Goalden stats
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, as Heritage Development Officer Paul Treanor notes, milestones have not been in short supply of late.
Not only did Saturday’s Danske Bank Premiership fixture with Crusaders result in the Club’s 500th away draw, but Daniel Kearns’ injury-time strike at Seaview was Cliftonville’s 8000th goal. The first also came in a North Belfast Derby – David Hannay opening the scoring in an Irish Cup defeat of Oldpark on February 5, 1881.
Last night’s League Cup encounter with Harland & Wolff Welders, meanwhile, saw the Reds claim a 1750th historical victory and extended our winning streak against the east Belfast side to five games – a sequence spanning some 32 years.
Indeed, the Welders have only ever scored two competitive goals against Cliftonville and both came in a League Cup triumph at Solitude in October 1989 and, in addition to last night’s game delivering the Reds’ seventh success in eight meetings between the Clubs, Ryan Curran’s first-half strike was the 175th time we have found the net at home on League Cup duty.
Further history was made within the game itself when Paul O’Neill’s 72nd minute entrance represented the first time Cliftonville have used four substitutes in a match – and Chris Curran duly became the fifth when he emerged from the bench 10 minutes later.
This week in numbers
8000: Daniel Kearns’ strike against Crusaders was Cliftonville’s 8000th goal
1750: The 2-0 victory over H&W Welders was the Reds’ 1750th win
500: Saturday’s North Belfast Derby stalemate was Cliftonville’s 500th away draw
175: Ryan Curran’s finish against the Welders was the Reds’ 175th League Cup goal at Solitude
7: All seven of Cliftonville’s wins against H&WW were complemented by clean sheets
5: The contest with the Welders saw the Reds’ first ever use of four and five substitutes
2: Luke McNicholas and Colin Coates became Cliftonville’s latest debutants when they featured last night
1: The only game in which H&WW have scored against the Reds was their 1989 League Cup win at Solitude