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Gareth Fullerton

Coleraine's 'new DNA' will present stern test for Larne, says Tiernan Lynch

Tiernan Lynch believes Larne will have to stand up to the physical test of Coleraine when the sides meet at Inver Park tonight.

Bannsiders boss Oran Kearney recently claimed his side had rediscovered its 'DNA' following a "workmanlike" performance against Glentoran.

Lynch admits he has noticed a shift in Coleraine's style this season, and has predicted another stern test of his side's title credentials at Inver Park.

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"I heard Oran and Lyndon (Kane) talking about Coleraine finding their DNA, and it looks like that's what they are going with," Lynch said.

"I went down to their game last Saturday (against Glenavon) and they were very different from the couple of times I watched them previously. They will be extremely hard to break down and they look very solid.

"If we get anything from them we will be doing well."

Larne continue to lead the way in the Premiership but their title surge was stalled by Linfield on Tuesday night.

Michael Newberry's second-half goal earned the Blues a crucial 1-0 win to close to within six points of Lynch's men.

Larne still hold a five-point lead at the summit, a position Lynch says he would have accepted with open arms if offered to him before a ball was kicked this season.

"I would have taken your hand off for it," he said.

"I think you are always disappointed when you lose games. I watched the Glentoran game back three or four times and for 65 minutes I thought we were the better team, before Conor McMenamin did what he does.

"Again, on Tuesday I thought we were the better team. I think all of Linfield's danger came from set pieces, and the one we didn't deal with they punished us with."

He added: "We were confident going into the Linfield game and should have got something from it, but we have put that to bed now.

"We weren't just clinical enough on Tuesday and if we had been it might have been a different game.

"We have a quick turnaround from Tuesday's game against Linfield and the big fixtures are coming thick and fast. They are all massive.

"I keep looking down the fixture list and every game is as big as the others. We have to bounce back from Tuesday night."

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