Second thoughts

Paddy McLaughlin admitted that, as comfortable as Cliftonville were in last night’s victory over Warrenpoint Town, you can never truly rest easily on a one-goal lead.

Luke Turner’s 43rd minute header ultimately settled the issue and, with visiting keeper Stephen McMullan in majestic form, the Reds were unable to build on their advantage, leading to a slight tinge of nervousness emanating from the stands as the clock ticked down.

The Manager was always confident his players would emerge with three points but acknowledged that a second goal would have made for a more straightforward finale.

“Three points, clean sheet, we scored one goal and should have scored a few more but for the brilliance of young McMullan – what a performance from a young lad at 17 years of age playing in the Premier League,” said McLaughlin.

“I thought he was superb, with five or six unbelievable saves. I know he’s made a couple of other routine ones that were straight at him but five or six of those saves were as good as you’ll see in the division this year.

“Credit to him but credit to Warrenpoint, too, for working their socks off. They made it really difficult for us. We did create chances and, but for some wayward finishes and brilliant goalkeeping, it could have been a lot more comfortable but, at the end of the day, we were here to get three points and the job was done.

“I think we controlled the ball for large parts of the game but you always have that wee thing in your head that something could go wrong or someone might make a mistake but, to be fair to our boys, especially at the back, we had good concentration levels and Luke McNicholas in goals was well protected; I don’t remember him making a save.

“You do be a wee bit mindful and fearful of a mistake but I thought the concentration levels of the boys was excellent. When they had to defend, they did it really well, they matched runners, they won their headers and won their tackles, blocked shots and crosses into the box – everything that you would expect of them.

“When a team is so dominant, sometimes somebody might switch off and get complacent but, fair play to them, they didn’t do that.”