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Steven Crawford

Coleraine ease past Dungannon to reach another League Cup semi-final

Coleraine secured their place in the last four of the BetMcLean League Cup thanks to a 3-0 win over Dungannon Swifts at The Showgrounds.

First half goals from Michael McCrudden and Matthew Shevlin rewarded Oran Kearney's men for a dominant display, before Evan McLaughlin added a late third.

It is the third year-in-a-row the Bannsiders have made it through to the semi-finals of the competition, where they will now face Cliftonville, who beat them in last year's final.

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The home side dominated the ball in the opening exchanges.

Their possession was rewarded with a free kick on ten minutes after Mayowa Animasahun had crudely upended Jamie Glackin outside the box.

Josh Carson stepped up to the set piece, which flew wide of the near post.

The side netting was rattled again five minutes later as Lynch's precision through ball sent Shevlin scampering away, but he failed to hit the target from a tight angle.

The Swifts were opened up again on 19 minutes after another excellent slide rule pass from Lynch.

This time McCrudden was the beneficiary, and he made no mistake with a composed finish from inside the box.

The hosts doubled their advantage inside three minutes as Conor McDermott's raking long ball picked out Shevlin's run, and he coolly finished past Declan Dunne.

It should have been 3-0 12 minutes before the break as Carson's cross found McCrudden, but he somehow blazed over in front of goal.

Right on half time Ryan Mayse's snapshot forced Marty Gallagher in the home goal into his first piece of action on the night.

Coleraine started the second half off with the same intent as the first, and but for a great save from Dunne to deny Carson, it would have been 3-0.

The Bannsiders seemed capable of cutting Dungannon open at will with McDermott and Lyndon Kane getting a lot of joy down the right-hand side.

McDermott almost got in on goal in the 73 minutes after some good hold-up play by Shevlin.

The defender latched on to the loose ball surging into the area, but Cahal McGinty did enough to block his shot,

McDermott did manage to get a cross in as the ball broke again, however Dunne was able to claim it.

Coleraine broke away several times in closing minutes as the Swifts committed men forward, and it finally paid off as McLaughlin completed the scoring in stoppage time.

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