NIFL Premiership
Linfield 1-0 Cliftonville
Windsor Park
CLIFTONVILLE’s search for their first league win of the season continues after Kieran
Offord’s first half goal condemned the Reds to their second defeat of the league season.
In a game that lacked spark and quality, a stunning Offord strike was enough to see the
Blues take all three points – to the disappointment of Reds boss Jim Magilton, who bemoaned his side's defending for the goal.
“It was a great goal, poor from our point of view, really poor defensively,” Magilton reflected. "We should have stopped it at source and should have stopped the tackle.
"Neither keeper had an awful lot to do today. It was the third game for us against probably your three top teams in the league, and it kind of resembled that for us.
“A really disappointing performance in terms of quality in the final third. For me, it lacked
intensity, lacked quality and we didn’t give our front players enough service." said Magilton.
The Reds boss believed that the match passed Cliftonville by without anyone trying to grab the game.
“I thought that we kind of let the game pass us by, instead of grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck and we needed somebody that was going to do that and we didn't."
Magilton rang the changes in the aftermath of his side's 1-1 draw with Larne on Tuesday
evening as Harry Wilson, Ryan Curran, Shea Gordon, Conor Barr and Eric McWoods all came into the visitors starting XI.
GOAL THREAT: Kieran Offord is off to a flyer for the Blues this season
Linfield made a bright start in the summer sunshine and were in the ascendancy with
Odhran Casey having to head behind a dangerous Kieran Offord opportunity and then
central defensive partner Shaun Leppard diverted a Charlie Allen shot behind for a further corner, which came to nothing.
At the other end Rory Hale’s corner was met by Jack Keaney at the back post and he
steered the ball to Shea Gordon whose goal-bound shot hit team-mate Conor Barr and
drifted behind.
The hosts saw plenty of early possession and it paid off when they broke the deadlock after 27 minutes.
Harry Wilson got in the way of a further Allen sighting and Kieran Offord picked up the
scraps and lashed home from 20-yards past fellow Scot PJ Morrison in the Cliftonville goal for his fourth strike of the campaign.
Linfield should have doubled their advantage on the half hour mark, Kyle McClean lifted his free-kick over the wall and Morrison turned his effort onto the post with Jack Keaney
scrambling the loose ball behind for a corner.
The Reds were under the cosh and Kyle McClean’s corner was flicked on by Sam Roscoe and fell to Offord at the backpost, though he shot into the side netting.
Just before the break McClean charged forward and slipped in Offord who dragged a shot wide of the far post. Thomas Lavery had an opportunity to level late in the half, but Chris Johns smothered his low cross as Offord’s goal was the difference at the interval.
Cliftonville were almost back on terms early in the second half, Rory Hale dropped in a free kick and Eric McWoods' header was deflected behind.
Both managers began to make the changes in order to try and inject some tempo into
proceedings. Substitute Dane McCullough teed up Kyle McClean, though he couldn’t keep his free kick on target.
Chris Johns held onto a near post Hale flick with a quarter of an hour remaining, however, in truth the visitors failed to seriously threaten a leveller as Offord’s goal proved the winner at the conclusion as Linfield maintained their unbeaten start to the league campaign, with Cliftonville still searching for their first victory after four games.
LINFIELD: Johns, Roscoe, Whiteside, Shields, McClean, Offord (Morrison 81’), Allen
(McKee 64’), Archer (McCullough 64’), Brown (Millar 81’), McGee, Fitzpatrick.
CLIFTONVILLE: PJ Morrison, Keaney, Casey, Leppard (Addis 75’), Lavery (Wauchope 61’),Gordon, Wilson (Fapetu 61’), Hale, Barr, Curran (Gormley 61’), McWoods (Falls 75’).
REFEREE: Jamie Robinson
