Loan voices

It wasn’t just Cliftonville’s senior stars who were embroiled in Play-Off action over the course of the past week, with two of our young loan talents experiencing contrasting emotions in the battle for a place in next season’s Playr-Fit Championship.

The eye-catching strike from midfielder Joe Sheridan (main image, left) in Queen’s University’s 3-0 first leg victory over Ballyclare Comrades proved decisive in earning the Students promotion after Friday’s return tie finished 2-0 to Ballyclare, whose opener on the night was scored by Sheridan’s Reds team-mate Keevan Hawthorne (below, with ex-Cliftonville defender Seanna Foster).

Queen’s can now look forward to spending next term in the Championship, from where Callum McCay signed off with a goal in Institute’s final day defeat of Newry City a fortnight ago.

The 18-year-old midfielder (above), who joined Cliftonville from Derry City in January, spent the second half of the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Stute, for whom he made nine League appearances as Kevin Deery’s side claimed a seventh-place finish.

Stepping back into the Premier Intermediate League, meanwhile, defender Reece Jordan turned out 15 times for Moyola Park – netting in a 3-2 comeback victory over Warrenpoint Town in October – during a campaign that also saw young Reds striker Leon Graham spend some time in Castledawson; scoring three goals in seven PIL appearances prior to his January recall.

Another player who returned to Solitude at the start of the year was full-back Stephen McGuinness, who contributed to Bangor’s title triumph with one goal in 17 Championship games before registering no fewer than three fine strikes for Cliftonville in the closing months of the season.