Ryan’s right as rain

Cliftonville 1-0 Carrick Rangers

Ryan Curran’s second-half penalty ensured that patience paid off for Cliftonville against Carrick Rangers at a rain-drenched Solitude this afternoon.

Though the Reds dominated possession, a stubborn away side’s rigidly sound set-up ensured clear openings were at a premium and it took until the 77th minute before the deadlock was broken; Steven Gordon’s clumsy challenge on Chris Curran earning a spot-kick that was confidently dispatched.

Halloween weekend then delivered an appropriately late scare for Cliftonville, whose hopes of victory looked to have been snuffed out when Reece Glendinning’s injury-time header sneaked past Nathan Gartside, only for a severely delayed offside flag to cut Carrick’s celebrations short.

Full report to follow…