NIFL Premiership

Coleraine 2-2 Cliftonville 

CLIFTONVILLE’s top six hopes ended on Tuesday evening after they were held to a 2-2 draw by fellow challengers Coleraine at the Showgrounds. 

Jim Magilton’s side needed victory to have a chance of sneaking into the top six before the league split at the weekend and they hit the front midway through the second half when Ryan Curran’s curling shot took a deflection and found the net. 

It was a short-lived lead, though, as Matthew Shevlin hit back from the spot after he was upended, and he then rifled home from close range to turn the game around. 

The drama wasn’t over as Cliftonville were awarded a penalty of their own, which Curran dispatched, but they were unable to secure a late winner that would have drawn them level on points with Coleraine going into the weekend.

So, for the first time since the split was introduced, Cliftonville will play out the season in the bottom section of the Sports Direct Premiership and will need to finish in seventh to secure a European playoff. 

Assistant manager Gerard Lyttle acknowledged the disappointment at the side's failure to make the top six, but he felt their commitment couldn’t be questioned on the night. 

“We’re really disappointed as a group, as a team and as a club that we haven’t reached the top six,” Lyttle reflected. 

“Going by tonight, in terms of effort, we can’t fault the lads. I think they gave everything and left everything on the pitch. 

“Anyone that has questioned their commitment and attitude - we’re not making excuses - but we’ve been in from early January training and working hard and that is our fourth game in nine days, and that can take its toll. 

“We asked the players just to give us everything. I thought we were probably the better team over the 90 minutes. I don’t think we deserved to draw the game, but again, one or two little mistakes have cost us. 

“It’s something we definitely need to tidy up going forward, but just to reiterate: in terms of the effort of the boys, I thought they were magnificent tonight.”

Reds’ boss Jim Magilton made three changes from the side that were beaten by Ballymena United at the weekend. 

Sean Stewart came in for his first start since October after a long injury layoff and Joe Gormley and Conor Pepper also came into the starting XI. 

Both sides attempted to threaten in the early stages with Kyle Spence unleashing a shot that rose over the bar and at the other end, Axel Piesold’s crossfield pass picked out Joe Gormley but he couldn’t keep his shot down. 

Levi Ives threaded a pass through towards Matthew Shevlin, but it ran away from the Bannsiders’ top scorer, whilst Kyle McClelland headed away a floated cut back from Sean Stewart. 

Stewart sent in another dangerous delivery from a corner approaching the midway point in the half and it just evaded Odhran Casey. 

Winger Corey Smith began to cause Cliftonville a few problems with his pace, bursting forward and sending in a cross that was scrambled back to goalkeeper Lewis Ridd. Less than 60 seconds later, Smith provided another cross from the right that Ridd gathered ahead of Shevlin. 

On the half-hour mark, former St Mirren defender Charles Dunne curled a shot wide after initially holding the ball up for Corey Smith to play the return pass to Dunne at the edge of the box. 

Lyndon Kane snatched at a shot from the edge of the box before the break and Conor Pepper’s attempt to find Luke Conlon at the back post was cleared at the expense of a corner, which came to nothing as the half ended scoreless. 

Coleraine almost broke the deadlock two minutes after the restart when Dunne drove forward and his cross was cleared as far as Jamie Glackin whose low drive was held by Ridd. 

On 53 minutes, Kane provided a pinpoint cross to the back post but Matthew Shevlin somehow guided the ball past the post and wide. 

Just after the hour mark, Luke Conlon took the ball down on the edge of the box and found Gormley to float an angled shot over Rory Brown’s crossbar. 

The breakthrough arrived midway through the second half and it was Cliftonville who hit the front. 

Axel Piesold glided forward and picked out Ryan Curran with a fine pass. Curran held the ball up and his angled shot took a deflection off Kyle McClelland and found the net to make it 1-0. 

It was a lead that would only last for six minutes as Odhran Casey tangled with Matthew Shevlin in the area and referee Tony Clarke pointed to the spot, with Shevlin squeezing the resulting penalty low into the corner past Ridd to restore parity. 

Coleraine completed a comeback in the 81st minute after Levi Ives closed down Odhran Casey’s attempted clearance. Lewis Ridd was unable to hold onto the resulting shot and Matthew Shevlin pounced to make it 2-1. 

However, the Bannsiders' advantage was to last for six minutes as well after Rory Brown chopped down Joe Gormley and Cliftonville were awarded a penalty. 

Ryan Curran seized responsibility and sent Brown the wrong way to reignite the Reds’ hopes of victory needed to keep their top six hopes alive. 

The visitors might have restored the lead moments later when Brown was adjudged to have handled outside the area and they awarded an indirect free-kick which Joe Gormley arrowed high past the post. 

A draw suited Coleraine but both sides went all out for the winner in the five additional minutes. 

Jamie Glackin got on the end of Dylan Boyle’s long ball and dinked a shot onto the roof of the net. 

Cliftonville carved out two late opportunities with Curran’s knockdown finding Gormley to shoot high and off target. Gormley had another sighting before the evening was out but Brown was equal to his effort and the game finished in a 2-2 draw. 

The result moved Coleraine into the top six ahead of Portadown ahead of the duo’s clash at the weekend, but for Cliftonville, they must now fight for a seventh-place finish that would secure a European playoff if needed at the end of the campaign. 

COLERAINE: Brown, Kane, Boyle, Shevlin, Spence (Murray 56’), McClelland, Glackin, Ives, Smith (Scott 75’), Doherty (McManus 75’), Dunne. 

CLIFTONVILLE: Ridd, Casey, Addis, Keaney, Stewart, Pepper, Piesold, Conlon, Parsons (Hale 73’), Curran, Gormley. 

REFEREE: Tony Clarke