Momentum of truth

Jim Magilton declared himself “absolutely delighted” with what his players have delivered so far this season.

After booking a Clearer Water Irish Cup sixth round date with Loughgall by overcoming Coleraine on Friday night, the Cliftonville boss is seeking New Year momentum towards the business end of his first campaign at the helm.

“Momentum in football and confidence in players is huge and sometimes it can be an unstoppable force, so we are building on the confidence of the players and we are making them believe,” he said.

“At the end of the day, we talk an unbelievably good game, but they have to step over the white line and play.

“They have done and we want to give them even more confidence to go and express themselves.

“To this point in the season, we are absolutely delighted.”

Though Ronan Hale’s hat-trick was the undoubted headline-grabber in the win at The Showgrounds, Magilton commended key displays throughout the team.

“We were sloppy at times and gave the ball away cheaply,” he reflected.

“We couldn’t get rhythm and momentum but I think that’s down to how Coleraine played, so credit to them.

“We had to stay in the game, defended for our lives and Shea Kearney will have learned so much, Jonny Addis, Odhran Casey, Sean Stewart, as well as Conor Pepper and Stephen McGuinness who came on. were magnificent.

“Defensively, we were so good and the goalkeeper was sound, so that was the bedrock for our result.”

And on Hale’s heroics, he added: “I’m not making comparisons but I was lucky to play with Matt Le Tissier at Southampton and for 89 minutes he might be indifferent in all aspects and then land on the ball and do something special.

“Ronan also has that unbelievable ability, he’s so hungry and nothing puts him off. He’s had a couple of mis-hits but nothing has put him off and he’s so, so hungry.

“When you talk about the strike for the first goal, the second is all about his composure and he went on to score a third.

“To bag a hat-trick that sends us through is just huge for us on a difficult night.”