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Jim Magilton says a player-led inquest at half-time set the stage for Cliftonville to take control of last night’s BetMcLean Cup first round tie with Coagh United.

Despite dominating possession in the opening 45 minutes, the Reds saw Rory Hale’s opener quickly cancelled out by Ben Mallon, with Brandon Bermingham, Adebayo Fapetu and Ryan Curran all having gone close to getting their names on the scoresheet.

A more cohesive display after the break yielded three unanswered goals; Sean Robertson, Joe Gormley and Eric McWoods all ensuring the Cup holders’ progress to the next round of the competition.

“These games are about winning,” said Magilton.

“You have to give Coagh loads of credit for the way they came and played.

“It was important that we got into a flow. I thought we passed the ball quite well at times and created really good opportunities in the first-half, but just didn’t have that ruthless streak that you need and we also gave away a really sloppy goal.

“To be fair, the players had a go at each other at half-time and they came out with more urgency in their play, with a bit more imagination and creativity around the edge of the box. Once we got a little bit more aggression in our play, it was then a case of how many we were going to score.

“Games like this are always difficult and you’re always worried in terms of Coagh having a bit of confidence going in at half-time, but it’s always about just getting into the hat for the next round.”