Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GOLD CURRANCY
Ryan hits priceless wonder strike as Reds close on leaders
RYAN CURRAN insists Cliftonville have “another gear to go” after the Reds raced into second spot in the Irish Premiership with yesterday’s 1-0 win over Glentoran.
Curran produced a moment of magic in the eighth minute to earn maximum points at the Oval, the striker dispatching a stunning volley past Aaron Mccarey to settle the clash in east Belfast.
The Reds also hit the woodwork when Ronan Doherty’s strike cannoned off the underside of the crossbar, while Glentoran’s misery was compounded when Shay Mccartan was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Rory Hale in the 73rd minute.
“It is a massive win. We have probably dominated the teams in the lower half of the table but we needed a big result,” Curran said.
“We have a good record against Glentoran, especially at the Oval. We knew it would be a tough game but we firmly believed in ourselves and the lads were excellent to a man.
“We are not getting ahead of ourselves. We probably have another gear to go and we are still five points off Larne, and there is a long way to go.
“We are ticking along nicely at this stage. We just like staying under the radar and stay in the chasing pack.” Much of the pre-match build-up centred on Conor Mcmenamin’s shock inclusion in Glentoran’s starting XI, just one week after the winger suffered a suspected fractured leg against Coleraine. Mcmenamin was given the allclear to return to action after a follow-up MRI scan revealed no break in his left fibula. Unfortunately the Northern Ireland international’s afternoon lasted just 24 minutes before he had to be substituted with an unrelated toe injury.
Paddy Mclaughlin’s (inset) Cliftonville took the lead in the eighth minute with a rocket of a finish from Curran, the striker sending home an unstoppable volley after Rory Hale’s corner was only half cleared.
The Glens had the ball in the back of the net in the 26th minute, but Jay Donnelly’s close-range finish was ruled out for offside.
The Hale brothers – Rory and Ronan – had good chances to extend Cliftonville’s lead – but both were off target with close-range shots.
At the other end Jay Donnelly was denied by the foot of Nathan Gartside after robbing the unsuspecting Jamie Robinson of possession on the edge of the Reds box.
Doherty rattled the underside of the crossbar with a curling effort on the hour mark as Cliftonville threatened a second goal.
The Glens were reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute when Mccartan was shown a straight red for a late tackle on Rory Hale, but could have snatched a share of the spoils if Terry Devlin had connected with a Marcus Kane cross late in the game.