CLIFTONVILLE’S new signing Darren Murray will not face his old employers at Solitude this afternoon.
The Reds face Portadown having brought a streak of four draws to an end with their 2-0 win against struggling Ballinamallard United last weekend.
Murray scored the opening goal in that win, which was his home debut, but will play no part today, Cliftonville manager Gerard Lyttle has confirmed.
“When we signed Darren, Portadown asked if we could leave him out of this game and that was part of the deal,” explained Lyttle.
“So Darren won’t be available for selection because of that, which is disappointing. He got off to a great start last week scoring on his home debut and he worked really hard.
“And he has trained his socks off in the last two weeks he’s been here so it’s obviously disappointing. But it gives an opportunity for the other players who will be trying to get in there and hold their spot as well.”
Cliftonville have been in stuttering form of late and, during that series of draws, conceded nine as well as scoring nine.
It has allowed Crusaders, who also have a game in hand, to open up an eight-point lead at the top of the table.
If they are to re-mount a title bid, Crusaders will have to falter and Cliftonville will have to start stringing wins together.
The latter looks more likely than the former at present. Lyttle admitted that it has been frustrating.
“It’s a bit like when you’re winning – you’ve got that momentum and we seem to have the momentum of drawing,” said Lyttle.
“We were playing really well, but obviously we were getting punished by a couple of silly mistakes. It was very frustrating for me as a manager, but we got a few things sorted out last week with the players and we’ve worked on a couple of different wee things and defensively we’re starting to get numbers back as well.
“But Saturday was great – just to get that win. I would have taken a one-nil all day long, but we scored two and to keep a clean sheet was really pleasing.”
The recent record of the Solitude outfit against Portadown is nothing short of amazing – having won their last nine against Ronnie McFall’s men without conceding a goal. Lyttle is wary though and says that “all records are there to be broken.”
“We are fully focused and we are looking forward to it,” added the Reds boss.
“In the games that we have played in the past against Portadown, we’ve had a good wee run at them. So we will just stick by what we’ve been doing.”
Ahead of the game, Lyttle confirmed that there are injury concerns over George McMullan, James Knowles and Levi Ives, who all went off injured in the Ballinamallard match.
“We have a couple of wee niggles from last week so we’ll have to have a wee look and see how they are,” said Lyttle.
Coleraine v Crusaders
THE Crues are looking to maintain an eight-point gap at the summit and visit the Showgrounds having won five of their last six meetings with Oran Kearney’s men. When the sides last met in Coleraine, the champions were fortunate to nick a point and the Bannsiders boast a formidable home record.
Odds: H: 13/5 D: 5/2 A: 5/6
Prediction: Draw
Cliftonville v Portadown
THE Reds ended a run of four draws with their win against Ballinamallard United last time out while the Ports have lost their last five outings. Gerard Lyttle’s side have won each of the last nine meetings with Ronnie McFall’s side during which the mid-Ulster men have not scored. A similar outcome may be on the cards this afternoon.
Odds: H: 8/15 D: 14/5 A: 4/1
Prediction: Cliftonville
Linfield v Carrick Rangers
THE Windsor Blues are hot favourites as they seek to close the gap on the top two and David Healy’s team are in tip-top form. The Gers are also in good form though and it took a late Aaron Burns leveller at Windsor Park in October to earn Linfield a point. Don’t rule out Carrick getting at least that from the game.
Odds: H: 1/4 D: 4/1 A: 17/2
Prediction: Carrick Rangers
Glenavon v Glentoran
GLENAVON have only lost once in their last 10 league games in what is proving to be an excellent season so far. Indeed, their only loss in their last 12 has been to Glentoran at the end of November. But Alan Kernaghan’s team are out of sorts to say the least at present and were hammered by Warrenpoint last time out.
Odds: H: 4/6 D: 13/5 A: 10/3
Prediction: Glenavon
Dungannon Swifts v Warrenpoint Town
WARRENPOINT Town have hauled themselves tight back into contention for Premiership survival with three remarkable wins on the spin. They will, therefore, run out at Stangmore Park bouncing with confidence. The Swifts are on a good run too though and may bring Point back down to earth.
Odds: H: 11/10 D: 12/5 A: 2/1
Prediction: Dungannon Swifts
Ballinamallard United v Ballymena United
THE survival of the Malllards is in jeopardy as they have no wins in 10 and are just one point off last spot. Ballymena United are reasonably comfortable in mid-table, but have only three wins from their last 10 games. ‘Whitey’ Anderson’s team will end their losing streak some time and today could be that day.
Odds: H: 13/8 D: 23/10 A: 13/10
Prediction: Ballinamallard United
