Right on time

Paddy McLaughlin said that the only goal of yesterday’s win over Carrick Rangers came just when he was hoping Cliftonville were gearing up for a late charge.

The Manager had already instigated tactical and personnel changes in the search for a breakthrough against a stubborn visiting side, whose well-drilled set-up denied the Reds any space or opportunities to fashion any serious openings in the final third.

With just under a quarter of an hour remaining, however, a Kris Lowe pass set Chris Curran scampering in behind and, when he was tripped by Gers defender Steven Gordon, Ryan Curran took responsibility of converting from the penalty spot.

“You focus on the positives first before you start correcting the negatives,” said McLaughlin.

“Three points and a clean sheet is what we came for and that was our priority but it was a frustrating day. I think there’ll probably be some games this season where we’ll play a lot better than this and lose.

“Carrick defended really well, they defended in numbers and very deeply, which made it difficult for us to create much. On days like that, sometimes you just need a decision to go your way and the penalty decision is the one that went in our favour.

“We knew shooting down that end with 10 minutes to go, the players always get a second wind, they always get a rush of adrenaline; the fans always come out and back us to the hilt, so we thought we’d maybe get a bit of an onslaught and the goal came in and around that time and from then on in, we just defended our lead. It was hard fought and wasn’t pretty to watch but it’s an effective result for us.”

There was more than a hint of controversy surrounding the penalty award, which came following a period of deliberation between referee Declan Hassan and his assistant Brian Wilson, but McLaughlin insisted all that mattered was that the officials reached the right decision in the end.

“We knocked on the door a few times without creating anything too clear cut and it could have been one of those days where it finishes 0-0 and Carrick’s gameplan has worked a treat for them but, luckily enough for us, the referee and the linesman between them got it right; it was a penalty,” he added.

“It’s a bit of a clumsy tackle on Chris Curran but it’s a penalty all day, no argument, and that’s the decision that won us the game.”

There was similar drama in injury-time when Carrick’s celebrations in the aftermath of Reece Glendinning’s equaliser were silenced by a late, late offside flag raised against Kyle Cherry, who was standing in front of the unsighted Nathan Gartside – another judgement which McLaughlin felt was accurate.

“The linesman’s bang on the money, it’s the correct call,” he said.

“Their player’s obstructed the keeper’s view and the keeper’s spilled it into the net – he probably shouldn’t have but the player standing in front of him was a bit of a hindrance to him and the linesman’s seen that. Fair play to him, he’s got it right. On another day, he might have ignored that and just given the goal and not wanted to be at the centre of any kind of controversy but he’s made the right call and fair play to him for sticking to his guns.”