Raine pain

Coleraine 1-0 Cliftonville

Cliftonville slipped to an unfortunate defeat in this afternoon’s Sports Direct Premiership encounter with Coleraine at The Showgrounds.

The better side in the first-half, the Reds threatened on a number of occasions before falling behind early in the second period in the aftermath of a free-kick which was itself awarded following a foul on a Cliftonville player further up the pitch.

A disputed penalty afforded Coleraine the opportunity to double their advantage only for Will Patching – who had earlier broken the deadlock – to miss the target.

Jim Magilton stuck with 10 of the 11 players who had started the midweek North Belfast Derby victory over Crusaders, with Joe Sheridan’s introduction in place of the injured Adebayo Fapetu the only change, and the Reds looked lively during an opening 45 minutes that saw Liam McStravick draw a good save from Ryan Schofield, who also did well to collect a dangerous Keevan Hawthorne cross before either Rory Hale or Ryan Curran could convert.

McStravick rattled the woodwork in the closing minutes of the first-half, however it was the Bannsiders who made the breakthrough shortly after the turnaround.

Referee Ian McNabb failed to spot a clear foul on Shaun Leppard as the defender attempted to control possession in the opposition half but, just seconds later, awarded a free-kick when the same player collided with Patching on the edge of the box. While the midfielder’s initial shot was blocked by the defensive wall, he made no mistake when the rebound presented him with a second crack at goal.

After Curran had a headed effort ruled out for offside, another questionable decision saw Coleraine awarded a penalty following a coming together between Leppard and Matthew Shevlin that appeared to occur outside the box. Justice was done, however, when Patching missed the target.

Thereafter, Cliftonville laud siege to the Coleraine goal and substitute Brian Healy was denied by a contested offside flag following a clever lob over Schofield.

A goal-line clearance preserved the Bannsiders’ advantage before Leppard nodded just wide and, while PJ Morrison was called upon to deny Senan Devine during a breakaway by the hosts, it was opposite number Schofield who was kept busy in the closing stages with a number of vital cross collections denying the Reds what would arguably have been a deserved equaliser.

Cliftonville: Morrison, Addis, Hale, Curran (Healy, 60 mins), Leppard, Conlan, Toole, McStravick, J Kelly, Hawthorne (Robertson, 60 mins), Sheridan (Carroll, 67 mins). Unused subs: Ridd, McCay, Glynn, A Kelly.