CRUSADERS tightened their grip upon the Premiership's third place after defeating Coleraine on home turf. Stakeholders had unveiled ambitious plans for a multi-million pound stadium development just hours before kick off, preceding a deserved win for the self-titled Shore Road Brazilians.

The first half belonged to Crusaders who not only opened the scoring on 20 minutes thanks to Stephen Coulter, but also extended their lead after Mark Dickson converted from the spot. The impact from Coulter's brave header left him momentarily incapacitated, while his teammates gladly celebrated their early lead.

Tommy McCallion dragged Martin Donnelly back with inside the area and although the striker was moving away from goal, referee Desi Loughrey awarded Crusaders a penalty. Dickson sent 'keeper Davy O'Hare the wrong way before dispatching into the bottom right hand corner.

Coleraine hauled a consolation in the second half with just five minutes of normal time remaining, when substitute Richard Gibson headed down to control the ball, before Davy Patton tapped in at the edge of the far post.

Only two teams - Linfield and Lisburn Distillery - have defeated Crusaders in the league at Seaview since April, making it statistically the most challenging ground to pick up all three points.

However, manager Stephen Baxter refuses to take anything for granted and was pleased with the result, acknowledging that there are no guarantees against the Bannsiders. "I thought that Coleraine made matters particularly difficult for us at times and our mistake was allowing them to play back onto us which led to their goal," he said. "Coleraine are excellent at taking their chances and although there were a couple we could have more effectively capitalised upon, we had to fight hard."

Although the home side's skipper Colin Coates is nursing a broken collarbone, Aaron Black confidently slotted into central defence and their midfield towered over their opposite numbers. Were Coleraine to have played fewer long balls and have concentrated on keeping possession, they could have created more concrete opportunities.

Crusaders looked more domineering from the outset and Donnelly first came close to taking the lead after 15 minutes, when his free kick powered into O'Hare, who stretched to finger it over and behind the bar. David Rainey then found himself in a reasonable position before surrendering it to the offside trap. Dickson made a driving run inside the are a few moments later but was blocked by new signing Gareth Tommons, recently procured from Limavady. Stephen Coulter then had a double attempt at finding the target for Crusaders, but each were repelled.

Former Rangers man Stephen Carson was characteristically Coleraine's most consistent player although his finishing was less than acceptable. His detonated shot was stopped at goalkeeper Aaron Kerr's feet while his free kick on the far edge of the area was cannoned over the near post. Jordan Owens had a great opportunity to respond to Patton's goal when he found himself clean through into the 18 yard box, with only O'Hare to beat, but his trifling header was sent wide.

Crusaders will now be preparing for their showdown against league champions Linfield, who remain top of the table after coming back against Glenavon this afternoon. "Playing Linfield presents one of the toughest games we face in this competition," Baxter added.

"We have played extremely well against them this season but in both games they've defeated us by a goal. We held Glentoran at the Oval last week when we really ought to have won so although everyone knows what they're capable of, we'll be confident against Linfield."