It’s fair to say that Ireland’s oldest football club have taken a notion of adding a few years of aging to their supporters in recent times.
The same was true on Tuesday night.
For a third away game in a row, Cliftonville have made a personal gain in additional time at the expense of an anguished opponent; just as against Newry City, just as against Carrick Rangers, Glentoran were left to contemplate what might have been at The BetMcLean Oval.
Jim Magilton’s Reds are just the embodiment of never-say-die, proved yet again by Odhran Casey’s towering header deep into second-half stoppage-time.
The 21-year-old broke Carrick hearts a fortnight earlier with a last-gasp header – the clock on that occasion was four minutes into the red at Loughview Leisure Arena – and, five minutes past the 90 here, rescued a dramatic point when he powered in Ronan Hale’s delicate cross.
Bedlam ensued in the away end with Cliftonville having come back from two goals down at the interval to net a 2-2 draw.
It wasn’t quite the three points the Solitude men craved and, indeed, they remain winless in six encounters against the rest of the Sports Direct Premiership’s top four to date, but so often a share of the spoils feels like a win in these sorts of contexts.
These late shows have also translated into momentum, such that the north Belfast side have collected five more points than they would have without those bursts.
And that could make all the difference come the end as they sit four points behind leaders Linfield (65) and three adrift of Larne (64) with all three having played the same number of games (27) so far.
So, how did Cliftonville do it?
In truth, they looked a beaten team at the half. Glentoran’s Scottish centre-back Aidan Wilson rammed a header past David Odumosu, who in January completed a permanent transfer between the Reds’ sticks after his initial loan from St Patrick’s Athletic, on 38 minutes from a fine Bobby Burns corner before the midfielder took matters into his own hands in first-half added-time.
Burns, whose brother Paddy later entered the fray for his senior Cliftonville debut, drilled low and hard into the bottom right, celebrating a fantastic finish from range with a signature cartwheel in front of a jubilant home faithful.
2-0 down, it sparked Magilton into action; he hauled off defender Luke Kenny and drafted in fast-footed Stephen Mallon during the interval, changing the system to a back-four in a call that paid off instantly.
On admittedly one of his more profligate outings, the younger Hale brother still produced a moment of magic just three minutes after the restart, a curler that picked out the top right corner past a sprawling Glens keeper Ollie Webber.
When home boss Warren Feeney decided protection was the best course of action, replacing striker Junior with midfielder Shay McCartan and adopting a 5-4-1 shape, Cliftonville’s pressure only became more aggressive from the 70th minute onwards.
It wasn’t until nearly the very last action of the game that the visitors were rewarded, by which time hearts were almost beating through the Reds fans’ chests, but you couldn’t argue it wasn’t something they hadn’t worked towards.
A ferocious roar followed. Not just at a point gained, but that it could prove a crucial building block towards what they really want.
Featured image from Stephen Hamilton/INPHO.
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