Half-time at Shamrock Park and Coleraine hold a comfortable lead.

The Bannsiders hit the front inside the opening five minutes thanks to Matthew Shevlin's second goal of the season and then doubled their advantage just before 30 minutes when Senan Devine headed home.

Portadown have had their chances, too, Aidan Wilson clearing Sean O'Mahoney's shot off the line, but are finding the going tough against the league leaders.

Still, there's another 45 minutes for the hosts to try and get their first points of the campaign.

A good chance for Portadown just before the break but Dylan Boyle reacts quickly to block a fiercely struck James Teelan shot.

A brief break in play as Portadown defender Lewis MacKinnon goes down under a challenge from Coleraine frontman Matthew Shevlin.

Thankfully for home fans, he's able to continue.

Coleraine continue to look dangerous from set pieces as Aidan Wilson passes up a great opportunity from another Ben Doherty corner.

Two corners in quick succession for Coleraine midway through the opening half.

Portadown defender Matthew Carson is the first player in referee Niall Devlin's notebook for a challenge on Jay Henderson on the touchline.

The visitors come within the width of a post of doubling their lead after a quarter of an hour.

Will Patching again is the provider, supplying an inch perfect pass for Ben Doherty to run on to.

The left back races clear of the Portadown defence but his low left foot drive cannons off the base of a post before being cleared to safety.

A positive response to going behind from Portadown as Aidan Wilson is forced to hack Sean O'Mahoney's goal bound effort off the goal line in the 10th minute.

Manager David Jeffrey will no doubt be pleased with the reaction of his players.

Tricky wing play from Jay Henderson wins Coleraine a first corner of the game.

A bright start from the visitors as you might expect from a team unbeaten in their last 10 league outings, stretching back to the end of last season.

Will Patching gets us under way at a sun-splashed Shamrock Park.

High flying Coleraine visit Portadown, still without a point, looking to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership table.

Ports manager David Jeffrey makes three changes to the team who lost 3-2 to Crusaders six days ago.

Midfielder Finn Flanagan is suspended following his sending off at Seaview, while neither Jack Scott nor Rhys Green make the matchday squad.

In their place come Tabu Minzamba, Dominic Martins and highly rated striker Sean O'Mahoney, who made the move to Shamrock Park from Leinster Senior League side St Francis FC in the summer.

The Coleraine starting XI shows just one change from last Saturday's 2-0 win at Carrick Rangers as Senan Devine replaces the injured Joel Cooper, who looks set for a spell on the sidelines with a groin injury.

Portadown: McCarey (c), Carson, Altintop, MacKinnon, Minzamba, Fife, O'Mahoney, Teelen, Hewitt, Kennedy, Martins.

Subs: Barry, Isamala, Chapman, Falls, Wells, Obhakhan, Creighton.

Coleraine: Webb, Kane (c), Boyle, Patching, Shevlin, Wilson, Henderson, Slevin, Devine, Wylie, Doherty.

Subs: Robinson, Jarvis, McGregor, Ives, McMenamin, McHugh, McCourt.

Image source, BBC Sport

It has been a European campaign to forget for Irish Premiership teams this season.

After Linfield and Glentoran's first-round exits and Coleraine's hammering in the second round, Larne's European adventure ended in dramatic fashion.

The Inver Reds had a two-goal advantage following the first leg of their Uefa Conference League play-off, but a disastrous final 10 minutes at Inver Park saw Lincoln Red Imps score twice and Larne reduced to 10 men before the away side netted the winner in the final minute of extra time.

For Gary Haveron's side, the immediate consequences are obvious but, for the Irish League, the repercussions could be felt for years.

BBC Sport NI takes a look at some of the key questions and possible setbacks following Larne's exit.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

As has been the case on so many occasions, Joel Cooper popped up with an important goal to steer Coleraine to victory last Saturday.

Cooper kept his cool to net the opener on 56 minutes in a hard-fought 2-0 win for the Bannsiders against a stubborn Carrick Rangers side on a difficult playing surface at Taylors Avenue.

The 30-year-old, who has been handed the captain's armband by Ruaidhri Higgins in the absence of the injured Mark Coyle, was quiet for much of the contest, but made a telling contribution when it mattered most as he has built a reputation of doing at the club and during his previous spell at Linfield.

Cooper, who was Coleraine's top goalscorer last season, burst into life to get off the mark in the third game of this campaign, latching onto Dylan Boyle's inch-perfect pass before coolly slotting past Nathan Gartside with a low first-time finish.

It was just what he and Coleraine needed, as they had struggled to break down a resilient Carrick side up until that point.

Cooper cut a frustrated figure in a first half in which he had little room to manoeuvre while his strike partner, the normally reliable Matthew Shevlin, had a rare off day, passing up three big chances.

Conor McMenamin didn't have the desired impact off the bench as he continues to find his feet at the club following his big-money move, but bringing him on did allow Cooper to move into a more central position and he duly delivered with a clinical finish which was all the more valuable given others were off the pace.

"Joel scored a brilliant first goal after the pass from Dylan Boyle and we know how important he is to us," Higgins told BBC Sportsound of arguably their most integral player.

Image source, Pacemaker

Here is how the table looks ahead of tonight's action at Shamrock Park in the Irish Premiership.

Visitors Coleraine sit top of the table, with hosts Portadown yet to pick up any points. Could that change this evening?

Follow our live text commentary here!

Image source, BBC Sport

Tonight's game between Portadown and Coleraine will form the appetiser for a four-match programme of matches on Saturday.

Crusaders will aim to build on their two home wins in recent weeks when they travel to the Oval to face a Glentoran team who bounced back from defeat by Linfield by beating Ballymena United.

Cliftonville host Dungannon Swifts, Bangor are at home to Carrick Rangers and Linfield are away to Limavady United.

Image source, BBC Sport

We may still be in the early stages of the new Irish Premiership season but it already feels like there is a lot on the line in tonight's meeting between Portadown and Coleraine at Shamrock Park.

New Ports manager David Jeffrey is still looking to secure the club's first points of the season after three defeats to start the campaign.

The hosts will not find it easy to break their duck this evening however against a Coleraine side who sit unbeaten top of the table at this very early stage with seven points from their first three games.

We will keep you up to date with all the action as it unfolds with text updates throughout the evening, followed by highlights from the Friday night encounter.

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