THE second North Belfast derby of the season takes place at Solitude on Saturday with Cliftonville aiming for a repeat and Crusaders gunning for revenge as the season edges closer to the midway stage.

Stephen Baxter's Hatchetmen make the short trip to Solitude on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off) looking to avenge their earlier 3-0 reversal to Jim Magilton's Cliftonville at Seaview back in September.

Four points and a league position separate the duo in the table, although Crusaders have a game in hand over their neighbours.

Stephen Baxter’s side had the weekend off after their clash with Linfield was postponed at the request of the Blues.

Reds boss Magilton was full of praise for Baxter and his side and insists that his own players must be prepared to do whatever it takes if we they are going to make it two derby victories from two.

“If we can repeat that I’d be delighted but I’m sure they [Crusaders] will have something to say about it,” Magilton believes.

“They’ve got a fantastic manager and a fantastic group of players. They will be ready for that game, and we have to be ready for it and prepared to do whatever we have to do to try and win the game. It’s a fantastic game to look forward to.

“It is a huge game. The significance of the game is always the supporters. The supporters love the game, its bragging rights and all of that.

“For us, it’s controlling our performance levels and going out and standing up and giving a really good account of ourselves.”

In the wake of their 3-0 win over Carrick Rangers on Sunday, Magilton isn’t getting carried away with his side’s start to the campaign and is downplaying any talk of being involved in the title race at this juncture.

They may now be just five points behind Linfield, but that postponement last weekend means the Blues also have a game in hand and they will be fancied to maintain the gap on Saturday when they host struggling Ballymena United.

“What we’re saying is that we are controlling our performances and wherever that takes us, so be it,” he said.

“At the moment we’re going well. It was important to go and win back-to-back, we haven’t done that since October. Again, that is a huge statement for us, it’s building up that bank of confidence that you need. It is a long, long season.

“What I have found in my limited experience in the league is that unless you are ready, prepared and focused on every game, you can lose games. You can actually lose games through a lack of preparation and a lack of focus. We are aware of that.

“We’re totally aware of that and the players are aware of that. They are an experienced bunch, lots of real good characters in the changing room. Today was about today and it was about winning.”

Magilton was most pleased that his players were able to overcome the adjustment of the Sunday fixture and early kick off at a notoriously difficult venue in which they suffered a defeat earlier on in the campaign.

Heading into the derby off the back of a good win is vital and although they were in action at an unusual time, they still delivered a performance against a team that has picked up some good wins in the campaign.

“Everybody put a massive shift in,” Magilton reflected.

“It was a strange one with a Sunday at 2 o’clock. We brought a fantastic following, which was great.

“It was just a strange kick-off and we had to be mentally ready for it and I thought we were.

“We applied ourselves fantastically well. It is a notoriously difficult ground to come to. To win 3-0 here is a massive result for us, and again another statement from the players that they have the character to come to these places and win.

“The defeat in September hurt us and our momentum. That gave us a come down to earth with a bump sort of moment and from that point we’ve really had to dig in at times today and show that resilience and character.

“This is a character ground, and you have to be mentally ready for it. We showed real determination to get a result and that was important.”
 
Irish Cup Round Four
THE Fourth Round of the Irish Cup takes place on Saturday with the 16 clubs in action all hoping they will be in the hat for a possible shot at one of the big guns in January.

Both Willowbank and Crumlin Star face NIFL Premier Intermediate opposition with ‘The Bank’ welcoming Tobermore United to The Cliff in Larne, while Crumlin Star host Limavady United at The Cricky.

Both games have a 1.30pm start.