NI Premiership Round up - Week 38
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The Danske Irish Premiership drew to a close on Saturday afternoon with Cliftonville receiving the Gibson Cup at a packed Solitude and the new champions signed off in style with a 2-1 victory over a dogged Ballinamallard United side.
Tommy Breslin’s men still have the small matter of an Irish Cup final against Glentoran in Windsor park next week to look forward to but claiming their first title since 1998 -and only their fourth overall- was always going to be the highlight of the season for the Reds supporters and they celebrated in style, near raising the roof when club captain Chris Scannell made his return from injury in the final minutes of the match.
Former Republic of Ireland U/21 international, Diarmuid O’Carroll, opened the scoring for Cliftonville with a fabulous lob for his sixth goal of the season and Ciaran Caldwell also knocked in his sixth of this campaign two minutes later but Ryan Campbell pulled one back on 58 minutes for the visitors.
The game between the second and third placed teams was overshadowed by an unseemly spat between the officials of Linfield and Crusaders as Crues bosses were forced to sit in the stands as they claim it was made clear to them they would not be welcome in the directors box following their legal objections to the Windsor Park upgrade.
The game itself was dominated by Linfield in the first half with Michael Carvill opening the scoring on thirteen minutes with a sweet strike from the edge of the area. The outgoing champions failed to make the most of their opening half superiority and were made to pay just before the break when Gary McCutcheon volleyed home to give his side an unlikely equaliser.
Things got worse for the Blues in the second half when David Rainey, who was making his final appearance for Crusaders, stepped up to expertly guide a free kick home five minutes into the second half.
Glentoran warmed up for their Cup final appearance with a 1-1 draw against Coleraine but were forced to come from behind when Stephen Lowry tapped in from Curtis Allen’s cross on twenty minutes. Then came the fairy tale ending all Glens fans wished for as veteran defender, Colin Nixon, in his last and 793rd appearance for the club, volleyed home in the final minute after good work from Andrew Waterworth who has been heavily linked with a move to Derry City or Linfield this summer.
Lisburn Distillery suffered their thirteenth defeat of the season when they went down 1-0 to Portadown to complete a miserable season in which they were consigned to the Championship next year.
Sean Mackle got Portadown’s goal with a deft flick with ten minutes remaining as the Ports face into a summer of change with seven players, including former Monaghan United defender Brian Garland among them, being released in the aftermath of a disappointing season for Ronnie McFall’s men. New arrivals are expected at Shamrock Park with ex-Bohemians midfielder, Peter McMahon, already signed up for next year’s campaign.
Elsewhere Donegal Celtic go into a play-off for Premier league football on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Glenavon while Dungannon Swifts ended their season with a 2-1 victory over Ballymena United.
