Ben Wilson pounced to earn Cliftonville all three points from the St Stephen’s Day Derby at Solitude.
Having taken the lead against the run of play when Rory Hale claimed to have got the deftest of touches to Wilson’s 14th minute cross, the Reds were pegged back when Lloyd Anderson scrambled Crusaders level early in the second-half.
The visitors had looked the more likely to go on and win from there but, after going close to reclaiming their advantage when Jordan Owens headed against his own crossbar, Cliftonville edged back in front with a quarter of an hour remaining when Owens nudged Chris Gallagher’s free-kick delivery into Wilson’s path and the striker made no mistake with an instinctive finish.
There was further drama to come when, with the game approaching injury-time, Owens nodded against the post and, with sub James Teelan poised to pounce for a last-gasp leveller, Gallagher intervened with a goal line clearance to save the day.
Full report to follow…