'Resilience' key to Coleraine comeback - Higgins

Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins hailed his side's "resilience" as they battled back from two down at half-time to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Linfield on Tuesday.

First half goals from Matthew Fitzpatrick and Sam Roscoe put the Blues in an advantageous position at the break, but Coleraine battled back as Matthew Shevlin netted his 100th goal for the club before Charles Dunne struck with eight minutes to go.

The Bannsiders' boss said he "felt we deserved to possibly win the game in the end" but was happy with his team's fighting qualities to secure the draw.

"The fact that we were 2-0 down at half-time and came back to 2-2, hopefully we've sent people home reasonably pleased," Higgins told BBC Sport NI.

"We were a wee bit timid in the first half in terms of defending long balls and defending set plays, timid defending long throw-ins.

"They physically dominated us for periods in the first half but we showed real resilience and great reaction. I actually felt we deserved to possibly win the game in the end.

"We've been better than what we were tonight, there's no doubt about that, but we showed a certain amount of resilience that you need, especially against teams like Linfield, in the second half. We take our point and we move on."

Higgins admitted that he "possibly got it wrong in relation to how we went about it in the first half", but switches at the break helped turn things around.

He also paid tribute to the "outstanding" Shevlin whose goal helped spark the league leaders to life and reach a personal milestone.

"We had to make changes, we had to get leadership on the pitch and I thought Kodi and Lyndon came in and showed that. Lewis McGregor I thought carried a real attacking threat and we got ourselves a point," he added.

"I love Shevy's attitude, how he goes about it. He's brilliant in the dressing room. He's been a fantastic signing for this club for a number of years now.

"One hundred goals is a brilliant achievement and there'll be many more to come I'm sure."