Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SWOOPER COOPER Joel pounces to punish the Reds
JOEL COOPER was the hero for Linfield as they moved into the semi-finals of the Bet Mclean League Cup at the expense of Cliftonville at Windsor Park last night.
Cooper struck early on in a dramatic first half. He really should have had two goals because another effort looked to have crossed the line after Cliftonville goalkeeper Richard Brush had saved Shayne Lavery’s penalty.
The winger has been in scintillating form for most of the campaign and caused the Reds all sorts of problems as their fantastic run of form came to an end.
Prior to this defeat Paddy Mclaughlin’s side had won all six of their matches in October.
Just three minutes in Joe Gormley had an opportunity to add to his record tally for the Reds. Having struck a hat-trick on Saturday against Dungannon in a 5-0 victory, taking his total past the 200 mark for the club, Cliftonville supporters would have been confident with the striker bearing down on goal.
Credit though to Linfield goalkeeper Gareth Deane, in for Rohan Ferguson, for making a fine save.
On ten minutes Cooper made no mistake when a chance came his way.
He smashed in a low drive inside a crowded box after
Chris Curran was forced to clear off the line from his own player Conor Mcdermott, who had headed Kirk Millar’s inswinging corner towards goal.
Cooper was creating havoc every time he had the ball at his feet.
Lavery wasn’t too far behind and was awarded a penalty on 23 minutes when referee Tim Marshall ruled that Chris Curran had brought down the Northern Ireland striker in the area. It was a decision that left the visitors frustrated, though they were overjoyed by what happened next.
First Brush, repeating his penalty saving heroics from the shoot-out success against Linfield at Windsor in the County Antrim Shield earlier this month, stopped Lavery’s (inset) spot-kick.
Then in a crazy scramble Cooper fired in a shot that looked over the line before Aaron Donnelly’s clearance. Next Cliftonville players put their bodies on the line to prevent Matthew Clarke and Millar doubling Linfield’s lead.
It was dramatic stuff, though TV replays suggested Cooper’s effort should have been allowed.
The second period was nip and tuck but the best chances falling to the home team, with Andy Waterworth hitting the bar and Stephen Fallon smashing the rebound over.