Century of stalemates

Yesterday’s Sports Direct Premiership clash at The Oval marked the 100th draw between Cliftonville and Glentoran.

One of the oldest existing fixtures in world football, the Reds raced into a 2-0 lead courtesy of first-half strikes from Tom Lavery and Joe Sheridan only for the Glens to hit back after the interval courtesy of finishes from David Fisher and James Singleton, whose leveller brought up the century of stalemates between the sides.

The contest also represented an even split in drawn matches throughout Cliftonville’s history, with the total of 646 now evenly divided between 323 at home and 323 in our travels, while Jonny Addis made his 200th start for the Club in addition to Joe Gormley reaching his 550th appearance.

Recent weeks have, meanwhile, registered a number of landmarks on the statistical front with the County Antrim Shield semi-final victory over Ballymena United being the Reds’ 90th win by a 4-1 scoreline on a night that saw Gormley and Odhran Casey make their respective 400th and 100th starts for the Reds, with Gormley’s goal at The Showgrounds adding the Sky Blues to a list of six teams he has now registered a minimum of 20 strikes against.