Strollers’ added extra

An injury-time strike from Calvin McCurry earned Cliftonville Strollers victory over Dungannon Swifts Under 18s in a dramatic Harry Cavan Youth Cup Quarter Final clash at Solitude this afternoon.

The visitors had initially taken the lead through Adam Wright, only for McCurry – who made his full senior debut in last Saturday’s Irish Cup defeat of Hanover – to level on the stroke of half-time when he headed Peter McKiernan’s corner home.

McKiernan went from provider to scorer when he rounded the Swifts goalkeeper to put the Strollers ahead three minutes after the interval and that looked sufficient to earn the Wee Reds a Semi Final berth only for Dungannon’s Ethan McGee to make it 2-2 on 90 minutes.

Undeterred, however, the hosts reacted to that setback in clinical style and, deep into added time, McCurry (pictured receiving his Man of the Match award from Youth Cup committee chairman Jim Jess) claimed possession inside the area and coolly got the better of both a defender and the keeper before rolling the ball into an empty net to put the seal on a sensational finish.