at first , the RSC Anderlecht turned out to be a size too big for Coleraine in the following round.

1970s

Even in the 1970s, the Bannsiders' latest successful streak did not end. A first high point in the 1970/71 season was the surprising 3-2 away win against Scottish representatives FC Kilmarnock in the second leg of the first round of the international trade fair cup , after the two teams had previously drew 1-1. In the second round, however, they failed at the Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam . In 1972 Coleraine was able to seal the first of three cup wins in the most successful decade in the club's history with a 2-1 win in the final against Portadown FC . However, despite this success, the club was denied another appearance in the European Cup after the IFA had anticipated the threat of cancellation of the European clubs due to the civil war-like conditions in Northern Ireland in the 1972/73 season by renouncing the naming of Northern Irish clubs for European competitions .

Under the leadership of coach Bertie Peacock , Coleraine FC made the biggest success in club history to date with the only championship title to date in 1974, relegating Portadown and Crusaders to their places by far. At the height of his success, Peacock finally resigned and left the fate of the club to a duo consisting of Ivan Murray and Johnnie McCurdy. In the very first season, the coaching team landed another great success by beating Linfield in the Irish Cup . To decide in the final, however, three encounters were necessary before Jim "Chang" Smith finally scored the all-important 1-0 goal in the second replay on April 29, 1975 in Ballymena . In the same year Coleraine was also allowed to decorate with the title of runner-up behind Linfield . Coleraine FC's fourth cup win in 1977 after an impressive 4-1 win over final opponents Linfield FC was to remain the last big title for 26 years. At the beginning of the 1977/78 season, Ivan Murray handed over the coaching office to Victor Hunter, who should be responsible for the team for the following three years.

1980s

When Des Dickson succeeded Hunter as coach in 1980, Coleraine was no longer at the top of the league. The glory of the great times in the mid-1970s finally seemed to be a thing of the past. After a disappointing 9th place at the end of the 1980/81 season, Tony Curley finally took the place in the dugout. In the very first year Curley led the club back to the top three clubs of the Irish League and not least to the final of the Irish Cup. Here they met Linfield again on April 24, 1982 , but this time had to admit defeat 1: 2. Since Linfield had previously won the championship title, Coleraine was able to look forward to participation in the first round of the European Cup Winners' Cup as a cup finalist , but ultimately had no chance against the big favorites Tottenham Hotspur . As third in the table and thanks to the Cup victory of Glentoran FC in May 1983, they qualified for the first time for the UEFA Cup in the 1983/84 season , where the first round against Sparta Rotterdam was expected to end.

While the Bannsiders had almost been regulars in the other European cup competitions in the previous decade with matches against clubs such as Feyenoord Rotterdam , Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig , the team still had ample opportunity to compete internationally in the mid-1980s Set scene. The fact that they qualified for the UEFA Cup three times in a row from 1985 onwards was mainly due to Jim Platt, who had been signed as coach from Ballymena United a year earlier. In the first three years of his tenure Coleraine was able to finish the season behind Linfield as runner-up, with the team also made it into the cup final against Glentoran in 1986 . At the same time, at the European level, clubs from the GDR Oberliga were met twice in a row and here again Lokomotive Leipzig.

In 1985 they lost a lot against Leipzig, but in the following year they failed with 0: 1 in the second leg by the team of BSG Stahl Brandenburg , which did not get more than 1: 1 in the first leg in Northern Ireland. The “European adventure” went little better for Coleraine in September 1987, when they played against Scottish club Dundee United , which had surprisingly made it into the UEFA Cup final the previous season, after defeats in the two legs eliminated in the first round. Between 1987 and 1989 Coleraine was able to reach third place in the league, but it should no longer be enough for another UEFA Cup participation. With Jim Platt's departure as coach in the summer of 1989, eventful years awaited the club, which now had to make friends with significantly more uncomfortable places in the table.

1990s

The first half of the 1990s was accordingly marked by increasing failure, which the club management only had to counter with a carousel of coaches turning ever faster. Platt's successor, Ian McFaul, was followed by three more training directors, who, however, could no longer avert the Bannsiders' relegation to the newly created First Division in 1995, which had already become apparent. Despite this setback, new coach Kenny Shiels managed to rearrange the team after a bumpy start in the First Division. In fact, Coleraine quickly moved away from the top of the table and in the end managed with 28 points ahead of pursuers Ballymena United as champions of the First Division, the immediate promotion to the top football class. Back in the now reformed Premier Division, Coleraine FC was able to keep up with the traditional top dogs Glentoran and Linfield straight away and celebrated its rebirth in April 1997 with the runner-up title behind the Crusaders . This success was completed by winning the Ulster Cup that same year.

While the year before you had to compete against clubs like Ballyclare Comrades in the First Division, a far more uplifting task awaited Kenny Shiels' team in the UEFA Cup with Grasshoppers Zurich . The fact that there was not much to gain at the European level had to be recognized at the latest in the second leg in Zurich, where Grasshoppers triumphed with a 7-1 victory over the blue-whites. After the successful 1996/97 season, the team showed in the following two seasons again rather mixed performances and placed themselves in the lower middle of the table. A false start into the new season finally forced Shiels to resign from his coaching position in October 1999. As a successor, the club management was surprisingly able to win Marty Quinn, who had previously led Cliftonville FC to the title.

2000 to 2005

With Marty Quinn at the helm, things actually turned for the better at Coleraine. Quinn immediately led the team to runner-up behind Linfield , with the season only thanks to the better goal difference in second place ahead of the equal points Glenavon FC and Glentoran FC . In addition, Coleraine also reached the final of the Coca-Cola League Cup and the semifinals of the Irish Cup. The extraordinary finish in the championship entitled the Bannsiders to participate in the UEFA Cup again. However, the two encounters against the Gothenburg club Örgryte IS were just lost and only lost by one goal difference, so that the dream of the first promotion in a European competition since 1970 did not come true in the end.

In the following two seasons, Coleraine continued to play at the top and ended up in fourth place. However, the team often got in their own way and missed the big hit in the two years, mainly due to a lack of consistency. Participation in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in the summer of 2002 brought the club to a trip to Andorra , where they eliminated outsider UE Sant Julià after a 5-0 home win, as expected, although the second leg only looked like a meager draw. In the following round they finally failed against the French representative AC Troyes , even if the team had to admit defeat just like two years earlier in Sweden.

After a botched start to the 2002/03 season, the cotrainer Rory O'Boyle resigned and was replaced by Alfie Wylie, the former Newry Town coach . Coleraine promptly made a strong comeback, which culminated in a series of 20 games without defeat, and finally ended the season in third place in the table. In the cup competition Coleraine shone no less and after a convincing 5: 2 over Omagh Town made it into the final of the Irish Cup for the first time since 1986, where on May 3, 2003 Glentoran faced a difficult task in Belfast's Windsor Park . Despite their role as outsiders, the team in impressive form took the lead early on thanks to a goal by Jody Tolan and finally retained their narrow lead until the final whistle. After 26 long years, Coleraine had again won a major title. The opponent in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, União Leiria from Portugal , who were initially defeated 2-1 on the home showgrounds, was able to straighten things out in the second leg with a 5-0 victory and thus thwarted Coleraines ambitions at one point Advancement to the next round.

The cup triumph was soon clouded by news that the club was in massive financial trouble. With the budget now greatly reduced, the previous team squad could not be maintained, so that at the end of the 2003/04 season, many top performers turned their backs on the Coleraine Showgrounds. The fact that the Bannsiders were able to stay among the top six clubs in the Premier League despite everything and almost exactly one year after their cup success did not change anything in the final of the Irish Cup against Glentoran did not change that. But this time the team from East Belfast lived up to their role as favorites and thwarted Coleraine's defense of the title with a 1-0 victory.

In the summer of 2005 the bloodletting continued after further budget cuts and other well-known players announced their departure. But in truth, the fans were already worried at this point whether the club would survive the financial crisis. Finally, in August 2005, the tax authorities filed for bankruptcy over the association due to tax arrears of £ 1.3 million . When the team went to a friendly match in the neighboring town of Portstewart on August 9, 2005 , many spectators believed they had witnessed the last appearance of Coleraine FC. But in the background members of an association of fans and supporters of Coleraine FC were fighting to get the competent court to postpone the bankruptcy opening by means of a business plan. To make it easier for all concerned, the members of the fan association were finally allowed by the court to take on managerial functions of the association and to form a management committee in trust. The club was saved for now and the team thanked their supporters by winning the North-West Senior Cup in the same year.

2006 until today

After the team had already secured the sporting survival in the Premier League at the end of the 2005/06 season with ninth place in the table, in the summer of 2006 the club was officially taken over by the fan association and the subsequent appointment of a new board of directors a new beginning be dared. Despite the previous player exodus, Coleraine was able to hold onto midfield of the Premier League in the following two years. In the 2007/08 season, the Bannsiders finally reached a cup final after four years, but failed on May 3, 2008 despite the goal by Paddy McLaughlin with 1: 2 at Linfield FC .

Just three weeks after the lost cup final, Marty Quinn, who had been responsible for the club since 1999, announced his resignation as coach of Coleraine FC and the assumption of the coaching position at Bangor FC for personal reasons . As the successor to Quinn, the previous Kotrainer David Platt was introduced by the club on June 2, 2008.

On May 13, 2008, the association's application for inclusion in the IFA Premiership, consisting of only 12 teams from the 2008/09 season, was granted by the IFA Executive Committee. In the final ranking on which this decision was based, in which various factors (including sporting success, finances and the club's infrastructure) were included, Coleraine FC was ranked fourth with 965 points.

Well-known former players

Dickson's
Harry Gregg
Steve Lomas
Jimmy Kelly
Gareth McAuley
Johnny McCurdie
Gerry Mullan
Bertie Peacock
Jim Platt

successes

Irish League : 1
- 1973/74
Irish Cup : 6
- 1964/65, 1971/72, 1974/75, 1976/77, 2002/03, 2017/18
Irish League Cup: 2
- 1987/88, 2019/20
City Cup: 2
- 1953/54, 1968/69
Gold Cup: 4
- 1932, 1958, 1969, 1975
Ulster Cup: 7
- 1965/66, 1968/69, 1969/70, 1972/73, 1975/76, 1985/86,
  1996/1997
Top Four Cup
- 1968/69
Irish League First Division : 1
- 1995/96
Blaxnit Cup: 2nd
- 1968/69, 1969/70
North West Senior Cup: 18
- 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1968, 1970, 1981, 1982,
  1983, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007
IFA Intermediate Cup: 2nd
- 1964/65, 1968/69

European Cup balance sheet

season	competition	round	opponent	total	To	Back
1965/66	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1 round	Soviet Union 1955 Dynamo Kiev	01:10	1: 6 (H)	0: 4 (A)
1969/70	Exhibition cities cup	1 round	Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch	6: 3	2: 3 (A)	4: 0 (H)
1969/70	Exhibition cities cup	2nd round	Belgium RSC Anderlecht	04:13	1: 6 (A)	3: 7 (H)
1970/71	Exhibition cities cup	1 round	Scotland FC Kilmarnock	4: 3	1: 1 (H)	3: 2 (A)
1970/71	Exhibition cities cup	2nd round	Netherlands Sparta Rotterdam	1: 4	0: 2 (A)	1: 2 (H)
1974/75	European Champions Cup	1 round	Netherlands Feyenoord Rotterdam	01:11	0: 7 (A)	1: 4 (H)
1975/76	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1 round	Germany Federal Republic Eintracht Frankfurt	03:11	1: 5 (A)	2: 6 (H)
1977/78	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1 round	Germany Democratic Republic 1949 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig	3: 6	1: 4 (H)	2: 2 (A)
1982/83	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1 round	England Tottenham Hotspur	0: 7	0: 3 (H)	0: 4 (A)
1983/84	Uefa cup	1 round	Netherlands Sparta Rotterdam	1: 5	0: 2 (A)	1: 1 (H)
1985/86	Uefa cup	1 round	Germany Democratic Republic 1949 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig	1: 6	1: 1 (H)	0: 5 (A)
1986/87	Uefa cup	1 round	Germany Democratic Republic 1949 BSG Stahl Brandenburg	1: 2	1: 1 (H)	0: 1 (A)
1987/88	Uefa cup	1 round	Scotland Dundee United	1: 4	0: 1 (H)	1: 3 (A)
1997/98	Uefa cup	1st qualifying round	Switzerland Grasshoppers Zurich	01:10	0: 3 (A)	1: 7 (H)
2000/01	Uefa cup	1st qualifying round	Sweden Örgryte IS	1: 3	1: 2 (H)	0: 1 (A)
2002	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1 round	Andorra UE Sant Julià	7: 2	5: 0 (H)	2: 2 (A)
2002	UEFA Intertoto Cup	2nd round	France ES Troyes AC	2: 4	1: 2 (H)	1: 2 (A)
2003/04	Uefa cup	1st qualifying round	Portugal União Leiria	2: 6	2: 1 (H)	0: 5 (A)
2017/18	UEFA Europa League	1st qualifying round	Norway FK Haugesund	0: 7	0: 7 (A)	0: 0 (H)
2018/19	UEFA Europa League	1st qualifying round	Serbia FK Spartak Subotica	1: 3	1: 1 (A)	0: 2 (H)