Spur change

Jim Magilton admitted that a number of players had off-days in yesterday’s Sports Direct Premiership clash with Coleraine, but toasted the impact his substitutes made as Cliftonville celebrated a hard-fought success.

A resilient display saw the Reds go in goalless at the interval and, just minutes after a triple change saw Ronan Hale, Stephen Mallon and Kris Lowe enter the fray, Ben Wilson’s confident finish broke the deadlock.

The Bannsiders levelled through Conor McKendry before another sub, Sam Ashford, was perfectly placed to make the most of some smart work from Mallon to win the points.

“It’s a massive win in what was a very difficult game,” said Magilton.

“We knew there was going to be a bounce from Coleraine from last week. Gerard (Lyttle) and I were at their game and we knew there would be an intensity in their play.

“Since I’ve been in, it’s probably as poor as we’ve played in terms of the ball, in terms of our passing and in terms of creating opportunities – we didn’t really do that, so half-time couldn’t come quick enough for us.”

On the changes he made early in the second-half, Magilton added: “They’re all chomping to play which is great and we’re trying to generate competition within the group and we have that. Ronan, Stephen Mallon and Sam are all desperate to come in and make an impression and they certainly made a massive difference.

“Some days you have an off-day and some days you just have to make a tactical switch to try and win the game. We needed a lift, we needed to generate a bit more noise from our supporters, who again were magnificent, coming up in numbers. We just needed that spark and it was an opportunity to get these lads on and give them game time and they didn’t disappoint us.”

The Manager also expressed his personal delight in seeing Ashford register the winner, with the Englishman rewarded for another typically industrious performance.

“I’m chuffed to bits for him,” he said.

“He works so hard. His father was over watching him, which is a huge lift for him, too. He’s been a fantastic addition to the group.”