Crusaders are out of the Clearer Water Irish Cup after a 4-0 defeat by Coleraine at the Coleraine Showgrounds in bitterly cold and foggy conditions. Crusaders earned the right to go in at half time 0-0 but Brendan Hamilton's sending off two minutes after the restart made a massive mark on the game and the result reflected the 11 v 10 that played out the game.
Crusaders where on the back foot quite a bit of the first half but did have several chances that kept Coleraine on their toes. Musa Dibaga again made several important saves in the Crusaders goal to keep the score to zero in the first 45 minutes and the young midfield duo of Oli McCart and Josh Williamson kept Coleraine from running riot.
Minutes into the second half Brendan Hamilton was sent off for a second bookable offence and from the resulting free kick Mark Connolly headed Coleraine into the lead. Crusaders battled hard with a man down but Will Patching doubled Coleraine's lead when he scored from a free kick. Two minutes later it was 3-0 when Oluwaseum Akintunde scored and Joel Cooper made it 4-0 on 79 minutes when he poked the ball past Musa Dibaga. In the end the man advantage told the difference and Coleraine progress.
Crusaders: Musa Dibaga, Hamilton, Brooks, Thorndike, Dunlop, O'Rourke, Williamson, Bryden, McCart, Anderson, Barr subs Tuffey, Jewitt-White, Easton, Nixon, Bruce, Donnelly, James