Olly good show

Cliftonville 3-0 Dungannon Swifts

Ronan Doherty’s headed opener set Cliftonville on course for three points against Dungannon Swifts at Solitude this afternoon.

Joe Gormley’s close-range finish made it 2-0 before the break, with Jamie McDonagh – who had teed up Olly and Gormley’s strikes – completing the job late on.

The deadlock might have been broken as early as the second minute when Jonny Addis played Gormley though but visiting keeper Dwayne Nelson was quickly off his line to prevent the striker executing a lobbed effort.

Nelson also kept McDonagh at bay before the opening goal came from the subsequent corner; McDonagh whipping in the delivery which Doherty nodded in.

Gormley and Chris Curran then went close to doubling Cliftonville’s advantage but it wasn’t long before the second goal came when Gormley applied the finish to McDonagh’s low cross.

The same duo combined on 38 minutes only for Gormley to strike the post and, in a second-half where opportunities were much less frequent, McDonagh curled a free-kick wide before the Reds’ advantage was maintained when Declan Dunne denied Caolin Coyle from close range.

Nelson turned a fierce McDonagh attempt over the top before the scoring was complete when he raced in to turn the ball over the line after Gormley’s dinked attempt had beaten the keeper.

Cliftonville: Dunne, C Curran, R Curran, McDonagh (O’Neill, 87 mins), Lowe, Donnelly, Addis, Doherty, Gormley (Foster, 87 mins), Turner, Gallagher (Kearns, 56 mins). Unused subs: McNicholas, Ives, Casey Coates.