Threefall

Glentoran 3-0 Cliftonville

A disastrous first-half set Cliftonville on course for a heavy defeat to Glentoran this afternoon.

Despite making a bright start at The Oval, the Reds fell behind when Junior got the better of Odhran Casey and held off a challenge from Jonny Addis to slot beyond goalkeeper Gerard Doherty.

The contest’s decisive moment undoubtedly came when home defender Harry Murphy lost his footing as he attempted to charge forward and, having exploited the gap his absence created, Cliftonville looked set to equalise from Jamie McDonagh’s delivery into the area only for Ryan Curran to see his strike blocked by Aaron McCarey. From the resulting clearance, Glentoran worked the ball forward with a move that ended with Bobby Burns finding the bottom corner.

Burns also netted the third – a powerful effort from the edge of the box – and, though the Reds came close to reducing the arrears a couple of times early in the second-half, the Glens were always comfortable victors.

Cliftonville: G Doherty, Addis (Coates, 46 mins), Gallagher, C Curran (Moore, 46 mins), Rory Hale, R Curran (Gormley, 46 mins), McDonagh, R Doherty, Casey, Turner, Ronan Hale (Berry, 83 mins). Unused subs: Gartside, Ives, Robinson.