Seventh heaven

Cliftonville 1-0 Glentoran [After extra-time]

Joe Gormley’s seventh League Cup Final goal earned Cliftonville a seventh League Cup triumph as Glentoran were eventually overcome in a pulsating showdown at Windsor Park this afternoon.

After 90 goalless minutes during which both sides had come agonisingly close to making the breakthrough, Gormley pounced to touch home nine minutes in extra-time following some excellent work from substitute Ryan Corrigan.

The Reds endured one or two nervy moments as the clock ticked down but there was no doubting Jim Magilton’s side deserved to get their hands on the BetMcLean Cup come the final blast of referee Shane Andrews’ whistle.

Having overcome Glentoran and Crusaders in respective Premiership and Irish Cup clashes in recent weeks, it was no surprise that Cliftonville stuck with the same XI that had performed so well in those games and they almost forged an early opener through Alex Parsons, who wasn’t quite able to get enough on his attempt at goal before keeper Daniel Gyollai intervened.

Parsons went close again on 22 minutes, this time seeing his shot deflected just over the bar, before the Australian was unfortunate to see a third opportunity deflected wide by a team-mate after Ryan Curran had seized on a miskick from Gyollai.

Just before the half-hour, Curran’s heavy touch allowed Gyollai to get down and make a vital save and, just minutes later, good work from Rory Hale fed Parsons on the right and when his ball inside found Curran, his low effort was blocked by Aaron Wightman.

Parsons was next to be kept at bay by Gyollai and, when Cliftonville recycled the ball back into the area, Curran’s flicked header sneaked just wide of the post.

Having failed to really create anything in the opening 45 minutes, Glentoran saw a golden opportunity go to waste early in the second-half when, after getting away from Jack Keaney, David Fisher charged through on goal only to see his shot gathered by Lewis Ridd.

The Welshman then made a wonderful stop to prevent Jordan Jenkins converting Cameron Palmer’s assist as the Glens began to assume control, but it wasn’t long before Gyollai was called into action to thwart Shea Gordon at the other end.

The Reds threatened again when Parsons did well to keep the ball in play on the byline and, though he found his space limited by Gyollai, possession eventually fell the way of Luke Conlan, whose first-time effort whistled just over the bar.

Ridd then got down to save from Palmer before another Gyollai stop from Parsons almost presented a rebound opportunity for substitute Gormley, only for Kodi Lyons-Foster to clear the danger at the vital moment. From Parsons’ resulting throw-in, the ball was flicked towards the back post, where Gormley’s powerful header looked set to break the deadlock only for Gyollai to produce yet another excellent save.

Regulation time ended with Hale sending a strike wide from distance, but it took just nine minutes of extra-time before Cliftonville finally got the better of Gyollai when Corrigan took control and worked some space for himself inside the box before cutting back for Gormley, whose instinctive finish sparked wild celebrations among the Red Army.

In the second period of extra-time, a Conlan cross almost crept in only for Gyollai to get a vital hand to it while, at the other end, Charlie Lindsay curled a left-footed shot just wide before something of a panicked scramble in the area was finally settled when Ridd took command of possession.

Glentoran went close when a wicked Danny Amos delivery found no takers in the middle but there was still time for one last scare for the Reds when Ridd misjudged a high cross and the ball fell perfectly into the path of Johnny Russell, but he was unable to make a clean connection and sent his shot over the bar.

Gormley might have settled any late nerves when he raced down the left in the final minute of extra-time only to be unable to pick out a team-mate in the middle, but the ball was certainly at the right end of the park from a Cliftonville perspective and, with the backline afforded a mini breather and an opportunity to reset, one minute of additional time was safely negotiated to secure victory, the trophy and more manic celebrations.

Cliftonville: Ridd, Addis, Kearney, Hale (Glynn, 114 mins), Curran (Gormley, 73 mins), Conlan, Gordon (Piesold, 73 mins), Casey, Keaney, Wilson (Pepper, 111 mins), Parsons (Corrigan, 97 mins). Unused subs: Odumosu, Ojo.