'He had to be at his brilliant best and he was' - Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton hails Reds ace after starring role in North Belfast Derby draw with Crusaders
Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton felt their 1-1 North Belfast Derby draw with Crusaders was “probably a fair result” and also hailed goalkeeper David Odumosu for his role in helping maintain the Reds’ unbeaten start to the new Premiership campaign.
Magilton’s men took the lead through Ryan Curran’s penalty – the striker netting his second of the season having also struck in an opening day win over Portadown – but they held the advantage for only two minutes as St Mirren loanee Kieran Offord continued his dream start to life in the Irish League by scoring for the third consecutive match.
Both Cliftonville and Crusaders remain undefeated in the early stages of the season and occupy second and third spots in the table respectively with leaders Linfield, who defeated Loughgall 5-1 at Windsor Park, the sole side still with a perfect record.
“I thought it was a really good game of football,” Magilton told the club’s website. “Both teams tried to play and, for a spectacle, it was end to end – a bit of a basketball match at times and a little bit sloppy at times.
“We score a penalty and we talk about how you start a game and we talk about after you score a goal, those are crucial moments – how you end a half, how you start a half, how you finish the game – so it was really disappointing to concede so quickly after we scored.
"From that point of view, I’m not happy but overall, I thought it was a really good game of football. On another day, we probably could have scored one or two more.
“Had we been a bit more clinical with our passing in the final third – a bit like Crusaders at times – that final ball is what makes the difference in these types of games.”
Odumosu was called into action on a number of occasions, stopping key Crues chances that fell to Offord and Jordan Forsythe, while opposite number Jonny Tuffey denied Destiny Ojo a maiden Reds goal in injury time.
Former St Patrick’s Athletic shot-stopper Odumosu, who originally arrived at Solitude on loan last summer before making the switch permanent in a deal which resulted in Luke Turner heading the other way, has impressed in the Premiership and kept 13 clean sheets in 33 appearances.
“David made a couple of great saves midweek against Dungannon, so I’m really pleased with him and in games like that, when you look at their attacking strength, I thought they were very good and very creative and David had to be at his brilliant best and he was,” added Magilton. “We felt we had opportunities and we just had to get the right moments to get those three on – both young Ryan’s (Markey and Corrigan) and obviously Ojo, so we had glimpses but I think it was probably a fair result.”