Cliftonville striker Ryan Curran scored his 12th and 13th goals of the season but could not deny Crusaders a point in a thrilling north Belfast derby at Seaview. Jordan Forsythe got his second in as many matches to open the scoring before Curran struck twice to send Cliftonville into the lead. Ross Clarke ensured both sides ended the game with a point with a fantastic equaliser.
Both sides came into the fixture knowing a defeat would have serious implications on their title aspirations. The crowd were treated to a frenetic first half with the visitors having the best of the opening twenty minutes with Ronan Hale going close. Crusaders foothold in the game grew however, and after Philip Lowry went close with a header, Forsythe scored a goal worthy of any contest on 26 minutes. Daniel Larmour was upended by Christopher Gallagher in the Cliftonville defence, 25 yards out from goal. Forsythe stepped up and curled a peach of an effort high into the left hand side of the goal beyond the reach of a flailing Nathan Gartside to send the home support wild. The home side failed to sustain a short period of dominance, with the game becoming an end-to-end contest. Nine minutes after the opening goal, Cliftonville hit back. Kris Lowe beat Jude Winchester down the Crusaders left and sent an excellent ball into the middle of Crusaders’ goal. Luke Turner had a sliding effort blocked by Billy Joe Burns on the line, but the rebound fell to Curran two yards out and he made no mistake. Winchester failed to convert with a header from eight yards and Burns made another excellent goal line stop from Ronan Doherty to leave it 1-1 at the break.
The second half began as a more cagey affair with neither side wanting to risk conceding. As more niggles and on-the-edge challenges crept in to the game it was not surprising when Josh Robinson collided with Rory Hale just inside the area and the referee pointed to the spot. Curran stepped up and made no mistake in the 71st minute, sending Jonny Tuffey the wrong way to put the reds in front. The goal seemed to bring the game back to life, with both teams pushing hard for another and in the 80th minute it was game on again. Paul Heatley spread the ball wide left where substitute Ross Clarke cut inside past two defenders and unleashed a fantastic low drive from the edge of the area that nestled sweetly in the bottom left corner.. Crusaders threw everything bar the kitchen sink at the Cliftonville defence in the closing moments but to no avail and it ended all square. The hosts remain in fourth whilst Cliftonville move up to second in the table.
Cliftonville Manager Paddy McLauglin “ Seaview is always a difficult place to come with their direct approach and aggression but they are difficult to break down. I think we played well tonight and we’re still in the hunt”
Crusaders Manager Stephen Baxter “We’re disappointed, we left some goals out there but I can’t argue with the effort. It’s onto next week now”