Monday Monthly: February

Two days since 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 February taking centre stage today.

Having already contested three 2-2 draws with Coleraine on Premiership duty in recent weeks, few predicted anything other than a similar outcome when the sides locked horns on Irish Cup sixth round day.

Ahead through an early Rory Hale finished, the Reds found themselves behind when Jack O’Mahony and a Ronan Hale own goal looked to have set the Bannsiders in course for the quarter-finals, only for Jamie McDonagh to perform an injury-time rescue act that ultimately sent the tie to a penalty shootout, where goalkeeper Nathan Gartside (above) proved the hero with three saves.

After Kris Lowe’s own goal proved enough to settle a tight encounter with Linfield at Windsor Park, Cliftonville returned to winning ways when two eye-catching Ronan Hale (below) strikes either side of a Jonny Addis header wrapped up a heart-warming Valentine’s Night defeat of Portadown.

Addis was on target again when the Reds travelled to Larne a few days later in a game best remembered for a costly refereeing decision that saw McDonagh issued a second yellow card for simulation despite clearly being tripped inside the penalty box.

A man and two goals down, the visitors rallied and reduced the arrears thanks to an emphatic Addis strike but they were unable to generate the late momentum that might have pocketed a point at Inver Park.

Seven days on and a whirlwind start against Glentoran saw Sean Moore (above) lash home two goals to put Cliftonville on course for a timely success that, while threatened by the visitors pulling one back at the start of the second-half, looked to have teed the Reds up perfectly for an Irish Cup quarter-final duel with Dungannon Swifts on March’s opening weekend…

February 2023
Cliftonville 2-2 Coleraine [3-1 on penalties]
Rory Hale, McDonagh

Linfield 1-0 Cliftonville

Cliftonville 3-0 Portadown
Ronan Hale [2], Addis

Larne 2-1 Cliftonville
Addis

Cliftonville 2-1 Glentoran
Moore [2]