UEFA Conference League: Coleraine boss Higgins laments defensive woes in HJK defeat

Coleraine manager Ruidhari Higgins said his side “contributed” to their own downfall in Thursday’s 5-0 defeat to HJK in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League second qualifying round tie.

The Bansiders were two down at the break through goals from Liam Moller and Pirie Mentu, while Toivo Mero added a third early in the second to complete the rout with a quick-fire brace from Timu Pucci.

Higgins expressed his “disappointment” at the manner of the defeat but had no complaints as they now have a mountain to climb in next week’s second leg at home.

“The way we scored and the timing was very disappointing,” Higgins told Coleraine TV.

“We contributed to a lot of their goals and it’s on us, so we have to accept it.”

A bad night for Coleraine got worse as Aidan Wilson and Mark Coyle were forced off with what Higgins described as “serious injuries”.

However, Higgins was not using the injury or his team’s fitness level below HJK, who are in the middle of their domestic campaign, as an excuse.

“They are in the early stages of their fitness and we are just searching for fitness,” he offered.

“Guys like (Joel) Cooper and (Will) Patching have played very little football in pre-season. Cameron Stewart picked up an injury last week, then two defensive-minded players like Aidan Wilson and Mark Coyle have looked like serious injuries.

“We were a bit tentative, a bit disjointed, but we still have to do better because they didn’t have to do much to score them.

“We have to learn from it and learn fast, take it on the chin and try to move on as quickly as possible.”