Warm tribute

Jim Magilton could not pay his players enough credit after 10-man Cliftonville claimed a 2-2 draw against St Joseph’s in the blistering heat of last night’s UEFA Conference League first qualifying round tie in Gibraltar.

Ahead when Ryan Curran nodded in on 39 minutes with the very first goal in this season’s competition, the Reds were dealt a double blow when Jack Keaney sent off for the concession of a penalty which Alvaro Rey stepped up to convert.

Despite being down in numbers, Cliftonville rallied to restore their advantage when a handling offence inside the area earned a spot kick which Addis coolly stroked home – the first time the Reds have ever netted twice in a European away game.

The Saints hit back again, though, when Rey headed in after a foul on Addis went undetected by Norwegian referee Daniel Higraff, ensuring honours were even at the end of a first leg played in stifling heat.

“Given the conditions and given what happened in the game, to come away with a 2-2 draw was an outstanding result for us,” said Magilton.

“It was a monumental effort and the players deserve immense credit. I can’t easily describe the conditions because it was scorching, it was a bowl and it was really tough on them, but I thought their character and resilience shone through.

“We’ve got an opportunity next Thursday at Solitude where we’ve given ourselves a great chance, but both teams have now seen eachother and we’re well aware of the other’s strengths and we have to go again. We actually have to play better, but our structure and discipline was outstanding.”

Hailing his side’s application in the aftermath of what could be argued was a harsh dismissal for Keaney, the Manager added: “You can analyse your team, you can maybe analyse the individuals within the team but it’s only when you’re put into that situation that you can actually say the mental fatigue now is huge because they’ve had to concentrate, they’ve had to shift, they’ve had to defend.

“We’ve rode our luck of course when they’ve hit the crossbar and post and our keeper’s had to make saves, but it’s the mental concentration and focus to stay in the game, to keep believing and to do what they did defensively, I thought we were outstanding.”