NIFL Premiership

Cliftonville 1-0 Warrenpoint Town 

CLIFTONVILLE narrowed the gap on the ‘big two’ to a single point with a 1-0 win over Warrenpoint Town at Solitude on Tuesday evening. 

Warrenpoint goalkeeper Stephen McMullan was in inspired form all evening, producing a string of impressive stops to frustrate Paddy McLaughlin’s title-chasing Reds, but he could do nothing to deny Luke Turner from sealing the points with a header before the break. 

McLaughlin was full of praise for the Warrenpoint Town stopper and felt the visitors worked their socks off throughout. 

“I’m delighted with three points and the clean sheet,” reflected McLaughlin. 

“We scored one goal and we should have scored a few more but for the brilliance of young McMullan. What a performance from a young lad of 17 years of age playing in the Premier League. 

“I thought he was superb for them. He pulled off five or six unbelievable saves and he’s made another couple of routine that were straight at him, but five or six of them saves are as good as you’ll see in the division this year. All credit to young McMullan in goal for Warrenpoint. 

“All credit to Warrenpoint for working their socks off right throughout the game, they made it really difficult for us. We did create chances but for a couple of wayward finishes and brilliant goalkeeping, it could have been a lot more comfortable for us. But at the end of the day, we were here to get three points and the job was done.”

McLaughlin named an unchanged starting 11 from their win against Coleraine two weekends ago as Rory Hale continued to come back from injury. 

Cliftonville had the chance to hit the front early when Daniel Kearns pulled the ball across to Rory Hale who slammed his shot into the side netting. 

Jamie McDonagh fizzed the ball across the face of goal and on the quarter-hour mark, McDonagh met a near-post cross from Rory Hale, but Warrenpoint ’keeper Stephen McMullan got down to gather at the second attempt. 

McDonagh was inches away from connecting to a Daniel Kearns cut-back before the half-hour mark and went closer 60 seconds later with a speculative attempt from 22-yards that had McMullan beaten, but crashed off the underside of the bar. 

The Reds thought they had made the breakthrough when Turner netted from Jonny Addis chipped cross, but the offside flag quickly cut the celebrations short. 

Warrenpoint carved out their only opportunity of the half on the half-hour-mark when Daniel Byrne flicked on a corner and Dylan Hand’s snapshot was blocked by a trio of Cliftonville players. 

Cliftonville pushed for the opener and a bout of pinball ended with Ronan Doherty seeing his follow-up shot held by youngster McMullan. 

The breakthrough would eventually arrive on 43 minutes when a short corner from Levi Ives to McDonagh saw the winger float a high cross into the area. Ryan Curran headed the ball off the bar and on-loan Aberdeen defender Luke Turner bundled home at the second time of asking for his second goal of the season, which was the difference at the break. 

Cliftonville began the second half on the front foot and eager for a second but found Stephen McMullan in inspired form in the Point goals. 

The 17-year-old denied Jamie McDonagh after the winger had run onto a cross-field pass and then dealt with a further McDonagh effort from distance. 

Joe Gormley then had an opportunity within 60 seconds of his introduction after beating the offside trap and latching onto a through ball from Jonny Addis. Gormley made an angle for himself, but shot straight down the throat of McMullan. 

With little under a quarter of an hour remaining, McDonagh found Gormley with an inch-perfect cross, but the striker’s downward header was kept out by the Warrenpoint ’keeper. 

The visitors’ goal continued to lead a charmed life as Jonny Addis met a Levi Ives corner and looked to have headed home the second, only from McMullan to spring into action.

Chris Gallagher then caught the Point defence napping with a quickly taken free-kick that released Chris Curran, but McMullan turned the dangerous driven effort behind for a corner. 

When it looked as though McMullan was finally breached in injury time the offside flag denied Jamie McDonagh as Cliftonville settled for a 1-0 win to move within a point of Linfield and Glentoran at the league summit. 

CLIFTONVILLE: McNicholas, Lowe, Addis, Turner, Ives, Doherty, Hale (Gormley 63), Gallagher, McDonagh, Kearns (C Curran 76), R Curran. 

WARRENPOINT TOWN: McMullan, Ball, Hand, Dillon, Wixted (Hutchinson 65), Wade-Slater, Moorhouse (A O’Sullivan 70), Leddy, McKenna, Byrne, O’Sullivan. 

REFEREE: Shane Andrews