Jim Magilton praises "excellent" Cliftonville for performance in draw against reigning champions Larne

​Jim Magilton praised his Cliftonville players for producing a “very impressive” performance in their 1-1 draw with reigning Premiership champions Larne at Solitude.
By Johnny Morton
Published 27th Aug 2023, 10:06 BST
Updated 27th Aug 2023, 10:07 BST
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​The Reds took a 35th-minute lead when Ben Wilson’s superb curling effort found the bottom corner, but that advantage didn’t last long as Lee Bonis recovered from his missed penalty to slam home the rebound after Jonny Addis had taken down Micheal Glynn on the stroke of half-time.

Sam Ashford, only signed on Wednesday from Ayr United, looked sharp on debut and forced Larne goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson into action multiple times.

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Magilton was pleased with the response of his side from Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat to Linfield and hailed the manner in which they’ve adapted since he was appointed to the Solitude hotseat earlier this summer.

Jim Magilton applaudes the crowd after Cliftonville's 1-1 draw with Larne at Solitude, Belfast. PIC: Colm Lenaghan/PacemakerJim Magilton applaudes the crowd after Cliftonville's 1-1 draw with Larne at Solitude, Belfast. PIC: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
Jim Magilton applaudes the crowd after Cliftonville's 1-1 draw with Larne at Solitude, Belfast. PIC: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

“I thought the first-half was probably even-stevens, but in the second-half I thought we were on the front foot,” he told the club’s website. “I thought we were very impressive at times.

“We created a lot more chances than we did on Tuesday night, which is great and very pleasing, and we’ve finished the month on a positive note.

“All credit goes to the players.

"It’s very difficult when a new manager and staff come in and you’re trying to apply principles and you’re trying to talk to them, but they’re a great bunch of players, a very talented bunch of players and they’ve gone toe to toe with Linfield on Tuesday and the current champions on Saturday.

"I thought we were excellent.”

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Suffering with multiple injuries to key players, Larne boss Tiernan Lynch was forced to play Tomas Cosgrove in a back-three while Shea Gordon was deployed at right wing-back before Andy Ryan hobbled off in the first-half.

Glynn was also replaced after the break and Lynch praised the character his side showed.

"We’ve been crippled with injuries the last couple of weeks and we had to put square pegs in round holes,” he told the club’s media channel. “Great credit to them.

"We asked people to do things that they weren’t comfortable doing, but they did it to the best of their ability.

"I thought they were superb.”

Related topics:LarneCliftonvilleLee BonisPremiershipTiernan Lynch