No Morr than deserved

Cliftonville 1-1 Larne

PJ Morrison’s penalty save ensured 10-man Cliftonville emerged with a deserved point from this evening’s Sports Direct Premiership contest with Larne.

Having fallen behind to an eye-catching Tiarnan O’Connor strike just before half-time, the Reds levelled matters when Joe Gormley found the bottom corner shortly after the turnaround but, despite bossing the game from that point on, the hosts were unable to edge in front – and, for the second match in a row, were denied a stonewall spot kick when Gormley was felled inside the box.

Almost inevitably, Cliftonville’s dominance was snuffed out when Larne were awarded a penalty of their own after Micheal Glynn was sent off following a coming together with Benji Magee. The visiting striker duly picked himself up to take the kick but saw his effort kept out by Morrison.

A disciplined display thereafter ensured the Reds claimed the draw their efforts had more than merited, with the numbers evened up in the closing stages when Dan Bent’s litany of fouls saw him pick up two bookings from referee Ben McMaster.

Full report to follow…