Joel Cooper and Matthew Shevlin inspired a superb second-half comeback as Coleraine claimed a massive 3-2 win at Larne.

The Bannsiders looked to be heading to defeat after a lacklustre 50 minutes saw them trail to James Simpson's excellent double.

But the Bannsiders' star men produced when they needed most as Cooper pulled one back on the hour mark before Shevlin levelled matters nine minutes later.

It was anyone's game after that and Cooper proved to be the match-winner yet again when he fired home in the 81st minute to secure the points for his side against the reigning champions, who slip to their first league defeat of the season.

It was a cagey opening 10 minutes with both sides vying for space. Unsurprisingly it was Will Patching who managed to find an opening as he released Joe Thomson, but the former Larne man's attempted pass into the unmarked Cooper was cut out by Matt Ridley.

Coleraine were nearly architects of their own downfall in the 14th minute as Lyndon Kane's wayward throw went straight to Paul O'Neill, who forced Lewis Webb into a good save with a low drive.

Larne weren't to be denied though as they broke the deadlock two minutes later with a sublime move which cut open the Bannsiders. Dan Bent's long ball picked out the run of Tomas Cosgrove, who exchanged passes with O'Neill, drawing Webb out of his goal before laying it on a plate for Simpson to fire into an empty net.

The Bannsiders responded as Patching drilled a free-kick straight into the palms of Rohan Ferguson while at the other end Dylan Sloan curled a teasing ball across the face of the visitors goal, which was just begging to be tapped home.

As the half wore on it became very patchy with numerous niggly fouls being punished by referee Tim Marshall.

Larne picked up in the second half where they left off in the first with Simpson doubling his and the home side's tally five minutes after the restart. The midfielder was picked out in the box by Bent before curling home a delightful effort off the far post.

As the game moved towards the hour mark Larne almost grabbed a game-clinching third as Sloan let fly from the edge of the box but Webb got down well to palm the ball away.

That was to prove vital as Coleraine halved the deficit on 60 minutes. Captain Cooper reacted quickest to slam home from close range after Shevlin's initial header was blocked.

Within nine minutes the Bannsiders hauled themselves level as top scorer Shevlin finished off a good team move, powering home a close-range header from Doherty's pin-point cross.

The league leaders weren't done just yet as with nine minutes to go Cooper fired Coleraine in front for the first time in the game. Doherty was again the provider as his cross deflected into Cooper's path, and his first-time effort wrong-footed Ferguson as it found the back of the net.

Larne threw everything at the Bannsiders in the closing stages but they couldn't find a way through as Ruaidhri Higgins' men held on for the win.

Joel Cooper and Matthew Shevlin inspired a superb second-half comeback as Coleraine claimed a massive 3-2 win at Larne.

The Bannsiders looked to be heading to defeat after a lacklustre 50 minutes saw them trail to James Simpson's excellent double.

But the Bannsiders' star men produced when they needed most as Cooper pulled one back on the hour mark before Shevlin levelled matters nine minutes later.

It was anyone's game after that and Cooper proved to be the match-winner yet again when he fired home in the 81st minute to secure the points for his side against the reigning champions, who slip to their first league defeat of the season.

It was a cagey opening 10 minutes with both sides vying for space. Unsurprisingly it was Will Patching who managed to find an opening as he released Joe Thomson, but the former Larne man's attempted pass into the unmarked Cooper was cut out by Matt Ridley.

Coleraine were nearly architects of their own downfall in the 14th minute as Lyndon Kane's wayward throw went straight to Paul O'Neill, who forced Lewis Webb into a good save with a low drive.

Larne weren't to be denied though as they broke the deadlock two minutes later with a sublime move which cut open the Bannsiders. Dan Bent's long ball picked out the run of Tomas Cosgrove, who exchanged passes with O'Neill, drawing Webb out of his goal before laying it on a plate for Simpson to fire into an empty net.

The Bannsiders responded as Patching drilled a free-kick straight into the palms of Rohan Ferguson while at the other end Dylan Sloan curled a teasing ball across the face of the visitors goal, which was just begging to be tapped home.

As the half wore on it became very patchy with numerous niggly fouls being punished by referee Tim Marshall.

Larne picked up in the second half where they left off in the first with Simpson doubling his and the home side's tally five minutes after the restart. The midfielder was picked out in the box by Bent before curling home a delightful effort off the far post.

As the game moved towards the hour mark Larne almost grabbed a game-clinching third as Sloan let fly from the edge of the box but Webb got down well to palm the ball away.

That was to prove vital as Coleraine halved the deficit on 60 minutes. Captain Cooper reacted quickest to slam home from close range after Shevlin's initial header was blocked.

Within nine minutes the Bannsiders hauled themselves level as top scorer Shevlin finished off a good team move, powering home a close-range header from Doherty's pin-point cross.

The league leaders weren't done just yet as with nine minutes to go Cooper fired Coleraine in front for the first time in the game. Doherty was again the provider as his cross deflected into Cooper's path, and his first-time effort wrong-footed Ferguson as it found the back of the net.

Larne threw everything at the Bannsiders in the closing stages but they couldn't find a way through as Ruaidhri Higgins' men held on for the win.

Joel Cooper and Matthew Shevlin inspired a superb second-half comeback as Coleraine claimed a massive 3-2 win at Larne.

The Bannsiders looked to be heading to defeat after a lacklustre 50 minutes saw them trail to James Simpson's excellent double.

But the Bannsiders' star men produced when they needed most as Cooper pulled one back on the hour mark before Shevlin levelled matters nine minutes later.

It was anyone's game after that and Cooper proved to be the match-winner yet again when he fired home in the 81st minute to secure the points for his side against the reigning champions, who slip to their first league defeat of the season.

It was a cagey opening 10 minutes with both sides vying for space. Unsurprisingly it was Will Patching who managed to find an opening as he released Joe Thomson, but the former Larne man's attempted pass into the unmarked Cooper was cut out by Matt Ridley.

Coleraine were nearly architects of their own downfall in the 14th minute as Lyndon Kane's wayward throw went straight to Paul O'Neill, who forced Lewis Webb into a good save with a low drive.

Larne weren't to be denied though as they broke the deadlock two minutes later with a sublime move which cut open the Bannsiders. Dan Bent's long ball picked out the run of Tomas Cosgrove, who exchanged passes with O'Neill, drawing Webb out of his goal before laying it on a plate for Simpson to fire into an empty net.

The Bannsiders responded as Patching drilled a free-kick straight into the palms of Rohan Ferguson while at the other end Dylan Sloan curled a teasing ball across the face of the visitors goal, which was just begging to be tapped home.

As the half wore on it became very patchy with numerous niggly fouls being punished by referee Tim Marshall.

Larne picked up in the second half where they left off in the first with Simpson doubling his and the home side's tally five minutes after the restart. The midfielder was picked out in the box by Bent before curling home a delightful effort off the far post.

As the game moved towards the hour mark Larne almost grabbed a game-clinching third as Sloan let fly from the edge of the box but Webb got down well to palm the ball away.

That was to prove vital as Coleraine halved the deficit on 60 minutes. Captain Cooper reacted quickest to slam home from close range after Shevlin's initial header was blocked.

Within nine minutes the Bannsiders hauled themselves level as top scorer Shevlin finished off a good team move, powering home a close-range header from Doherty's pin-point cross.

The league leaders weren't done just yet as with nine minutes to go Cooper fired Coleraine in front for the first time in the game. Doherty was again the provider as his cross deflected into Cooper's path, and his first-time effort wrong-footed Ferguson as it found the back of the net.

Larne threw everything at the Bannsiders in the closing stages but they couldn't find a way through as Ruaidhri Higgins' men held on for the win.