NIFL Premiership
Cliftonville 0
Ballymena United 1
At Solitude

CLIFTONVILLE slumped for a fourth successive league defeat as Igor Rutkowski’s strike before the hour mark ensured that Ballymena United left Solitude with a 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon.

Paul Stanfield’s red card was the turning point in the game in first half injury time and left Jim Magilton’s side with an uphill task in the second period with Rutkowski making the most of his side's numerical advantage.

The home support felt aggrieved they weren’t awarded a penalty deep into second half injury time .

“It’s always difficult when you are down to 10-men,” Magilton acknowledged. “We guarded against going very traditional, we decided to go for it with a 3-4-2 in the second half.

“We’d two fantastic chances with Liam and the one at the end. The one at the end is an incredible decision.

“On a day where the referee has handed nine yellows and one red and then the one decision where it's a penalty – and I don't want to see anybody sent off. Paul Stanfield was two yellows, so he has to go. When there is contact. Brian Healy has not scored a goal in whatever games and his eyes lit up, and he has gone by him, there is contact, he goes over, it is inside the box and it is a penalty.

“Whether or not we score the penalty, it is a really poor decision. As I say, I think the referee should have given himself a couple of seconds as we’ve said loads and loads of times.

“I went in to see him and the linesman said it wasn’t a penalty, it was a free kick – it was in the box – and he had the best seat in the house. If he is actually saying that and we’ve shown him the video then that is really, really poor officiating."

Magilton made five changes to the squad that suffered a third straight league defeat at Limavady United last weekend.

Ollie Samuels, Rhyss Campbell, Joel Thompson and Ben Quinn all returned to the starting line-up, alongside Paul Stanfield – making his first league start for the club. Rhyss Campbell shot wildly over in the opening minutes and at the other end a Josh Archer half volley flashed over the angle off post and crossbar.

It took a while for the first half to come to life. Just after the half hour mark Brian Healy tried to head a Rory Hale cross goalwards but the loose ball fell to Rhyss Campbell whose shot came back off the post and out.

David Toure sent in a low cross that Igor Rutkowski got on the end of, though Kyle McClelland threw himself in the way of his attempt.

It was end-to-end stuff as Brian Healy looked poised to turn the ball home from close range only for Kodi Lyons-Foster to deny the striker at the expense of a corner, which came to nothing.

On the stroke of half-time Ben Quinn floated in a cross that David Walsh punched, Healy laid the ball back to former Sky Blue Joel Thompson to sweep the ball over.

Cliftonville suffered a huge setback in first half injury time when Paul Stanfield caught Caoimhin McConnell with a high foot and having already been booked for an earlier pull back, referee Steven Gregg showed Stanfield a second yellow and the hosts would have to play the second period with 10-men.

Ballymena United tried to make the most of their numerical advantage in a strong opening to the second half. Findlay Thorndike rolled a free kick into the path of James Hood whose shot was turned behind by PJ Morrison.

The subsequent corner was half cleared and David Toure then found Hood and he slipped in Thorndike who was again denied by Morrison.

The deadlock was broken in the 58th minute and it was the Sky Blues who hit the front. Former Cliftonville youth product McConnell saw his shot blocked and Igor Rutkowski reacted quickly and thumped the follow-up past Morrsion to make it 1-0.

Jim Magilton rolled the dice introducing Joe Sheridan and Liam McStravick, the latter almost making an immediate impact.

McStravick robbed Daithi McCallion and went through on goal, but David Walsh was equal to the winger's opportunity.

Ballymena could have doubled their lead when McConnell curled over and midway through the second half Fuad Sule drove into the area. His attempted shot was cleared as far as McConnell who hooked the ball into the danger area where the ball broke to Igor Rutkowski to somehow flash a shot past the post.

The Reds desperately pushed for a leveller. In injury time Joe Sheridan tried his luck with  a shot that deflected behind for a corner off Lyons-Foster and they felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Brian Healy was caught by Walsh as he raced through, but Gregg was unmoved and pointed for a goal kick.

The final whistle sounded shortly afterwards as the hosts slumped to a fourth successive league defeat ahead of a trip to table-toppers Coleraine next weekend.

CLIFTONVILLE: Morrison, Stanfield, McClelland (Murray 83’), Bannon, Samuels, Thompson (McStravick 61’), Hale (Sheridan 61’), McMaster, Quinn (Leppard 46’), Healy, Campbell (Gormley 83’).

BALLYMENA UNITED: Walsh, Toure, Glynn (Leech 32’), Sule, Archer, Rutkowski, Thorndike (McKee 78’), McCallion (Whiteside 70’), Hood (Murray 70’), McConnell, Lyons-Foster,

REFEREE: Steven Gregg