Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BARRY FOCUS ONLY ON REDS PLUS POINTS
BARRY GRAY was determined not to get bogged down in the negatives of Cliftonville’s defeat of Ards, preferring instead to enjoy the many plus points in his side’s 6-3 success at a sunny Solitude.
While he acknowledged the Reds shipped three sloppy goals, he was more than satisfied with the goalscoring prowess displayed at the other end of the park.
Jay Donnelly and the returning Joe Gormley banked doubles in addition to a crisp strike from Chris Curran and a comical own goal from Scott Davidson.
“We’re obviously very pleased because our objective was to get the win,” said the new Cliftonville boss (below). “Three points is all that ever matters and we’ve got them. Six goals is good, they’re a great confidence booster and we’ll take them with us going forward. Our big positives were at the top end of the park where we could have scored 12.
“The negatives were at the back end where we conceded three sloppy goals but let’s not get too downbeat or concerned about that.
“We weren’t overly tested in pre-season so we expected a few holes and gaps in our performance. The defensive side of things we’re concerned with can be dealt with and addressed quite easily.”
Opposite number Colin Nixon – whose side had taken an early lead courtesy of Jonny Frazer, who also popped up with a consolation after Kyle Cherry had struck to make it 3-2 just before the interval – felt Ards “imploded”.
“We were in good control of the game which might sound like a strange thing to say after conceding six but we’d taken the lead and looked comfortable,” he said. “I don’t think too many teams will score three goals at Solitude this season but, at the same time, if you’re scoring that many you shouldn’t be getting beat. From being in control, we’ve pretty much imploded defensively.”