Reds find Cup courage

Cliftonville 4-0 Banbridge Rangers

Cliftonville began their defence of the Clearer Water Irish Cup with a 4-0 victory over Banbridge Rangers on an emotional afternoon at Solitude.

Following tributes to Michael Newberry ahead of the Reds’ first fixture since the defender’s tragic death earlier this week, Ryan Corrigan registered the only goal of an opening 45 minutes that saw the hosts unable to turn their dominance of possession into anything more significant on the scoreboard.

Seven minutes into the second-half, however, the advantage was doubled when a low drive from Axel Piesold took the slightest of nicks off a defender en route to the bottom corner, with Joe Gormley confidently stroking home soon later to make it 3-0.

Kris Lowe marked his return from injury by slamming in number four, with fellow substitute Keevan Hawthorne heading against the crossbar before Rory Hale saw an injury-time effort deflected wide at the end of an afternoon that saw Jim Magilton and his players deliver a courageous performance on one of the most challenging occasions of their careers.

Cliftonville: Ridd, Addis (Hawthorne, 62 mins), Pettifer (Lowe, 62 mins), Kearney, Hale, Piesold, Gormley (Curran, 62 mins), Casey, Steven (Berry, 55 mins), McGuinness, Corrigan (Wilson, 55 mins). Unused subs: Odumosu, Ojo.