Crusaders manager Stephen Baxter hails his side for 'dominating' Coleraine from start to finish

The Bannsiders came into the contest on the back of a 14-match unbeaten run in the Danske Bank Premiership, however, this was quickly brought to an end as individual errors were clinically punished in either half by Paul Heatley and Adam Lecky.

The visitors didn’t muster a single shot on target in north Belfast and were leapfrogged by the Crues into fourth spot in the Premiership standings.

Baxter revealed post-match that several members of his squad were struggling with cold-like symptoms before the clash but that they gave everything throughout the 90 minutes.

"It was an amazing performance by us especially given we had 12 people missing from training on Thursday night due to a flu bug running through the camp,” he said following the fixture.

"We didn't know if we would get a football team out on this pitch today.

"We had boys playing who didn't manage to get out of their beds until late last night.

"We had to do a head count this morning to see who we had.

"We didn't know what we were going to get today or if players were going to last, but my word they stepped up to the plate and gave everything they had for this football club.

"Paul Heatley had sent me a message saying he wouldn't be able to play, but a day later he gets off the sick bed and gives you that.

"You just have to admire that. It's character.

"We said no excuses and to get over the white line and give everything they had because fans don't want to hear about colds and flu, they want to see their team perform.

"The players gave them an absolutely fabulous performance today.”

Crusaders have now won 13 out of their 15 Premiership games on home soil this season and Baxter has challenged his players to keep making Seaview a fortress.

"We are pleased with our home form,” he acknowledged.

"Ballymena beat us here and we dominated that game but they scored a wonder goal to beat us.

"You have to make your home ground a difficult venue for teams to come to.

"We have been good this year right from the get-go in Europe.

"None of them got a result coming out of here either.

"So we've been good here but we have to keep that going.

"This league is so difficult, there are so many good teams, everyone is capable of beating each other so you don't know what you're going to get.

"There's a long way to go, we just have to take it in its context one game at a time."

CRUSADERS: Tuffey, Burns, Robinson, Weir (Caddell, 70), Lowry, Lecky, Ebbe (Thompson, 83), Larmour, Heatley, McKeown, Clarke.

Subs (not used): Murphy, O’Rourke, Stewart, Boyd, Maguire.

COLERAINE: Deane, Kane, D.Jarvis, A.Jarvis (O’Mahony, 59), Carson, Fyfe (Lynch, 59), O’Donnell, Glackin, McDermott, Shevlin, Scott (McCrudden, 70).

Subs (not used): Doherty (GK), Mullan, Carlin, McLaughlin.

REFEREE: Lee Tavinder