The Blues only needed 40 seconds to open the scoring when Thomas Stewart beat Davy O'Hare from the edge of the area after good approach play from Peter Thompson and Glenn Ferguson.

They doubled their advantage on 35 minutes through Damien Curran who finished strongly after Thompson got a touch to a Jamie Mulgrew cross from the right.

And six minutes later Curran repaid the favour with a free-kick which Thompson met with his head to nod beyond O'Hare.

Coleraine pulled a goal back nine minutes into the second half when Marty Hunter made the most of a lapse in the Blues defence to chip the ball over Alan Mannus from just inside the area.

But Thompson restored Linfield's three goal cushion with 12 minutes remaining when he got a touch to an Aidan O'Kane effort which O'Hare knocked onto the crossbar.