Monday Monthly: January

With just a few days until Cliftonville’s first pre-season friendly, cliftonvillefc.net continues a weekly mini-series reflecting on the good, the bad and the in-betweens of the 2022/23 term.

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

Having signed off from 2023 with a chastening North Belfast Derby defeat to Crusaders, things looked ominous for the Reds when Larne took a second-half lead in the sides’ first outing of the New Year.

Cliftonville weren’t prepared to go down without a fight, though, and levelled when Sean Moore showed superb composure to lash home his first goal for the Club before Rory Hale (above) completed the turnaround with a deflected close-range effort.

The Reds’ Gelston’s Whiskey Irish Cup campaign kicked off with a potential banana skin tie against Dundela at Wilgar Park, where the presence of the live BBC cameras heightened the prospect of an upset, but the visitors produced a professional display that saw Moore on target again before Ronan Hale’s hat-trick and a penalty from Joe Gormley completed a 5-0 triumph.

There was no such goal glut when Cliftonville hosted Linfield on Premiership duty a few days later, but a solitary Ronan Doherty strike – with his right foot, no less (above) – was enough to settle the issue on a raucous night at Solitude.

The team’s fine form looked set to continue when a Levi Ives free-kick, sensational solo effort from Moore and a Ronan Hale header had the Reds 3-1 up at half-time against Carrick Rangers next time out.

Rangers would, however, pull one back at the start of a low-key second-half before rescuing a point at the death – and Cliftonville were left feeling similarly frustrated when Coleraine visited Solitude the following weekend as goals from Ronan Hale (above) and Doherty secured a 2-0 lead that was ultimately squandered in the third of what turned out to be five consecutive 2-2 draws with the Bannsiders.

There were no such mishaps at Mourneview Park, however, as finishes from David Parkhouse (above) and Colin Coates put the away side in command against Glenavon and, despite the Lurgan Blues halving the deficit late on, Ronan Hale’s security strike ensured a return to winning ways.

A further three points were picked up on home soil thereafter when a first-half double from Joe Gormley – including a sensational touch, turn and volley (above) – was added to by Ronan Hale and Moore after the interval to complete a 4-0 success against Ballymena United and set the stage for a high stakes showdown with Coleraine in the Irish Cup the following week…

January 2023
Cliftonville 2-1 Larne
Moore, Rory Hale

Dundela 0-5 Cliftonville
Moore, Ronan Hale [3], Gormley

Cliftonville 1-0 Cliftonville
Doherty

Carrick Rangers 3-3 Cliftonville
Ives, Moore, Ronan Hale

Cliftonville 2-2 Coleraine
Ronan Hale, Doherty

Glenavon 1-3 Cliftonville
Parkhouse, Coates, Ronan Hale

Cliftonville 4-0 Ballymena United
Gormley [2], Ronan Hale, Moore