Point of order

Jim Magilton felt that a draw was a fair outcome in yesterday’s North Belfast Derby.

Shortly after Ryan Curran had given Cliftonville the lead with a 32nd minute penalty, Kieran Offord drew Crusaders level with a finish that ultimately ensured both sides left Seaview with a point to show for their efforts.

“I thought it was a really good game of football,” reflected Magilton.

“Both teams tried to play and, for a spectacle, it was end to end – a bit of a basketball match at times and a little bit sloppy at times.

“We score a penalty and we talk about how you start a game and we talk about after you score a goal, those are crucial moments – how you end a half, how you start a half, how you finish the game – so it was really disappointing to concede so quickly after we scored. From that point of view, I’m not happy but overall, I thought it was a really good game of football. On another day, we probably could have scored one or two more.

“Had we been a bit more clinical with our passing in the final third – a bit like Crusaders at times – that final ball is what makes the difference in these types of games.”

Both goalkeepers made key interventions over the course of the afternoon, with Reds stopper David Odumosu making particularly smart saves to deny Offord and Jordan Forsythe, while opposite number Jonathan Tuffey’s final act was an acrobatic thwarting of Destiny Ojo in injury-time.

“David made a couple of great saves midweek against Dungannon, so I’m really pleased with him and in games like that, when you look at their attacking strength, I thought they were very good and very creative and David had to be at his brilliant best and he was,” added Magilton.

“We felt we had opportunities and we just had to get the right moments to get those three on – both young Ryans (Markey and Corrigan) and obviously Ojo, so we had glimpses but I think it was probably a fair result.”