Uefa Conference League: Coleraine boss Higgins bemoans defensive woes in HJK defeat

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

The Bannsiders were two down at the break through goals from Liam Moller and Pyry Mentu, while Toivo Mero added a third early in the second have with a quickfire brace by Teemu Pukki completing the rout.

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 manner of the goals we gave away and the timing were extremely disappointing,” Higgins told Coleraine TV.

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

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

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

“They are in their prime of fitness and we’re just searching for fitness,” he offered.

“Lads like [Joel] Cooper and [Will] Patching have had 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 pick up what looks like serious injuries.

“We were a bit makeshift, a bit disjointed, but we still have to do better as they didn’t have to do much to score their goals.

“We have to learn from that and learn fast, take it on the chin and try to move on as fast as we can.”