Play of the decade

This week marks 10 years since the Irish League’s first ever European Play-Off fixtures took place and, ahead of tomorrow night’s semi-final showdown with Dungannon Swifts at Solitude, we’re turning the clock back to review Cliftonville’s record in the end-of-season competition.

Finishing fourth in the Premiership earned the Reds direct entry to the inaugural Final back in 2016 and it’s arguable there has never been a more compelling Play-Off fixture in the decade since.

Glentoran – who had overcome Coleraine four days earlier to book their place in the decider – were the visitors and, despite falling behind to an early Jay Donnelly effort, rallied to take a 2-1 half-time lead thanks to an outrageous free-kick from Curtis Allen and Callum Birney’s scrambled finish.

On the stroke of the interval, however, an on-field brawl led to the dismissal of Cliftonville goalkeeper Conor Devlin and visiting forward Chris Lavery, with the Glens’ numbers further reduced when Barry Holland was red carded for a penalty-conceding foul on Stephen Garrett, only for Jay Donnelly to see his spot kick saved.

When Cliftonville were awarded a second penalty for a handling offence by Allen just past the hour, James Knowles stepped up to convert ahead of a Davy McDaid strike 10 minutes from time (above) sending Gerard Lyttle’s men into the Europa League, where they got the better of Luxembourgish outfit Differdange before impressing in defeat to AEK Larnaca in Cyprus.

Twelve months on, another madcap night saw the Reds eliminated at the semi-final stage, where goals from Jude Winchester, Chris Curran and Jay Donnelly contributed to a 3-2 half-time lead against Glenavon, who added three without reply in the second period.

In 2018, defeat in the Irish Cup Final meant Barry Gray’s Cliftonville team were forced into Play-Off action and, after Jay Donnelly and Joe Gormley bagged braces in a 4-0 semi-final victory over Ballymena United, the stage was set for another decisive duel with Glentoran – and, again, it didn’t disappoint.

Seemingly cruising at 2-0 after Ruaidhri Donnelly had twice found the net, the Reds hit the self-destruct button to conceded twice in four minutes but, with extra-time looming, Gormley (below) had the final say to ultimately set up a Europa League battle with Nordsjælland of Denmark.

Though many in football circles attribute May 7, 2019 as the night Liverpool staged a miraculous Champions League comeback to overcome Barcelona, the Reds of Belfast produced some heroics of their own when all seemed lost in a Play-Off semi-final battle with Coleraine.

Trailing 2-0 before the half-hour mark, a clever Gormley finish wasn’t enough to spark a revival as the Bannsiders pulled 3-1 up with 18 minutes left on the clock at Solitude.

Conor McMenamin offered some hope when he quickly reduced the arrears but it wasn’t until the 98th minute that the rescue mission fully clicked into gear; Ryan Curran coolly converting from the penalty spot after being fouled in the box.

Levi Ives put the hosts in front for the first time on the night when he found the bottom corner early in extra-time ahead of McMenamin (below) racing clear to stroke in a memorable clincher on a 5-3 victory in the second period.

That, almost inevitably, set up another Final with Glentoran.

Though the goals didn’t flow quite so freely this time, there was still plenty of drama and intrigue and it took until injury-time in the first-half of extra-time before Gormley (below) broke the deadlock ahead of McMenamin repeating his feat of a few days earlier when he pulled away to seal things at the death for Paddy McLaughlin’s team, who took on Norwegian side Haugesund in the Europa League that summer.

With no Play-Offs in a 2019/20 season curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic, it wasn’t until June 2021 that Cliftonville were next involved in what must surely rank as the most contentious game in the NI Football League’s Play-Off history.

A goalless semi-final draw with Crusaders progressed all the way to a penalty shootout where, after nine flawless kicks between the teams, the visitors saw their fifth and final effort smash off the underside of the crossbar and down into the pitch – with neither the referee nor his assistant spotting that it had crossed the line, thus handing the Reds a hotly disputed place in the Final with Larne.

That game, which marked the Club’s first ever away fixture in the European Play-Offs, was not without controversy of its own due to the Inver Park side not supplying our supporters with a ticketing allocation, meaning a live stream was depended upon to relay developments of a 3-1 defeat that saw Daire O’Connor on the scoresheet.

Another Final loss followed in 2023 when Glentoran exacted revenge of sorts for the disappointments they had suffered at Cliftonville’s hands in previous years; the Reds – under the interim management of Declan O’Hara – unable to follow up a 2-1 semi-final win over Coleraine when they fell to a 2-0 reverse at The Oval.

History was made a year ago, however, when Jim Magilton’s side became the first team in European Play-Off history to emerge triumphant despite finishing in the bottom half of the Premiership, an achievement that required a landmark two away wins.

Having lost the Irish Cup Final to Dungannon days earlier, Cliftonville responded courageously when they produced an against-the-odds victory away to the Glens, with late strikes from Jack Keaney and Eric McWoods setting up a trip to the Coleraine Showgrounds.

The Reds were, again, unfancied heading into the contest but made an early breakthrough courtesy of captain Rory Hale before Axel Piesold (above) put the seal on a 2-0 triumph that earned UEFA Conference League qualification.

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Cliftonville’s European Play-Off history
2016
Final: Cliftonville 3-2 Glentoran

2017
Semi-final: Cliftonville 3-5 Glenavon

2018
Semi-final: Cliftonville 4-0 Ballymena United
Final: Cliftonville 3-2 Glentoran

2019
Semi-final: Cliftonville 5-3 Coleraine (after extra-time)
Final: Cliftonville 2-0 Glentoran (after extra-time)

2021
Semi-final: Cliftonville 0-0 Crusaders (5-4 on penalties)
Final: Larne 3-1 Cliftonville

2023
Semi-final: Cliftonville 2-1 Coleraine
Final: Glentoran 2-0 Cliftonville

2025
Semi-final: Glentoran 0-2 Cliftonville
Final: Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville