Ronan Hale has last laugh as he bags Cliftonville winner

The 23-year-old’s luck appeared to be out as he had goal attempts saved by goalkeeper Rory Brown on several occasions and, had watched other efforts fly high and wide.

But when the Reds were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box with only eight minutes remaining, the former Larne man was first to volunteer to take responsibility – he didn’t disappoint.

His rasping low drive ballooned the net this time before Brown could even move, sparking scenes of wild celebration among the Red Army.

It not only earned the Reds three crucial Danske Bank Premiership points but took them to within one of Glentoran at the top of the League table.

“It was a bit frustrating for me in the first half,” he said. “I had a few chances . . . I hit a few wide and the goalkeeper made a couple of decent saves.

“The way we are set up as a team, you’ve got to keep plugging away. Thankfully, I eventually managed to get one in. I tried to hit a free kick over the wall in the first half, but it didn’t work out, so I thought I’d go low this time, thankfully it went in.

“People may have thought we practiced that, but we hadn’t,” he laughed. “I looked at the way the wall was set up which made up my mind. I was delighted to see it hit the net.

“I had a little rush of blood to the head and took off my jersey, which earned me a yellow card, but there is no better feeling than scoring a winner in those circumstances. More importantly, it’s another three points in the bag for us.”

That’s six goals for the season for Hale – and he reckons there are more to come.

“I’m happy with that,” he added. “I tried to set a target last year (with Larne) and it didn’t work out.

“I’m taking each game as it comes because I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to reach any particular targets. I just want to enjoy my football – the goals will come.”

Glenavon manager Gary Hamilton believes his boys were hard done by, especially with the free kick awarded against them that led to Hale’s winner – Calum Birney was penalised for a foul on Ryan Curran.

“The referee told the players he awarded the foul against Calum, but he didn’t touch him (Curran),” said Hamilton. “Jack Malone said he got in front of Curran, and he kicked the back of his calf. I noticed Jack limping after the incident at the time.

“The boys in the dressing room are adamant that Curran kicked into Jack. I can only take them at their word. If that’s the case, it has cost us massively.

“Over the 90 minutes, it was an even game of football. We had a few chances ourselves, but the only way to win games of football is to hit the target. That’s the way our luck is going at the minute.

“My big disappointment was we didn’t work their goalkeeper enough. I couldn’t fault the boys because they gave it everything. It’s frustrating. We have yet to win at home this season and that makes it even more tough to take.”

GLENAVON: Brown, Glynn (Scannell 88), Birney (Doyle 88), Haughey, O’Connor (McCloskey 70), Fitzpatrick, Baird, Wallace, Malone, Ward, Bradley (Prendergast 57).

subs (not used): Snoddy, Scannell, Carey, Doyle, Garrett.

CLIFTONVILLE: Gartside, Addis, Gallagher, C Curran (McDonagh 73), R Curran, Lowe, Doherty, Gormley (Moore 73), Turner, Hale (Casey 87), Coates.

subs (not used): Talley, Robinson, Storey, McGuinness.

REFEREE: Tim Marshall.