Belfast buoy!

Regular readers of our Matchday Magazine over the years will have learned all the facts and figures behind each new week at Cliftonville Football Club, while our Twitter followers are regaled with daily delves into the archives and, as Heritage Development Officer Paul Treanor notes, Tuesday night’s victory over Ards may well have thrown up a notable milestone.

Though official confirmation has not yet been obtained, it is suspected that the Reds’ team for the County Antrim Shield first round tie was the Club’s first ever starting XI not to feature a Belfast player.

Goalkeeper and Dundalk man David Odumosu operated behind a defensive line containing Portaferry’s Luke Conlan, Newry-born Jonny Addis and Derryman Shaun Leppard, with Micheál Glynn (Enniskillen) and Conor Pepper (Dublin) operating on the flanks.

In the middle of the park, Carndonagh’s Ronan Doherty performed alongside English duo Arran Pettifer (Stockport) and Axel Piesold (London), while another Derry star, Ryan Curran, partnered debutant Scotsman Taylor Steven (Edinburgh) in attack.

It was not until Joe Gormley’s 64th minute introduction from the bench that Belfast was represented in the side, with fellow substitutes, Leinsterman Ryan Markey, Destiny Ojo (England) and Kris Lowe (Omagh) maintaining the night’s overall theme – and now the only thing that remains is to check the line-up against the previous 145 years worth of teamsheets to see if this was indeed a Club first!