We were in it to win it: Paddy

Paddy McLaughlin admits Cliftonville have been left wondering what might have been after exiting the SPFL Trust Trophy this afternoon.

Queen’s Park came out on top in a five-goal thriller at Solitude, where both teams traded attack after attack throughout an absorbing 90 minutes that saw Colin Coates and Jonny Addis each draw the Reds level before the Scottish Championship side found a winner.

“I’m sure that was a great game for the neutral,” said McLaughlin afterwards.

“It was end-to-end and very entertaining but probably a bit too open for our liking and we were a bit too exposed at times.

“Both sides counter attacked each other really well and it’s just unfortunate that we’ve come out on the wrong side of a 3-2 defeat but there were a lot of positives out there.

“We entered the tournament to try and win it and it’s a shame we’ve fallen at the first hurdle but we got a seriously tough draw, which is a bit of a familiar theme with Cliftonville. We got the toughest draw we could have possibly got – Queen’s Park are flying high in the Championship and they’re a full-time outfit but I think we matched them really well throughout.”

After falling behind to Grant Savoury’s early solo strike, the Reds settled into the rhythm of the contest and, in addition to levelling through Coates, came close to edging in front when Ronan Hale’s header was superbly kept out by goalkeeper Calum Ferrie.

The visitors restored their lead when Scott Williamson netted at the end of a move that Cliftonville felt had started with a foul on Hale, but it was 2-2 early in the second period when Addis got the telling touch in a goalmouth scramble before a fierce Dominic Thomas effort at the other end settled the issue.

“Both sides played really well, Queen’s Park were very sharp; they were high intensity and that forced our boys to move the ball quickly and it was great to see us do that because we play better when we do that,” added McLaughlin.

“We’re disappointed to lose but Queen’s Park are a top side and, if things go according to plan, they’ll be in the Scottish Premiership next season and will be playing against the likes of Celtic and Rangers. I wouldn’t be too critical of our boys, Queen’s Park are a good side and they came out of the blocks at a hundred miles an hour and had high intensity throughout the game.

“Owen Coyle’s a shrewd, shrewd Manager who’s been in the game for a long time and managed at the top level. He knows the game inside out.

“We matched their intensity, we matched their work-rate and we played as well as they did. We’re disappointed to lose but there’s a bigger picture there and our boys understand that.”