Monday Monthly: October

With just over a month having passed since the curtain came down on Cliftonville’s 2022/23 season, cliftonvillefc.net today continues a new weekly mini-series reflecting on the good, the bad and the in-betweens of last term.

Every Monday between now and the new campaign getting under way, we’ll take a chronological look back on a month from the the term just finished – with October taking centre stage today.

The Reds rattled in 10 goals without reply in a rewarding four day period that saw Newry City defeated on Danske Bank Premiership duty before Carrick Rangers were ousted from the BetMcLean Cup.

Rory Hale (main image) registered a first-half hat-trick alongside a Ryan Curran strike to see of City at Solitude, where Ronan Hale (below) netted four – in addition to finishes from brother Rory and winger Jamie McDonagh – in a rain-lashed encounter with the Gers.

Such levels of entertainment were not forthcoming when Crusaders visited for an instantly forgettable North Belfast Derby blank ahead of Cliftonville suffering some painful deja vu when, for the second season in succession, they exited the County Antrim Shield on penalties to Linfield at the semi-final stage.

Things didn’t improve a few days later at Inver Park, where practically everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the visitors; Sean Moore’s red card adding to an uphill task that ended with Larne celebrating a 4-0 success.

Cliftonville got back on track at Coleraine the following weekend, however, when an early brace from Rory Hale (above) had the team on course to exact revenge for their opening day reversal at The Showgrounds. Though the Bannsiders reduced the arrears before half-time, Curran restored a two-goal advantage which, in the aftermath of Coleraine pulling one back late on, was further reinstated when Gormley nodded home at the end of an incisive team move.

October ended with another home tie against Carrick, who proved considerably more stubborn opposition than the Reds had encountered a few weeks earlier; Curran’s late penalty (above) proving the difference as Cliftonville geared up for another quick reacquaintance at the start of the following month.

October 2023
Cliftonville 4-0 Newry City
Rory Hale [3], R Curran

Cliftonville 6-0 Carrick Rangers
Rory Hale, Ronan Hale [4], McDonagh

Cliftonville 0-0 Crusaders

Cliftonville 1-1 Linfield
Gormley

Larne 4-0 Cliftonville

Coleraine 2-4 Cliftonville
Rory Hale [2], R Curran, Gormley

Cliftonville 1-0 Carrick Rangers
R Curran