In the Premiership game on 25 September 2026, Linfield beat Coleraine FC 1:3. Match numbers: shots on target 1:3, possession, % 60:40.
Match report
Linfield beat Coleraine 3-1 in the Premiership's ninth round on Thursday evening. The visitors took control after Coleraine had started brighter, and by then the match had settled into a pattern the home side couldn't break. We'd backed the hosts at 45 per cent confidence, but that prediction dissolved when Linfield stopped giving them space to work.
A. Frizzell opened the scoring in the ninth minute, and here's the thing — Coleraine looked comfortable for a while after that. C. Shields equalised in the 25th before B. Hall took a yellow card in the 29th. The game shifted when K. Moore found the net in the 57th, and M. Shevlin added a third in the 80th to put the result beyond doubt.
Coleraine threw bodies forward but refused to go away, even when the scoreline told them otherwise. D. Boyle came on for them in the 61st minute, and K. Millar followed in the 68th. Linfield brought on B. Doherty in the 70th and K. Moore in the 85th, though the substitute Moore had already scored.
The statistics tell a familiar story. Coleraine registered 72 attacks against 54 for Linfield, yet they managed only one shot on target compared to the visitors' three. Possession split 60-40 in the home side's favour, but shots on target are what mattered here. Three yellow cards for Linfield, two for Coleraine, and the match ended with no red cards either way.
Both teams remain level on 22 points after nine games, with seven wins, one draw and one defeat each. The gap hasn't opened, though Linfield's efficiency in this match suggests they have the edge in moments that count. Coleraine's run of five straight wins ended here, and the table has barely moved despite the result.
HT⚽9' A. Frizzell — Goal⚽25' C. Shields — Goal🟨29' B. Hall — Yellow card🟨39' W. Patching — Yellow card🟨45+2' K. McClean — Yellow card🟨45+3' B. Wylie — Yellow card⇄46' L. Kane — Substitution⇄46' R. Slevin — Substitution⚽57' K. Moore — Goal⇄61' D. Boyle — Substitution⇄68' K. Millar — Substitution⇄70' B. Doherty — Substitution⚽80' M. Shevlin — Goal🟨82' A. Frizzell — Yellow card⇄85' K. Moore — Substitution
W28 Aug · Away Portadown · 3:0W5 Sep · Home Crusaders FC · 4:1W11 Sep · Home Ballymena United · 3:2W15 Sep · Away Glentoran · 2:1W19 Sep · Home Limavady United · 1:0L25 Sep · Home Linfield · 1:3
