Sweet six-cess

Though Cliftonville’s trophy run of the late 1990s will never be forgotten by anyone who experienced it, there’s a long-standing argument that the catalyst for that golden era was sparked in the unlikely environs of the Dundonald Ice Bowl.

For while it’s generally acknowledged that, having not toasted silverware since hoisting the Gold Cup in 1980, the Reds’ Coca Cola Floodlit Cup triumph of 1996 led to the following year’s County Antrim Shield win which, in turn, helped inspire an unbelievable surge to the 1998 Premier League crown, Manager Marty Quinn – who oversaw all of those victories, as well as a Charity Shield win – has often pointed to a somewhat less celebrated success as having laid the foundations for what would follow.

On this day in 1995, Cliftonville won the McEwan’s Soccer Sixes tournament – an indoor event that saw teams across the Irish League go to battle on a small-scale pitch, where the competition proved just as fierce as it would on a Saturday afternoon at Solitude, Seaview or St Julian’s Road.

After seeing off Glenavon 2-0 in the first round, the Reds defeated Distillery 3-1 in the quarter-finals before putting six unanswered goals past North Belfast Derby rivals Crusaders to set up a Final showdown with Ballyclare Comrades.

In a topsy-turvy encounter, goals from Gary Sliney either side of Marty Tabb’s finish earned a 3-2 victory that saw the Club finally get their hands on a long-awaited trophy – one which boss Quinn predicted “could be the start of something better”. And how right he was.

On this 27th anniversary of the occasion, we’ll be reliving the best of the action on our social media platforms throughout the day, so be sure to stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook to enjoy some rare footage of one of the more unusual nights in Cliftonville’s history.

McEwans’s Soccer Sixes 1995
Cliftonville squad
Davy Reynolds, Phil McNamara, Marty Tabb, Tommy McDonald, Gerry Flynn, Tim McCann, Gary Sliney, Ron Manley, Pat McAllister, Mickey Donnelly

First Round
Cliftonville 2-0 Glenavon
McDonald [2]

Quarter-Final
Cliftonville 3-1 Distillery
McAllister, Flynn, Manley

Semi-Final
Cliftonville 6-0 Crusaders
Sliney [3], Flynn, McDonald, McAllister

Final
Ballyclare Comrades 2-3 Cliftonville
Sliney [2], Tabb