Haveron out to banish 2024 Irish Cup semi-final pain

Larne boss Gary Haveron said his side are out to banish bad memories of their previous Irish Cup semi-final defeat when they face Coleraine in the last four on Saturday, a game that will be live on the BBC iPlayer. The Inver Reds, who have never won the Irish Cup, lost 2-0 to eventual winners Cliftonville at Windsor Park in their previous semi-final appearance in 2024. And Haveron, who was part of Larne's coaching staff that day, wants his side to right the wrongs from their poor performance that day and progress to the decider where they will face the Reds or holders Dungannon Swifts, "Last semi-final we played in against Cliftonville we didn't do ourselves justice I hope this time we can erase that from our memory and give the supporters something to look forward to Saturday," he told BBC Sport NI.

"Semi-finals are all about getting to the final any which way they'll come. We know it's going to be really difficult ask. "Coleraine are a top side, a lot has been made of the amount of players and quality they've brought in this year, so we'll have it all to do but it's a challenge we look forward to.

We want to to play the best teams and be involved in games that matter. " Bannsiders boss Ruaidhri Higgins, who guided Derry City to an FAI Cup win in 2022 is hoping to guide Coleraine to a first Irish Cup victory since 2018, but he knows league leaders Larne pose a huge threat to that dream. "It's exciting and it's going to be difficult for sure," he said.

"It's what we want to be part of and why I joined the club and why a lot of the players have. We have an opportunity against a really good side who have had an amazing season. "They'll get our full respect but it's a cup semi-final and we want to progress and give everyone in Coleraine a big day out.