A goalden pair

Their goals in last night’s North Belfast Derby victory over Crusaders saw Ben Quinn and Dean McMaster enter the exclusive club of players who have scored on their Cliftonville debut.

Quinn broke the deadlock from close range on 11 minutes with McMaster’s free-kick just past the hour asserting the Reds’ control against Crusaders as the duo joined Luke Conlan and Brian Healy as members of the current squad to have got on the scoresheet on their first appearance.

The Club’s Heritage Development Officer, Paul Treanor, notes that of the last 35 players to have done so, John Reaney was the first when he bagged a goal in an Irish League encounter with Bangor in 1974.

The following season, Dave Birch scored in a game with Portadown, with Ronnie McAteer (below, grounded) next on the list when the Reds faced Glenavon in January of 1980.

Ron McCreery was next on the list when he found the net against Distillery five years later while, 13 months on, Ian Todd did the job in an Irish League tie with Glentoran,

It is, however, Cliftonville’s next goalscoring debutant who perhaps carries he greatest story of all – goalkeeper Andy McClean’s long kick upfield earning a 3-2 win over Linfield at Windsor Park, sparking scenes of stunned jubilation among the Red Army (below).

A Budweiser Cup battle with Newry Town in February 1989 saw Gerry Corrigan add his name to the list, which soon boasted representation from Stanley Weir (v Coleraine, 1990) and Gary Clarke (v Newry, 1991).

In 1993, no fewer than four Reds players found the net on their maiden outings for the Club.

Gerry Flynn (who can be seen celebrating McClean’s goal at the bottom of the image above; striped top, arms raised) became the latest debutant to strike against Newry and, just 11 days later, Paul Darby was on target in an Irish Cup joust with Queen’s University.

A month on, Darren Wilson scored against Omagh Town at Solitude ahead of Fran Hitchcock converting when Cliftonville hosted Ards in a Gold Cup fixture in August.

October 1994 saw Stevie Cowan – most notable for his heroics in a Portadown shirt – mark his Reds bow with a finish, inevitably, against Newry before Keith Alexander (above) helped his loan side to a never-to-be-forgotten 4-3 win against the Ports at Shamrock Park the following year.

Ciaran Feehan registered a hat-trick when he made his first appearance in a League Cup encounter with Limavady United in August 1995, while Paul Stokes found the net in a Premier League trip to Bangor on New Year’s Day in 1996.

Though his time at Cliftonville is best remembered for his contribution between 2005 and 2009, what is perhaps often forgotten is that striker Gary Kennedy enjoyed one outing during the Club’s 1997/98 title-winning campaign and found the net in a vital home win over Coleraine at 17 years of age.

In 2000, both Aidan O’Kane (v Ballymena United) and Sean Adams (v Crusaders) were among the goals, with Chris McVarnock on the scoresheet in a County Antrim Shield battle with Carrick Rangers in October 2002.

In 2005, Barry Cunning netted in a Premier League meeting with Lisburn Distillery at New Grosvenor while, two years later, Kieran O’Connor (above) became the first Reds player in history to enjoy a goalscoring debut on the European scene when he bagged the equaliser in an Intertoto Cup date with FC Dinaburg at Windsor Park.

Martin Jones scored against PSNI in a County Antrim Shield match in August 2009 and, in February 2011, Tony Kane celebrated an acrobatic finish against Newry City at The Showgrounds.

In the 15 years between now and then, a further 10 players have toasted first game strikes.

Gary Donnelly was on target in the Club Record 11-1 defeat of Distillery in August 2016, while September 2019 saw Calvin McCurry score the quickest ever goal of a Cliftonville debutant when, just seconds after emerging from the bench against Knockbreda, his first touch took him around the goalkeeper and his second put the ball in the net.

Paul O’Neill hit an injury-time leveller against Coleraine in February 2021 and Conor Scannell registered a double in a County Antrim Shield defeat of Knockbreda seven months later.

Ronan Hale (above) wasted little time getting started with an unorthodox finish in a Europa Conference League joust with DAC in Slovakia four years ago, while Sean Stewart marked the first game of his loan spell from Norwich City by converting against Glenavon in Jim Magilton’s first game at the helm in August 2023.

In July of 2024, meanwhile, Conlan joined O’Connor and Hale in marking his bow with a continental strike when he found the net in a Conference League tussle with Auda (below), with Healy bagging an Irish Cup goal against Dundela in January of this prior prior to Quinn and McMaster adding their names to an illustrious mixture of famous faces, former favourites and long-forgotten goal-getters last night..

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Last 35 Debut Goalscorers
John Reaney
v Bangor (December 7, 1974)

Dave Birch
v Portadown (September 13, 1975)

Ronnie McAteer
v Glenavon (January 19, 1980)

Ron McCreery
v Distillery (August 17, 1985)

Ian Todd
v Glentoran (September 13, 1986)

Andy McClean
v Linfield (August 20, 1988)

Gerry Corrigan
v Newry Town (February 21, 1989)

Stanley Weir
v Coleraine (April 13, 1990)

Gary Clarke
v Newry Town (December 14, 1991)

Gerry Flynn
v Newry Town (January 16, 1993)

Paul Darby
v Queen’s University (January 27, 1993)

Darren Wilson
v Omagh Town (February 27, 1993)

Fran Hitchcock
v Ards (August 27, 1993)

Stevie Cowan
v Newry Town (October 22, 1994)

Keith Alexander
v Portadown (January 14, 1995)

Ciaran Feehan
v Limavady United (August 12, 1995)

Paul Stokes
v Bangor (January 1, 1996)

Gary Kennedy
v Coleraine (January 4, 1997)

Aidan O’Kane
v Ballymena United (August 12, 2000)

Sean Adams
v Crusaders (October 28, 2001)

Chris McVarnock
v Carrick Rangers (October 29, 2002)

Barry Cunning
v Lisburn Distillery (January 3, 2005)

Kieran O’Connor
v FC Dinaburg (June 23, 2007)

Martin Jones
v PSNI (August 11, 2009)

Tony Kane
v Newry City (February 12, 2011)

Gary Donnelly
v Lisburn Distillery (August 30, 2016)

Calvin McCurry
v Knockbreda (September 10, 2019)

Paul O’Neill
v Coleraine (February 2, 2021)

Conor Scannell
v Knockbreda (September 21, 2021)

Ronan Hale
v DAC (July 7, 2022)

Sean Stewart
v Glenavon (August 12, 2023)

Luke Conlan
v Auda (July 24, 2024)

Brian Healy
v Dundela (January 10, 2026)

Ben Quinn
v Crusaders (August 7, 2026)

Dean McMaster 
v Crusaders (August 7, 2026)