Grounds for more

Jim Magilton believes Cliftonville produced their best display of the season on their last trip to face Ballymena United and would like more of the same for this evening’s Sports Direct Premiership assignment at The Showgrounds.

The Reds recovered from a half-time deficit to claim a 4-1 victory in November’s County Antrim Shield semi-final and, with League points up for grabs in tonight’s rearranged fixture, the Manager is expecting a typically stern test.

“Going to Ballymena at any stage is always difficult because of the quality of the opposition,” said Magilton, whose side have played fewer Premiership fixtures than any other side in the division this term.

“We’ve really good memories of the last time we went there – I thought we were excellent and played really well. It was probably our best all-round performance.

“We could do with that again. We’re playing a lot of catch-up games. I’d rather have the points instead of having games in hand, but we are going to be ready for it.

“We always get a tough game at Ballymena and we’ll go there expecting another, knowing we need to present ourselves in the best possible manner.

“We’ll hopefully have one or two back, we’ve had a few players nursing injury and out with illness, so we’d hope to see them back as soon as possible.”

One player who marked his return from injury in style at the weekend was Sean Robertson, whose expertly-dispatched free-kick put the seal on Cliftonville’s Irish Cup victory over Dundela.

Debutant Joseph Toole was withdrawn with injury at half-time of that contest, however Magilton was more than pleased with the contribution of those who emerged from the bench.

“Sean’s had a very frustrating time,” he added.

“When he’s been on the pitch, he’s been good so, hopefully, this is the start of something positive for him.

“For Joseph Toole, it was a bit of impact on his calf and it just tightened up. With so many games coming up, you don’t want to take a risk on that type of thing.

“Sean’s come on and done a great job, Conor Pepper’s come on and done a great job. Keevan (Hawthorne) just felt a little bit under the weather and we’ve been able to bring on those two and they’ve handled it pretty well. I thought all the subs came on and did good jobs for us and that’s the kind of impact you need.”

Ballymena United v Cliftonville
Tuesday, January 13
Adults: £15
Concessions: £10
Under-12s: £3
Tickets: General Sale