Reds let it slip

Linfield 2-1 Cliftonville

Cliftonville let a hard-won lead slip as Linfield claimed full points from this evening’s Sports Direct Premiership fixture at Windsor Park.

Ahead through Joe Gormley’s 76th minute finish, the Reds conceded twice in two minutes as Kyle McClean and Matthew Fitzpatrick completed the turnaround in a controversial encounter.

Cliftonville had found themselves on the end of some questionable refereeing decisions throughout the game, not least the awarding of a Linfield penalty when Joel Cooper took a tumble under a perfectly-timed challenge from Axel Piesold.

Justice was done, however, when David Odumosu repelled Chris Shields’ free-kick – but the same could not be said when a particularly poor offside call early in the second period halted Conor Pepper when he was one-on-one with goalkeeper David Walsh following Rory Hale’s pass.

Despite that build-up of frustration, it was the Reds who broke the deadlock when Gormley got on the end of Arran Pettifer’s delivery to hook the ball into the bottom corner.

The advantage lasted just five minutes, however, with McClean drawing the home side level before Fitzpatrick added a quickfire second.

Full report to follow…