Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WAY TO JOE!
Late Gormley strike dumps out Blues
JOE GORMLEY kept his cool to fire Cliftonville into the semi-finals of the Irish Cup with a momentous 1-0 win over Linfield at Windsor Park.
With just 10 minutes remaining in a tense last-eight tie in South Belfast, Gormley raced through on goal to steer a clinical shot past exposed Blues keeper Alex Moore.
It was a killer blow for the cup holders and a memorable night for the Reds who have been drawn to face Bluefin Championship side Loughgall in the last-four of the competition.
Barry Gray’s men will certainly fancy their chances against the Mid-ulster minnows and taking a step closer to ending a 39-year hoodoo in the blue riband competition that dates back to their last success in 1979.
Linfield, who have now won just two of their last six games in all competitions at Windsor, had started the brighter and saw an early Kirk Millar header tipped over by Brian Neeson.
Kurtis Byrne also forced two smart saves from the Cliftonville keeper while Mark Stafford’s header from a Niall Quinn corner hit the top of the bar. Cliftonville, who saw a Gormley effort blocked in the first half, almost opened the scoring when Garry Breen somehow headed a Shane Grimes corner wide of target at the front post.
The visitors survived a frantic scrambled effort from Blues replacement Stephen Lowry before Gormley bagged the winner in the 80th minute. Substitute Ruairi Harkin picked up the ball in midfield and showed great vision to send Gormley racing through on goal.
The frontman, now on 25 goals for the season, still had plenty to do but he made it look easy as he steered a low shot inside the far post.
Gormley had endured a quiet night overall but when it came to the decisive moment he delivered big time to make it a night to remember for Gray and his players.
Cliftonville ended the game with 10 men when winger Steven Garrett went off injured, the Reds having already made all three substitutes but they held out for a crucial win.