Friday figures

Regular readers of our Matchday Magazine will know all the facts and figures behind each new week at Cliftonville Football Club, while our Twitter followers are regaled with daily delves into the archives and, ahead of the Reds’ return to Danske Bank Premiership action against Glentoran tomorrow, we have a few statistical loose ends to tie up from recent outings.

Last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Glenavon ensured that all four of the Club’s January fixtures delivered goals in the final two minutes, with Ryan Curran’s late equaliser the 310th time Cliftonville have scored against the Lurgan Blues in 191 Solitude meetings, during which time the County Armagh outfit have netted on 350 occasions.

On Tuesday night, meanwhile, the Reds registered their 1500th away draw in Irish League football thanks to the point banked in Coleraine, where Paul O’Neill became the first Reds debutant to find the net since Calvin McCurry in 2019 and joined Daniel Kearns and Barry Coffey in making his bow, following on from Kris Lowe’s first appearance at the weekend.

Cliftonville’s opening goal of the evening, scored by Rory Hale, was the Club’s 50th Premiership strike at the Coleraine Showgrounds and the 2-2 outcome means the Reds have now drawn more games (72) than they have won (71) against a Bannsiders team, with that statistic also reflected in Premiership fixtures at a rate of 24 to 23.

While last week’s 4-3 defeat of Linfield at Solitude was Cliftonville’s 440th Premiership home game, tomorrow’s encounter at The Oval will see the Reds contest the 2800th away fixture in Club history.

Recent weeks in numbers
2800: Tomorrow’s fixture with Glentoran is the 2800th away game in Cliftonville history
1500: Amount of away draws the Reds have now reached following Tuesday’s tie in Coleraine
440: The 4-3 win over Linfield was the Club’s 440th Premiership home tie
350: Number of goals Glenavon have scored against Cliftonville at Solitude
310: Number of goals the Reds have scored against Glenavon at Solitude
72: Tally of games between Cliftonville and Coleraine that have ended in draws
50: Rory Hale’s opener on Tuesday was the Club’s 50th Premiership strike at The Coleraine Showgrounds
4: Amount of players who made their Reds debuts in the last two fixtures
2: All four of Cliftonville’s matches in January delivered goals in the final two minutes
1: Paul O’Neill’s finish at Coleraine saw him become the Reds first goalscoring debutant since Calvin McCurry