NIFL Premiership
Cliftonville 2
Dungannon Swifts 0
At Solitude
SECOND HALF goals from Jonny Addis and Jack Keaney ensured that Cliftonville are now three games unbeaten in the league following their 2-0 win over Dungannon Swifts at Solitude on Saturday afternoon.
Addis' back-header broke the deadlock early in the second half and Jack Keaney stroked home a free-kick to seal all three points to the delight of manager Jim Magilton who said the message at half time was simple – to display more belief.
“The message was just to believe in us and believe in how we play, impose ourselves more in the game, trust each other with the ball and go and have the confidence to go and play,” he said after the game.
“The first half was cagey at times, I thought their system probably had more effect on the game than ours. It was believe in yourselves, go out and play, go and enjoy it, pass the ball but play on the front foot and ask questions of them.
“All the things that we do and feel we do naturally came to fruition in the second half which was important. We caused them problems early on and kept that impetus going, and that was important.
“We get the goals, which is really important and then I thought we did a really professional job.”
Jack Keaney with Ladislau Leonel Ucha Alvs
Magilton returned to his trusted starting XI after making eight changes for their midweek win over Strabane Athletic in the Bet McLean Cup.
Dungannon should have broken the deadlock when a quickly taken free-kick released Kealan Dillon and his cross found Cathal McGinty in the area with his low shot kept out by the right foot of Reds keeper Peter Morrison.
At the other end a fine Jonny Addis pass into the feet of Ryan Curran gave Cliftonville their first sighting and after setting himself for the shot, Curran drew a smart save from Declan Dunne.
Thomas Lavery caught Junior Uzokwe on the edge of the box and from the resulting free-kick Morrison had to tip a goal-bound Kealan Dillon effort over for a corner.
The resulting corner came to nothing and Eric McWoods rapidly broke at pace and shifted the ball across to Joe Sheridan – whose shot was straight down the throat of Dunne.
Reds keeper Morrison easily held onto a looping Sean McAllister header from Adam Glenny’s cross before the half-hour mark, but at the break it remained scoreless at Solitude.
Cliftonville began the second period on the front foot with Lavery crossing to the back post where Ryan Curran glanced wide. A threaded pass from Rory Hale attempted to pick out Eric McWoods and a timely touch from Caolan Marron thwarted the American.
The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 51st minute. Joe Sheridan played a short corner to Rory Hale who clipped the ball into the area, Odhran Casey nodded it on and Jonny Addis' back-header found the net despite the Swifts appealing for an offside in the build-up.
Cliftonville should have doubled their lead when Rory Hale found McWoods and he dragged a shot wide.
With 20-minutes remaining the second did arrive. Cathal McGinty felled Joe Sheridan outside the box and Jack Keaney sent the resulting free kick low past the wall and into the bottom corner past Dunne for his second of the season.
Dungannon may have halved the deficit when Junior Uzokwe had an opening, though his shot was smothered and deflected behind for a corner, which came to nothing.
In the closing stages Joe Gormley’s shot cannoned behind off Caolan Marron and substitute Conor Falls shot from a tight angle whistled across the face of goal and wide as Addis and Keaney’s goals proved the difference at the conclusion.
CLIFTONVILLE: Morrison, Casey (Leppard 81’), Addis, Keaney, Lavery, Wilson, Hale, Sheridan (Pepper 87’), Hawthorne, McWoods (Gormley 73’), Curran (Falls 87’).
DUNGANNON SWIFTS: Dunne, Scott, Marron, Dillon (Anderson 60’,Smith 75’), Alves (Knowles 60’), Glenny, McGintry, Wallace, Bigirimana (Mitchell 73’), Uzokwe, McAllister (Maguire 60’).
REFEREE: Tony Clarke
