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The league leaders put the basement boys to the sword at The Showgrounds as they were in clinical form, and in particular, Joel Cooper who netted a hat-trick against his former club. Coleraine came into the contest after coming from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw against Linfield and they used that momentum into the weekend as they never looked back once Cooper headed in on 41 minutes. The attacker then added his second on 51 minutes with a crisp finish, before Matthew Shevlin got in on the act as he swept home from Zane Okoro’s cross. The day then turned even more miserable for the visitors as ‘keeper Mark Byrne was dismissed for bringing down Cooper, and after using their three substitution windows, they were unable to bring on a replacement, meaning defender Harry Murphy had to go in goal. He was powerless to stop efforts from Levi Ives and Cooper – who completed his treble – but there was some comfort for the Lurgan Blues as Paul McGovern netted a goal-of-the-season contender to grab a consolation goal. “Listen, we played some decent stuff in the first half, but we were a wee bit lethargic,” Higgins said after the match. "We got a goal at a really good time but I thought Glenavon were well set up. "We asked for more energy, more tempo, more intensity in our play in the second half, and I felt we came out with the bit between our teeth and got some brilliant goals - I'm just delighted. "We said before the game that Tuesday would be a decent point if we'd done our business right here today, and we've done that.” Coleraine’s fixture at home to Linfield on Tuesday brought a near sell-out crowd of nearly 4000 spectators to the north coast venue under the lights and atmosphere. However, it was a somewhat subdued mood around the Ballycastle Road on Saturday, and Higgins believes night time games can ignite more energy from the stands. He stated: “We're a full-time professional football club, and regardless of the surroundings or the environment, you've got to go and do your job. "But what I would say is I do see why people prefer playing night-time games. "I do see it sometimes on a Saturday afternoon that it can be slightly flat, particularly when you compare it to what it was like in here on Tuesday. "So I do see the argument certainly for night-time games, but listen, it's been a good week for us. "We got the points last week in Portadown, then took a point from being 2-0 down midweek, and we took three here, so it's been a good week.” The Bannsiders remain three points clear at the summit but Higgins isn’t getting carried away by his side’s strong start to the campaign. "We've a really good points return to date,” he continued. “We're winning a lot of games and putting in some decent performances and that's all I genuinely really care about at this minute. "We can talk about league tables when we get to March or April time, if we're still in the same position.”
