No Blue Monday for Jim

Jim Magilton was delighted with the collective effort that yielded yesterday’s victory over Linfield.

Cliftonville claimed all three Sports Direct Premiership points courtesy of Shaun Leppard’s headed opener and the closest of close-range finishes from Joe Gormley in the final action of the game.

Having entered the contest on the back of a poor midweek showing against Glentoran, the Manager was understandably enthused by the “strength and character” of his players in front of an energetic Solitude crowd.

“I owned Tuesday night,” he said.

“Tuesday night’s result was largely down to me and I accept that. It was decisions I made at half-time – situational changes.

“It was certainly something that hit home to me and there was a lot of soul searching after that game, particularly from my point of view – me; nobody else.

“We regrouped and today was a real show of strength and character from the players.”

Assessing the contest, he added: “In the first-half, neither side really took advantage. I thought we created good opportunities but didn’t capitalise.

“We started the second-half on the front foot. We knew we would have to withstand pressure from Linfield because of the quality they have. We defended for our lives.

“I thought the second-half, we played really well and probably deserved it.”