IRISH CUP: Cliftonville boss Gerard Lyttle hails hat-trick hero Jay Donnelly

Donnelly registered a hat-trick as the Reds booked their progress to a Tennent’s Irish Cup quarter-final date with Linfield by overcoming their west Belfast visitors with a performance that left Lyttle distinctly underwhelmed.

“I think we dropped our standards at certain times,” he said.

“Maybe going 2-0 up so early on made us think it was going to be easy and a bit of a stroll in the park, but Sport & Leisure worked us hard and we weren’t able to do what we’d spoken about before the game.

“We targeted early goals, being ruthless and really going for it but, apart from the first 15 minutes, we didn’t do that. Maybe you shouldn’t complain about a 4-0 win and making it through to the next round, but I’ll always drive our players to do better and performances like that aren’t what we should be about.”

One player who escaped criticism was treble star Donnelly who, after netting on seven and nine minutes, completed the day’s scoring with a late penalty after Ryan Catney had stroked home his second goal of the season.

“Jay has it all going for him,” added Lyttle.

“He’s got great talent, quick feet, good in the air and other aspects of his game are improving all the time.

“The one big thing he has, one important thing, is his work-rate. He never stops and he’ll give you that all day long.

“I’ve known Jay a long time and have coached him from a young age, so I’ve seen him develop over the years and can see he’s getting better all the time.”