Crues pair Coates and Leeman to miss Irish Cup quarter-final
Last updated on .From the section Football
Crusaders will take on Coleraine in the Irish Cup quarter-finals without their central defensive pairing of Colin Coates and Paul Leeman.
Skipper Coates and former Glentoran player Leeman are banned for the last eight clash at the Showgrounds.
Linfield trio Mark McAllister, Michael Carvill and Aaron Burns are out of the home clash with minnows Coagh United.
Newry City host Ballymena United and Dungannon Swifts visit Donegal Celtic in the other two quarter-finals.
Donegal Celtic boss Stephen Small is upbeat ahead of the Suffolk Road encounter with the Swifts.
"This is a massive opportunity for us and we need to be mentally and physically right on the day," he said.
"Dungannon have been completely rejuvenated since the New Year with their new signings, who have brought experience and quality to the team.
"Both teams have shown some good form recently so it should be a great game."
Newry manager Pat McGibbon has achieved his target of making the quarter-finals but he aims to go further by beating the Sky Blues.
"I told the players we could make the quarter-finals but I don't want it to end here, although I need my players to be in top form," said McGibbon.
"Ballymena are a Premier Division side and we're in the Championship so they will be expected to win.
"But we will make it difficult for them, that's what we've done against teams throughout the season and hopefully we will do that on Saturday."
Championship Two pacesetters Coagh stand in the way of Linfield's progression to the semi-finals and a possible sixth Irish Cup triumph in seven years.
Coagh have flourished since a humiliating 10-0 defeat to Glenavon in the League Cup in September.
"From that terrible night at Mourneview Park we've had just one defeat," said joint-manager Stephen Uprichard.
"The players took on board the comments we made after that game, they have bounced back and have got us to the top of Championship Two.
"We could not have got a bigger draw that facing the holders and we know the size of the task ahead of us."
Injury rules out McAllister, Carvill and Burns but Billy Joe Burns returns to the Linfield squad after recovering from a back problem.
