Asking for treble

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, yesterday’s Irish Cup victory over Islandmagee delivered a number of milestones from Joe Gormley’s perspective.

His opening goal in the contest took his overall tally to 230, a full 60 clear of the Club’s previous all-time leading scorer Kevin McGarry.

The additional two he added in the first-half not only brought his total under Paddy McLaughlin’s management to 50, but also saw him equal the Reds’ record of 13 hat-tricks currently held by 1930s star Sid Over.

Moreover, the strike that clinched his treble was Gormley’s 20th in the Irish Cup on a day that saw Islandmagee become the 34th different opposition side ‘The Goal’ has scored against since joining Cliftonville from Crumlin Star back in 2011.

Outside of Gormley’s contribution – and at the polar opposite end of the scoring scale – Luke Turner’s finish early in the second-half saw him become the first ever player called Luke to find the net in the Club’s history.

Yeserday’s contest was also the Reds’ first meeting with Islandmagee (who have, however, met Cliftonville Olympic in a number of Cup fixtures), with the Amateur League Premier Division side our 155th different competitive opponents and just the fourth beginning with the letter I – Institute, Immaculata and Inniskilling Fusiliers completing the set for useless trivia enthusiasts everywhere.

The day in numbers
232: Total goals Joe Gormley has scored for Cliftonville
155: Islandmagee were the Reds’ 155th different opponents
50: Number of times Gormley has netted during the Paddy McLaughlin era
34: Islandmagee are the 34th different team Gormley has scored against for Cliftonville
20: Amount of Irish Cup strikes Gormley has to his name
13: Gormley has now claimed 13 hat-tricks for the Club
4: The Reds have faced just four opponents beginning with the letter I
1: Luke Turner was Cliftonville’s first ever goalscoring Luke