Zero hour

Linfield 0-0 Cliftonville

Cliftonville and Linfield cancelled one another out in a tense Danske Bank Premiership battle at Windsor Park this evening.

Though the Blues arguably came closest to scoring with an effort against the post and another off the line, both of those opportunities came against the run of play in a contest that saw the Reds fire in a number of shots during a promising first 30 minutes before finishing strongly in a late burst that saw both Kris Lowe and Ryan Curran denied in the closing minutes.

Ronan Doherty was the first player to try his luck on the net; his 20-yard shot being blocked by Sam Roscoe before Nathan Gartside kept an Andrew Clarke effort out, with the offside flag quickly raised against Joel Cooper as he attempted to seize on the rebound.

A smart stop from Gartside kept Cooper at bay again before Ronan Hale – who had already threatened with three shots from distance – flashed a low drive just wide of the mark.

After a glancing header from Clarke had come back off the post, the first-half ended with Cooper sending an attempt off target, while Rory Hale was unfortunate to see a fierce strike deflected behind for a corner after the interval.

With Robbie McDaid having seen a header calmly stopped on the line by Jamie Robinson, Cammy Palmer miscued when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box and Jimmy Callacher was crowded out by Robinson during a spell when Linfield threatened to assume a firm grip on proceedings.

Cliftonville hit back, though, and saw penalty appeals waved away when Ronan Hale took a tumble when attempting to get on the end of a Jamie McDonagh delivery ahead of Lowe calling Chris Johns into action with an ambitious effort from distance.

Following the announcement of three additional minutes, the Reds came close to snatching a last-gasp winner when an incisive counter-attack ended with Ronan Hale slipping Curran through, only for Johns to come to the home side’s rescue with a vital save.

Cliftonville: Gartside, Addis, Gallagher, Rory Hale (Moore, 67 mins), R Curran, Lowe, Robinson, Doherty, Gormley (McDonagh, 77 mins), Turner, Ronan Hale. Unused subs: Talley, C Curran, Storey, Coates, McGuinness.