Irish League Football

Image source, Inpho

Coleraine forward Joel Cooper has confirmed he is set to undergo surgery on both knees after playing through the pain barrier culminated in a starring role in the club's Irish Cup triumph.

Cooper, 30, scored and was named man of the match as Coleraine beat Dungannon Swifts 3-2 in Saturday's Windsor Park showpiece.

The former Northern Ireland Under-21 international ended his first season with the Bannsiders with 26 goals.

"I go to London tomorrow [Tuesday] for surgery on both knees. I've been struggling all season, probably since October," he told Good Morning Ulster.

"The medical team at Coleraine have been brilliant with me and I've been monitored very closely, there's the odd game I haven't been able to make it but the majority of the time I've been on the pitch, I maybe haven't been 100% but I'm not one who can sit back and watch, I like to be involved."

Cooper, who hopes to recover in time for the start of Coleraine's European campaign in July, joined an exclusive club on Saturday as an Irish Cup winner with three different clubs.

He previously won the competition with Glenavon in 2016 and Linfield in 2021.

"They're all different. The first one at Glenavon was special because of my grandad, a big Glenavon supporter, so that one was very special," he added.

"When we won at Linfield it was strange because it was during Covid, it wasn't at Windsor, it was at Mourneview [Park]. There weren't as many supporters there so it was different.

"Then last Saturday, after all the talk of the transfer window last year, this one is special as well because people will understand why I wanted the move. The support on Saturday was immense."

When asked if the cup win gave him vindication following his much-talked about move from Linfield last summer, Cooper said: "I don't know if I needed any vindication but it's nice to have a trophy at the end of it because all the talk was I wasn't going for trophies or football terms.

"But when I spoke to the owner [Henry Ross] or the manager [Ruaidhri Higgins] when he came in, the ambition they had said it all for me. They don't want to be just another team, they want to go and be successful.

"I knew what I was doing and I'm glad it's worked out that way."

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Defending Women's Premiership champions Glentoran began the defence of their title with a comprehensive 5-0 home win over Lisburn Rangers on Friday night.

The Glens led 3-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Kelly Crompton, Mia Moore and Gracie Conway, with Aimee Kerr and Mia Moore extending their advantage.

Linfield equalled their Belfast rivals in terms of goals scored on the opening night as they ran out convincing 5-0 winners over Derry City.

Linfield were four to the good at the interval, thanks to strikes from Cora Chambers, an Eve Reilly double, and Megan Bell in stoppage time. Stacey Murdough netted to make it five.

Emily Reid had Crusaders Strikers 2-0 up before the break but Chloe Tully and Shannon Dunne replied to draw Larne level and earn their side a point.

A dominant first half saw Cliftonville lead Lisburn Ladies 3-0, with Hannah Doherty, Caitlin McGuinness and Teegan Lynch on target.

A Kirsty McGuinness double in the second half for the Reds made the final scoreline 5-0.

Image source, Linfield FC

Linfield captain Jamie Mulgrew has signed a one-year contract extension with the Irish Premiership club.

The 39-year-old has made 822 appearances for the Blues since he joined in 2005 and has lifted the Gibson Cup 11 times so far.

David Healy's side were hoping to defend their Irish Premiership title this season but finished fourth, 17 points off champions Larne.

"I'm delighted to continue on playing here," Mulgrew said.

"I've been here a long time and I know what is expected and what is required.

"I wanted to see where I was at. I needed to make sure I'm still capable of what is required. We all know what is required to play at this club. I've been working hard behind the scenes to make sure I'm still in a place where I can contribute."

Manager Healy added that it has been "a real privilege to work with and manage" Mulgrew and believes there is much more to come from the midfielder.

"Jamie is an outstanding professional and the standards he sets both on and off the pitch are invaluable, qualities you simply can't buy," Healy continued.

"Throughout the season, Jamie, Willie and I had open and honest discussions about his future, and he's proven he still has the ability to compete and make a strong contribution at this level.

"We're delighted to have him with us for another season as he continues to add to an already remarkable career at Linfield."

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Ballymena United manager Oran Kearney has announced the departure of eight players from the club with the possibility of that number rising to 12.

Defenders Stephen O'Donnell and former Northern Ireland international Daniel Lafferty, midfielders Aaron Jarvis and ex-Scotland international Dylan McGeouch, plus goalkeeper Brad Wade have not been offered renewed terms and will leave the club.

Alex Gawne, Caolan Loughran and Shea McAuley - who were out on loan this season - will also leave at the end of their contracts, while Dean Ebbe, Ali Gould, Ryan McNickle and Jack O'Reilly have been made available for transfer.

Kearney took over at the Ballymena Showgrounds in December following the departure of Jim Ervin and guided the club to a ninth-place finish in this season's Irish Premiership.

The departures represent the first phase of his summer rebuild at the club.

Watch highlights as Crusaders come from behind to beat Annagh United 3-2 in the first leg of the promotion/relegation play-off at the BMG Arena.

Read the report from the game here: Crues fight back to beat Annagh in play-off first leg

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Glenavon have announced that manager Michael O'Connor has signed a two-year contract extension with the club.

O'Connor replaced Paddy McLaughlin as Lurgan Blues boss in November 2025 when the side were 10 points adrift at the bottom of the Irish Premiership.

Under O'Connor, they managed to leapfrog Crusaders and move out of the automatic relegation spot in March but were relegated following their post-split defeat by the Crues.

O'Connor's attentions will now turn to next season's Championship as the side compete in the second tier for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

Assistant managers Andy Doyle and Mark Ferguson have also agreed terms to stay at the club.

"Michael did a tremendous job under trying circumstances," said club director Cathal Morrison.

"There's not a board member, a player, a volunteer, or a fan that doesn't want to see what he can do with a squad of his own making, and without having to give the rest of the league an 11-game head start.

"To his genuine credit, Michael wanted to come back and finish what he started, and his staff hold the same attitude, so we go again next season."

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Crusaders manager Declan Caddell said his side are prepared to face a "big, physical and direct" Annagh United in Tuesday's promotion/relegation play-off first leg at the BMG Arena (19:45 BST).

The Crues come into the play-off in good form and are unbeaten in their past four league matches.

As for Annagh, they are without a win in six games and finished nine points behind Championship winners Limavady United.

The sides will meet again on Friday, 1 May for the second leg of the play-off to decide who will compete in the Irish Premiership and who will play in the Championship next campaign.

"I have done a lot of homework the last two weeks and I have loads of information on them and watched a lot of their games," Caddell told BBC Sport NI.

"They are a big, physical and direct side and they play really well. It is going to be a tough place to go, and we can't take anything for granted because they will punish you.

"They have talented players who will punish you if given the chance, so we have to be at our very best."

Annagh are no strangers to the play-off having been defeated by Carrick Rangers 5-2 on aggregate last season.

However, after a challenging campaign, the Crues have impressed post-split in the Irish Premiership and avoided the automatic relegation spot by losing just one of their final five fixtures.

Caddell praised his side's performances over the last number of weeks and believes that momentum will help them retain their Premiership status.

"Confidence is everything in football and when you go through that losing cycle every week, you create bad habits," he continued.

"I think we were sparked by that late equaliser against Bangor, which shot a bit of belief and feel good into them.

"Credit to them, they have kicked on massively from it."

You can follow live text commentary with in-play clips of the first-leg on the BBC Sport NI website.