Cliftonville and Celtic salute George McMullan at Solitude

It's not often that a 3-0 defeat has no negative impact on a celebratory mood but that's exactly what happened at Solitude on Monday night when a young Celtic side overcame Cliftonville in George McMullan's testimonial.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Apr 2016, 22:45 BST
Updated 11th Apr 2016, 22:52 BST
Cliftonvilles George McMullan before his game against CelticCliftonvilles George McMullan before his game against Celtic
Cliftonvilles George McMullan before his game against Celtic

The carnival atmosphere generated pre-match did not let up throughout the game and, while McMullan’s 60th minute substitution removed the man of the moment from the heat of battle, he returned to centre stage following the final whistle, lapping up his umpteenth standing ovation before being warmly embraced by Celtic legend Danny McGrain, who had been deployed from his Glasgow base to make an official presentation on behalf of the Scottish Champions.

The visitors pulled ahead when Fiacre Kelleher reacted quickest in the aftermath of Peter Burke failing to grasp a corner kick.

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Calvin Millar found the bottom corner with a well-taken strike and Mark Hill converted via the underside of the bar as the Hoops eventually ran out comfortable winners, but all the accolades belonged to McMullan, who enjoyed a post-match standing ovation from the fans.

CLIFTONVILLE: Burke, McGovern, Ives, Bonner, Curran, McMullan, McDaid, Hughes, Brennan, Catney, M Donnelly. Subs: Devlin, Winchester (Catney, 65 mins), Flynn (Bonner, 74 mins), Murray (Hughes, 46 mins), Knowles (Brennan, 46 mins), Mooney (McDaid, 65 mins), Garrett (Ives, 65 mins), Lavery (Curran, 65 mins), George (Donnelly, 46 mins), Lawlor (McMullan, 60 mins).

CELTIC: Hazard, Wardrop, McIlduff, McCart, Kelleher, McManus, Hendry, Thompson, McMullan, Duffy, Millar. Subs: Breslin (Wardrop, 46 mins), McCabe (Hazard, 46 mins), Hill (Thompson, 65 mins), Higgins (McIlduff, 76 mins), Aitchinson (Millar, 76 mins), Kidd (Kelleher, 76 mins), Kerr (McMullan, 76 mins).

REFEREE: Andrew Davey (Bangor)

Related topics:CliftonvilleCeltic