Portadown star branded 'absolute disgrace' - but coach feels 'we maybe have to get that looked at'

Former Celtic youngster Wylie was brought to the Reds by Magilton in January 2024 and made two league appearances before joining Portadown ahead of last season.

The 23-year-old played 88 minutes in Saturday’s showdown, and after James Teelan scored a last-gasp winner to end the visitors’ three-game losing league run, referee Chris Morrison handed out three red cards following a scuffle between the two dugouts.

Wylie, who had been substituted, alongside Cliftonville assistant manager Gerard Lyttle and Portadown coach Steven Hyndes, were hit with reds and Magilton made his thoughts on the incident clear, stating “it was total disrespect to his old team-mates”.

In response on X, Wylie posted: “No point telling half the story...nothing to do with ex teammates but sure it’s another cover up.”

Wylie is now set to miss next Saturday’s crunch Mid-Ulster derby date with rivals Glenavon, who are still searching for their first point, but coach McAllister suggested the club should potentially review the situation.

"You want to be in good form going into a Mid-Ulster derby because it’s a big occasion, but disappointingly we lost Ben Wylie there,” he told the club’s media channel. “We maybe have to get that looked at, I’m not really sure why he’s red carded there.”

Despite most of the post-match chat surrounding that incident, Magilton was clear it doesn’t distract from a disappointing Cliftonville display.

“It overshadows and takes away from everything else that happened in the game but, at the end of the day, we just weren’t good enough,” he said. “I thought we turned the ball over really cheaply.

"We’ve got good players who play here and train here and, as I’ve always said, if we train as we play and play as we train, we’re a different animal.

“There was no energy within the ground and we have to give our supporters something to get excited about and we didn’t.

"For the first 45 minutes, other than Eric McWoods’ chance, I thought we were really poor. We didn’t show any imagination, any desire to take the game to Portadown.

"They sat off, they had a game plan and we had enough opportunities to actually go and pass the ball and when we strung two passes together, we opened them up a little bit but there were no real chances other than Eric’s.

“You get in at half-time, you have a few choice words and you’re thinking there’s going to be a reaction but, again, we’ve flattered to deceive.

“For our goal, Odhran Casey’s shown unbelievable energy and desire to win the tackle; ball goes wide, ball’s in the box and he goes and wins it.

"Other than him, there were very few people who actually came out with any real credit – but I’m the Manager, I pick the team, so I have to take full responsibility for this and I do.”