Linfield’s attempts to win the County Antrim Shield for the first time since 2017 came to an end last night as the Blues were eliminated at the quarter-final stage with a 4-1 defeat to Cliftonville at Solitude.
Coming off the back of a 2-0 defeat away to Portadown which left manager David Healy seething at his team’s level of performance last Friday, the Blues’ boss made no less than ten changes to his team for the short trip to north Belfast – Sean Brown being the only survivor – but it didn’t have the desired effect as the Reds inflicted a consecutive defeat upon the League champions.
The Blues didn’t click in the first half. Cliftonville raced into an early lead. Having gone close after four minutes when striker Eric McWoods was denied by the foot of David Walsh at close range, the Reds took the lead in the 12th minute as Keevan Hawthorne’s corner from the right found defender Jonny Addis unmarked, and although his glancing header was headed out, it landed for Rory Hale on the edge of the box and he had enough time to rifle an emphatic half-volley finish into the roof of the net.
The home side – aiming to win the Shield for the first time since 2020 – suffered a blow on 19 minutes as right wing-back Sean Robertson pulled up injured and was replaced by Thomas Lavery. However, that didn’t effect the Reds, and they doubled their lead on 31 minutes. A loose pass by Charlie Allen was seized upon by striker Ryan Curran who found Keevan Hawthorne to his left, and the impressive 18-year-old rifled a 20-yard strike across Walsh into the far corner.
Jim Magilton’s team almost scored a third goal five minutes before the break as Canadian striker Eric McWoods beat Scot Whiteside for pace on the left to get inside the box before his low shot was saved by David Walsh. Moments later, McWoods wanted a penalty for a strong sliding challenge from Dane McCullough inside the box, but the young Linfield defender won the ball and the referee saw no wrongdoing.
In a lively ending to the first half, the Blues grabbed themselves a lifeline in the 44th minute following a quick counter, breaking from right to left. The ball was worked to Callumn Morrison on the left, and he caught the goalkeeper out with a left-footed finish from a tight angle for his fifth goal of the season. The Scotsman had good options in the middle which seemed to lure Cliftonville’s Welsh goalkeeper Lewis Ridd into anticipating a square ball.
However, just as the Blues had been given renewed hope with their goal, the wind was taken from their sails again in the second of three additional minutes as they were reduced to ten men. Chris McKee – who captained the Linfield team on the night – received a straight red card for a challenge that was deemed reckless on Rory Hale near the halfway line. McKee will now serve a three-match suspension, meaning he’ll miss League matches against Ballymena United, Coleraine, and Cliftonville, when the Blues return in 11 days’ time.
In truth, 2-1 flattered the Blues at the break as their goal was the first time that they really threatened the Cliftonville goal in the first half, but being down to ten men made it an uphill task for the second half.
HT: CLIFTONVILLE 2-1 LINFIELD
Having seen his side reduced to ten men a minute before half-time, David Healy made changes at the break with Matthew Fitzpatrick and Isaac Baird coming on in place of Matt Yates and Euan East amidst a slight reshuffle.
However, there was no immediate impact. In fact, it was Cliftonville who made a quick start to the second half and, after going close twice early in the half, they re-established their two-goal lead in the 48th minute as Ryan Curran buried a low snapshot from the edge of the box.
The Reds then put the game beyond Linfield with a fourth goal in the 51st minute as young wing-back Keevan Hawthorne turned provider with a deep cross from the left which was headed in at the back post by Sunderland loanee Thomas Lavery. David Walsh seemed to get a hand to it but not enough to stop it creeping inside the near post.
Cliftonville clearly came out in the second half with the intention of putting the game to bed and not to allow the ten men to stay in the game and potentially grow in confidence as it went on. At 4-1 with just under 40 minutes left it looked like Linfield were going to be on the end of an even heavier defeat than the three-goal margin it resulted in, and it took the introduction of Sam Roscoe and Ethan McGee to stem the tide. The rest of the match was a damage limitation exercise for the Blues on another night to forget.
Cliftonville talisman Joe Gormley was substituted on for the last 16 minutes as he went in search of his 300th goal for the Reds, but despite a few bites at the cherry, it was not forthcoming.
Cliftonville’s reward is a semi-final tie away to Ballymena United as they aim to win the Co. Antrim Shield for the first time since 2020. Linfield, meanwhile, must respond to back-to-back defeats when they host the Sky Blues in the Sports Direct Premiership on Saturday afternoon.
FT: CLIFTONVILLE 4-1 LINFIELD
CLIFTONVILLE: Lewis Ridd (GK), Odhran Casey (Shaun Leppard 63’), Jack Keaney, Jonathan Addis, Sean Robertson (Thomas Lavery 19’), Joseph Sheridan, Harry Wilson, Rory Hale © (Callum McCay 63’), Keevan Hawthorne, Ryan Curran (Joe Gormley 74’), Eric McWoods (Conor Falls 74’)
Unused subs: PJ Morrison (GK), Conor Pepper
LINFIELD: David Walsh (GK), Sean Brown, Scot Whiteside, Euan East (Isaac Baird 45’), Dane McCullough, Josh Archer, Chris McKee ©, Callumn Morrison (Ethan McGee 60’), Charlie Allen (Kirk Millar 73’), Sam Taylor (Sam Roscoe 60’), Matt Yates (Matthew Fitzpatrick 45’)
Unused subs: Chris Johns (GK), Kieran Offord
REFEREE: Evan Boyce
Red card: Chris McKee 45+2’