Mas appeal

Cliftonville 1-0 Glenavon

Thomas Maguire struck his first goal for the Club as Cliftonville began 2020 with a gutsy home victory over Glenavon.

A scrappy game was ultimately settled on the stroke of half-time when Maguire – a 17th minute substitute for injured captain Chris Curran – seized on a smart flick from Conor McMenamin to steer a low drive beyond visiting goalkeeper Jonny Tuffey.

Joe Gormley had the ball in the net with less than a quarter-of-an-hour on the clock but the goal was ruled out after referee Evan Boyce harshly ruled that he had fouled a visiting defender in the build-up.

Clear cut chances were at a premium although Conor McMenamin almost found a way through late in the first half after combining with Gormley only to be denied by a fine stop from Tuffey, although that proved to be little more than a temporary reprieve for the visitors when Maguire popped up moments later with the only goal of the afternoon.

The Reds survived a few nervy moments as the game wore on and Glenavon searched for an equaliser. Keeper Richard Brush made a few clearances with a goalmouth scramble causing some anxiety while Seamus Sharkey and Josh Daniels were both narrowly off target with close range headers.

Jordan Jenkins also found himself through on goal but his low effort from the right was cleared.

Cliftonville: Brush, McDermott, Breen, Harney, C Curran, R Curran, Bagnall, Doherty, Gormley, McMenamin, A Donnelly. Subs: Dunne, Ives (McMenamin, 90 mins), Foster, Wilson (Gormley, 80 mins), Maguire (C Curran, 17 mins), Rocks, McCurry.