Carri on capers

Cliftonville 3-2 Carrick Rangers

Joe Gormley emerged from the bench to settle a madcap encounter with Carrick Rangers at Solitude this afternoon.

Ronan Hale’s overhead kick in less than EIGHT seconds had given Cliftonville a dream start but, after missing a number of opportunities to extend their advantage, the Reds almost inexplicably found themselves behind at the interval; Lloyd Anderson levelling before a deflected David Cushley free-kick squeezed past debutant goalkeeper Nathan Gartside.

The hosts drew level when Ryan Curran blasted home from the penalty spot in the aftermath of Luke Turner being fouled by Mark Surgenor, whose rash challenge on Stephen Mallon soon saw the Gers reduced to 10 men.

Cliftonville made the extra man count when Gormley, introduced on 69 minutes, took mere seconds to stab home what proved to be the winner on an eventful day.

It all started with that exquisite Hale opener at the end of a swift kick-off routine that ended with Ronan Doherty pinging an inch-perfect pass into the path of the striker, whose acrobatic effort caught goalkeeper Ross Glendinning completely off guard.

Hale, Turner, Doherty and Kris Lowe all saw chances to increase the hosts’ lead come and go before Carrick equalised through Anderson’s header – and things got worse for the Reds when Curran’s touch on Cushley’s set-piece took the ball beyond Gartside.

It was 2-2 eight minutes into the second period when Surgenor manhandled Turner inside the box and referee Declan Hassan pointed to the spot, from where Curran blasted in.

Soon later, Surgenor’s foul on Mallon earned a straight red card and handed further initiative to Cliftonville, who made their extra man count when Gormley pounced to settle the issue within a minute of his introduction.

Cliftonville: Gartside, Addis, Gallagher, Rory Hale (McDonagh, 76 mins), R Curran, Lowe, Doherty, Turner, Ronan Hale (Robinson, 87 mins), Coates (Gormley, 69 mins), Mallon. Unused subs: Talley, C Curran, Casey, Moore.