Love and eight for Ryan

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 Saturday’s draw with Crusaders provided a number of notable milestones for Heritage Development Officer Paul Treanor to feast upon.

Ryan Curran’s 55th minute equaliser not only saw him become just the 35th player to reach 40 goals for the Club but also helped him climb to eighth in the Reds’ all-time Premiership scorers list; his 31st strike nudging him in front of fellow Derrymen Tommy McCallion and Davy McDaid, although still some 116 shy of Joe Gormley at the summit.

The Seaview showdown – which was the 299th meeting between Cliftonville and the Crues – also delivered 100th League starts for both Jamie Harney and Liam Bagnall, who each made their Club debuts in a 6-3 victory over Ards on August 12, 2017.

Prior to the weekend’s Derby duel, Tuesday night saw the Reds contest their 70th match with Dungannon Swifts.

The 3-0 win, which came courtesy of a Michael McCrudden double and Ryan O’Reilly’s first goal for the Club, means Cliftonville have now triumphed in 34 of those meetings which, symmetrically enough, would have been spread equally across Solitude and Stangmore Park – with each venue hosting 25 League games and 10 Cup fixtures – were it not for the fact that Donegal Celtic Park acted as the Reds’ ‘home’ ground for a September 2008 Premiership clash between the teams, with Seaview doing likewise two years later.

Last weekend’s 5-0 defeat of Warrenpoint Town, meanwhile, trebled up as Cliftonville’s 5470th competitive match, 1740th competitive win and 170th away triumph on Premiership duty.

It, combined with Saturday’s stalemate against Crusaders, means the Reds’ all-time Premiership goal difference on the road is in positive figures at +4, with the away goal difference during Paddy McLaughlin’s tenure one better on +5!

Recent weeks in numbers
5470: Last Saturday’s outing at Warrenpoint Town was Cliftonville’s 5470th competitive fixture
1740: The 5-0 win at Milltown was the Reds’ 1740th competitive victory
299: Amount of times Cliftonville have faced Crusaders
170: Number of away games the Reds have won since the introduction of Premier League football
100: Saturday’s game saw both Jamie Harney and Liam Bagnall make their 100th Premiership starts for the Club
70: Amount of times Cliftonville have played Dungannon Swifts competitively
40: Ryan Curran is the 35th player to reach 40 goals for the Reds
33: Only 33 of Cliftonville’s 35 home games against Dungannon have been staged at Solitude
8: Ryan Curran is eighth on the Club’s all-time Premiership scorers list with 31 League goals (see below)
5: The Reds’ away goal difference under Paddy McLaughlin’s management now sits at +5
4: Cliftonville’s all-time away goal difference in the Premiership is +4

Top 10 Premiership Goalscorers
147: Joe Gormley
105: Chris Scannell
76: George McMullan
69: Liam Boyce
49: Ruaidhri Donnelly
45: Jay Donnelly
41: Stephen Garrett
31: Ryan Curran
30: Tommy McCallion, Davy McDaid