State of the Ard

Cliftonville’s first home game of our pre-season programme sees Ards visit Solitude tomorrow night for what will be just the fifth friendly contested between the Clubs.

The Reds have won the last three, having suffered defeat on the first such occasion when Ards claimed a 6-2 victory at Castlereagh Park way back on May 28, 1955.

More recently, Johnny McMurray (2), Joe Gormley, Tomas Cosgrove and Ryan Catney were on target in a 5-0 win at Solitude on July 1, 2014, while the scoreline was repeated in the summer of 2019 when Ruaidhri Donnelly (2), Conor McMenamin, Jamie Harney and Ryan Curran found the net.

In September last year, meanwhile, Solitude hosted a behind-closed-doors affair that saw Levi Ives, Ryan Curran and Mark McKee on the scoresheet in the aftermath of a comical early own goal by Garry Breen.

History of friendly meetings
May 28, 1955: Ards 6-2 Cliftonville
July 1, 2014: Cliftonville 5-0 Ards
June 19, 2019: Cliftonville 5-0 Ards
September 30, 2020: Cliftonville 3-1 Ards

John Bailie’s side, who begin their NIFL Championship campaign at Annagh United on August 7, contains plenty of faces familiar to Cliftonville supporters, not least double Premiership title-winning defender Jaimie McGovern.

Goalkeeper Brian Neeson also enjoyed two years with the Reds and midfielder Kym Nelson spent a brief stint on loan at the Club. Conall McGrandles, Christopher Crane and Daniel Reynolds were likewise on the books, while Ards have also recently signed Eamon Scannell, elder brother of striker Conor.

Supporters attending tomorrow night’s fixture are asked to be conscious of social distancing measures inside the ground and are reminded that admission is set at £7 standard and £5 for concessions, with free entry to Club Members upon presentation of a 2020/21 Members Card.