David Healy hails teenage goalkeeper as Linfield get back to winning ways

The 18-year-old again deputised for the injured Chris Johns against Cliftonville at Windsor Park in Saturday’s evening kick-off – and he never put a foot wrong.

Healy’s boys got back to winning ways following their shock defeat at Warrenpoint Town seven days earlier, courtesy of quick-fire second half goals from Shayne Lavery and Kirk Millar.

And, although the former Northern Ireland international striker was delighted with the overall team performance, he singled out Walsh for a special word of praise.

“Credit to young David,” gushed Healy. “He was thrown in at the last minute (at Warrenpoint Town), which was probably good for him because there was no time for him to have any jitters leading up to the game.

“I thought he was excellent last week . . . he was probably our best player. He stood big and strong and he was the same against Cliftonville.

“David did everything well and made a decent stop from Joe (Gormley) in the first half, getting down low to his right. He has come in and grown in stature.

“A lot of credit must go to our goalkeeping coach, Johnny Williamson. He must be given immense credit for the work he has done not only with David, but also Alex Moore and Chris Johns . . . and before that with Rohan Ferguson, Gareth Deane and Roy Carroll. We’ve had good goalkeepers at this club.

“There is no doubt a goalkeeper is a specialised position, but Walshie has come in and hasn’t let us down. He has been in and around us now for a couple of years, but he has certainly stepped up to the mark.”

Lavery struck 60 seconds after the break, lashing the ball into the bottom corner, giving goalkeeper Richard Brush no chance.

And, Lavery played a part in Millar’s strike two minutes later. His initial shot ricocheted off a defender and bounced into the path of the midfielder, who cleverly rounded Brush before slotting home.

“After last week’s defeat, it was important we responded the way we did,” beamed Healy. “The first half was a little bit like a game of chess . . . both teams were probing and trying to work each other out.

“We probably gave Cliftonville too much time on the ball, making it more comfortable for them, but we regrouped at half-time and Shayne scored a fantastic opening goal, not long after the restart. It gave us that little but of imputes and a wee bit more urgency.

“Kirk’s goal not long after that, was a big moment in the game. Cliftonville were on the back foot, so it was important we captalised. We pressed the ball a lot better . . . we had to pick our moments when to do that.”

Cliftonville boss Paddy McLaughlin reckons his team were victims of their own downfall.

He moaned: “Five minutes of second half madness killed us. You can’t afford to be sloppy as we were for even for a five minute spell or you’ll be punished as Linfield did to us.

“I spoke to the boys during the interval about keeping it tight at the back because I knew Linfield would have a reaction because they were frustrated going in at half-time.

“We nullified their threat and stopped them from playing in the first 45 minutes and we enjoyed long spells on the ball ourselves. I knew they could come out firing on all cylinders, but our boys never heeded the warning.

“They are usually good at taking on information, but for some reason they didn’t take in on board and they gifted them two soft goals which cost us he match. If you switch off against teams in this league, they will punish you.”

LINFIELD: Walsh, Stafford, Callacher, Stewart (Hery 83), Millar, Lavery (Waterworth 76), Clarke, McClean, Mulgrew, Pepper (Haughey 91), Quinn.

Unused subs: Larkin, Shevlin, Kearns, Doyle, Hery.

CLIFTONVILLE: Brush, McDermott, Breen, O’Reilly (Doherty 66), C Curran, McCrudden (R Curran 59), McMenamin, Foster, Donnelly, Bagnal, Gormley (Maguire 59).

Unused subs: Dunne, O’Connor, McKee, Casey.

Referee: Shane Andrews