I expected more: Magilton

Jim Magilton admitted he was surprised by the manner of Cliftonville’s defeat to Dungannon Swifts yesterday.

Anticipating a response to his side’s midweek reverse at the hands of Linfield, the Reds boss saw his side fall behind early on at Stangmore Park and, after battling back to level the tie in the second-half through Chris Curran, concede two late goals to round off a tough few days.

“It is a hugely disappointing afternoon for us, especially after another disappointing night on Tuesday,” said Magilton.

“Defensively this season, we’ve been so good, but now we’re shipping goals. Our motivation around not conceding goals is keeping the ball, and we gave the ball away cheaply.”

As frustrated as he was with events against the Swifts, the Cliftonville boss insists it’s important that his players shake any disappointment out of their system as they prepare for Friday’s crucial Clearer Water Irish Cup quarter-final showdown with Portadown at Shamrock Park.

“I expected more from us but didn’t get it and, while we have to reflect on this performance, we can’t dwell on it for too long. We now have a massive game against a side who don’t lose many Cup games. That is going to be a tough game and we’ll see who has the character to go and stand up to that.”