Eu Reds: Haugesund

Our mini-series of European anniversaries takes us back five years to Cliftonville’s last fixture in the Europa League.

For it was on this day in 2019 that the Reds exited the competition at the hands of Haugesund on a soaking wet evening in Norway.

Trailing 1-0 from the home leg of this first qualifying round tie, Cliftonville’s task was heightened when Kristoffer Velde doubled the hosts’ aggregate lead with a stunning strike after just five minutes.

Hopes of a shock upset were, however, ignited soon later when Conor McMenamin’s fine finish put the seal on a slick move that lifted the Reds right back into contention, only for the Eliteserien outfit to take a firm grip on things courtesy of goals from Nicklas Sandberg and Ibrahima Kone before half-time.

By now 4-1 up overall, Haugesund added to their tally after the interval through Bruno Leite and Velde’s second howitzer to book a showdown with Sturm Graz in the next phase.

Cliftonville: Brush, McDermott, Ives, Breen, C Curran, R Donnelly, Bagnall, Doherty, Gormley, McMenamin, Gorman.
Subs: Dunne, Harney, Harkin, R Curran (for Bagnall), Foster, Wilson (for Doherty), Maguire (for Gormley).