Head start

Cliftonville 1-0 Warrenpoint Town

Ryan Curran’s powerful header earned Cliftonville all three Danske Bank Premiership points against a stubborn Warrenpoint Town this afternoon.

A superb performance from visiting keeper Conor Mitchell had frustrated the Reds time and again and, having gone close through Joe Gormley, Chris Curran, Luke Turner, Kris Lowe, Chris Gallagher and Levi Ives, the hosts finally got their reward 17 minutes from time when Curran rose highest to convert Ives’ corner delivery.

The day’s first real effort of note came after the half-hour mark when Chris Curran sent in a strike that failed to really test Mitchell before Gormley and Ives were denied by the visiting stopper.

The keeper showed smart reactions to deal with Lowe’s overhead kick at the start of the second-half and, after turning a Turner shot into the side netting, also had his palms stung by a rasping Gallagher drive from distance.

With Cliftonville seemingly unable to get the better of Mitchell, it was almost left to Town defender Steven Ball to do the needful with a back-header that crept past his team-mate but didn’t make it over the line before the keeper recovered to gather the ball.

Home pressure finally told, however, when Curran met Ives corner to plant a header into the net for a goal that proved sufficient for victory.

Cliftonville: Dunne, Ives, C Curran, R Curran, McDonagh (Kearns, 61 mins), Lowe, Addis, Doherty, Gormley (Donnelly, 84 mins), Turner, Gallagher. Unused subs: McNicholas, Foster, Casey, Coates, Scannell.