Derby double delight

Cliftonville 2-0 Crusaders

Two first-half strikes from Ryan Curran earned Cliftonville North Belfast Derby joy against Crusaders at Solitude this afternoon.

Ahead when Curran netted from the penalty spot in the aftermath of Kyle Owens’ foul on Joe Gormley, the Reds doubled their advantage when Curran produced a cool finish after seizing on an excellent pass from Joe Gorman.

Curran came close to completing a first-half hat-trick and Gormley was denied by both Gerard Doherty and namesake Harry either side of the interval, while Cliftonville’s clean sheet was largely due to an outrageous late double save from Richard Brush, who followed up a fingertip stop to keep Jordan Forsythe at bay by somehow keeping out Owens’ follow-up.

Full report to follow…