Coleraine manager Ruaidhrí Higgins expressed his frustration following a 5-0 loss to HJK in the first leg of their Uefa Conference League second qualifying round on Thursday.

The Bannsiders fell behind early, with goals from Liam Moller and Pyry Mentu putting them two down by halftime. The second half saw Toivo Mero extend the lead, before Teemu Pukki sealed the rout with two quick goals.

Higgins voiced his disappointment over the team's defensive lapses, stating:

"The manner of the goals we gave away and the timing were extremely disappointing. We contributed to a lot of their goals and that's on us, so we have to accept it."

In addition to the scoreline, the night worsened for Coleraine as Aidan Wilson and Mark Coyle suffered what Higgins described as "serious injuries." Despite this setback, he refrained from using injuries as an excuse for the defeat, acknowledging the fitness levels of HJK, who are in the midst of their domestic season.

Higgins noted:

"They are in their prime of fitness and we're just searching for fitness. Lads like [Joel] Cooper and [Will] Patching have had very little football in pre-season."

He admitted that the team appeared disjointed but emphasized the need for improvement:

"We still have to do better as they didn't have to do much to score their goals. We have to learn from that and learn fast, take it on the chin and try to move on as fast as we can."

Coleraine now faces a challenging task in the second leg at home, needing to overcome a significant deficit.