Magilton left drawn down

Jim Magilton says it was “devastating” that Cliftonville didn’t get the victory their performance deserved in yesterday’s Sports Direct Premiership clash with Larne.

The Reds were forced to make do with a draw after Ryan Nolan’s late leveller cancelled out Joe Gormley’s opener on a day when the visitors could arguably have been two or three to the good before the Invermen hit back.

Magilton was full of praise for how his players went about their business but was left to rue that the door was left open for Larne to snatch a point.

“For an away performance against the Champions, I thought we were so good,” he said.

“To leave with a point is really upsetting because we’ve dominated the game and played some great stuff. When you create the chances that we created and you don’t capitalise on that, you always leave yourself open because of the quality that Larne have.

“Our decision making in the last five minutes of the game ultimately cost us and overall, it’s just a completely devastating feeling because of the manner in which we played.”

While the game ended with Jonny Addis being somewhat controversially sent off after not appearing to have been made aware that he had earlier been booked by referee Shane Andrews, his central defensive partner Odhran Casey produced a superb individual display on his first start since breaking his leg in May’s Irish Cup Final – with the Manager showing no hesitation in selecting the 22-year-old for action.

“That’s how much we trust Odhran Casey,” added Magilton.

“I thought he was outstanding, especially given that you’re coming to Larne away and it’s always going to be a massive test and I thought Odhran was magnificent – along with everybody; I thought it was a brilliant away performance because of the opportunities we created and the manner in which we went about how we played.

“Everybody is hugely disappointed but it’ll be about reaffirming the positives and trying to push on from here. To come to Larne and get a point is always very satisfying but the way we played, I thought we were better than a point.”