Difficult spot

Jim Magilton couldn’t fault Cliftonville’s spirit but lamented the lack of a killer touch in yesterday’s Boyle Sports Premiership defeat to Ballymena United.

The Reds created the only real opportunites of the first-half but, after a Rhyss Campbell strike came back off the post and Brian Healy was denied by a goal-saving block from Kodi Lyons-Foster, the hosts were reduced to 10 men when Paul Stanfield picked up a second booking as the interval approached.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Cliftonville approached the second period positively and responded well to Igor Rutkowski putting United into a 58th minute lead.

Liam McStravick carved out the best chance of an equaliser only to be denied by David Walsh, whow as hugely fortunate not to concede an injury-time penalty when he fouled Brian Healy inside the box, only for referee Steven Gregg to wave the appeals away.

“It’s always difficult when you go down to 10 men, but we guarded against going very traditional, so we decided to go for it with a 3-4-2 and, in the second-half, we had two fantastic chances,” reflected Magilton.

“That one at the end, it’s an incredible decision. It’s a penalty. Brian Healy’s a striker, his eyes have lit up and he’s gone by him, there’s contact, he goes over, it’s inside the box; it’s a penalty.

“Whether or not we score the penalty, it’s a really poor decision.”

Looking back on the near misses of the opening 45 minutes, he continued: “Rhyss hits the post – on another day, it goes in – and Brian should score, so we go in 2-0 up and then you’re seeing the game out, you’re managing the game and, at the minute, we’re not.

“Unfortunately, we conceded a really poor goal. That sequence of events that led to the goal was poor. We got punished and then you have to go chasing and, listen, they showed courage and bravery, and that’s the very least they have to show when they play for Cliftonville.

“We felt that there was enough in the game that we could set up the way we did and at times you know you’re going to have to suffer without the ball, but I thought we kept trying to probe. Liam McStravick gave us energy, Joe Sheridan gave us energy; we had to make subs because lads were out on their feet and we’ve created opportunities to win the game but, unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do that.”

Critical though he was of the referee’s refusal to award that late spot kick, Magilton acknowleged that both of Stanfield’s bookings were justified but tipped the young defender to bounce back from that disappointment on his first start for the Club.

“He’s a fantastic lad who deserved the opportunity to play,” he added.

“I think that’s only his second or third competitive game and we trust the boy, we’ve got high hopes for him. He’d done so well up to that point, it’s just a poor decision on the stroke of half-time.”