Hat the right notes

Jim Magilton said it was “hats off” to his players after another wholly committed display earned a draw in last night’s action-packed showdown with Larne.

Despite carving out some promising chances – including an alert move that almost saw Conor Falls and Joe Gormley combine for a breakthrough in the opening seconds – Cliftonville found themselves trailing to a Tiarnan O’Connor goal just before half-time.

Gormley’s leveller early in the second period kick-started a period of dominance for the Reds who, as well as hitting the post alongside having two fierce Rory Hale blasts saved, should have had a penalty when Gormley was tripped inside the box by Matt Ridley.

Those frustrations were compounded when Micheal Glynn was shown a straight red card by referee Ben McMaster after Benji Magee took a tumble in the area, but PJ Morrison proved equal to the striker’s spot-kick before the away side were themselves reduced to 10 men when Dan Bent’s litany of fouls eventually earned two bookings at the end of a pulsating duel.

“It was pretty much a game of two halves,” said Magilton.

“I thought we started really brightly, in the opening seconds Joe and Conor have combined and he’s made the goalkeeper make a save, so that set the tempo early on. Then we just lost the grip in the centre of the park. Mark Randall and Chris Gallagher are two experienced players and their shape threw us a little bit.

“I thought we dropped too deep. But once we resolved that and once we got on top of the game, especially in the second-half when we played with more intensity, that was more like the way we know we can play. It’s just about belief and confidence and being able to pass the ball, which we did better in the second-half and created opportunities and I think, given the circumstances of going down to 10 men, the resolve these lads have shown yet again is a credit to them. Considering the game they had on Saturday, to go again and produce that is phenomenal, so hats off to them.”

With Gormley having been denied a stonewall penalty in the closing seconds of the weekend’s draw with Coleraine, there was further disbelief when referee McMaster waved away his appeals after being fouled by Ridley – with Magilton questioning both that call and the award of Larne’s spot-kick shortly afterwards.

“My honest opinion is it’s not a penalty,” he said.

“He’s going away from goal and we’ve got two around him on the cover. I also think it’s outside the box, so there’s all of that, then you’re reliant on your goalkeeper to make a save and thankfully he did that.

“PJ’s made a fantastic save. He was very commanding, very assured and played extremely well, as did the rest of the lads and the lads that came off the bench. We have to manage our group and I thought we had impetus and aggression in the second-half which we didn’t play with in the first-half. When we play like that and move the ball as quickly as that, we’re going to create problems for the opposition.

“In terms of Joe’s, that’s two now following on from Saturday and that’s a disappointing decision but, again, the players showed fantastic resolve and they deserve immense credit.”