CLIFTONVILLE manager Jim Magilton saw plenty he liked in last weekend’s gutsy win over Linfield at Windsor Park, and will be hoping his side meet the same standards when Crusaders make the short journey across north Belfast on Friday evening.
Having gone five league games without a victory, the Reds got back to winning ways at home to Coleraine last Tuesday night, running out 2-1 victors, and repeated the scoreline away to the Blues at the weekend.
Those successes have lifted the Solitude men up to fourth in the table, five points off top spot, and Magilton will hope to maintain the momentum at home to Declan Caddell’s Crues.
“I’m delighted with the level of performance – they set the standard and the template moving forward,” he said after the triumph at Windsor Park.
However, the Reds will meet another in-form side, with Caddell’s men having climbed to sixth thanks to a draw at champions Larne and then a 1-0 home win over high-flying Ballymena United last weekend.
Strikes from substitutes Ryan Corrigan and Ryan Curran secured all three points for the Reds at Windsor, and they also had to thank goalkeeper David Odumosu for a heroic double save late on to keep the Blues at bay.
Meanwhile, on-loan St Mirren forward Kieran Offord was the man on target for the Crues against Ballymena, finding the net for the sixth time this campaign with an exuberant overhead effort, and Cliftonville will need to keep him quiet tonight.
Whilst two positions below Cliftonville, Crusaders will take comfort from the fact that they are only one point behind their neighbours and have a game in hand.
Both sides faltered during September and early October but have hit their straps since.
Joe Gormley appears to have found his mojo again this season for the Reds, finding the net on four occasions, and he is a regular starter after finding himself on the bench for much of last season.
Both scorers in the win over Linfield will be pushing for starts as well, giving Magilton a welcome selection headache.
For Caddell’s side, defender Robbie Weir has been a revelation in defence and has provided some much-needed experience in a youthful Crues squad.
The 35-year-old former Tranmere and Burton Albion man was, like Gormley, used sparingly last season, but with injuries to the likes of Jimmy Callacher and the exit of Josh Robinson, he is now the beating heart of the side’s defence that has been conceding an average of a single goal a game.
The two teams have already faced-off this season, drawing 1-1 at Seaview back in August. Offord and Curran were the goalscorers on that occasion.
You have to go back to January 2022 for the last time the Crues claimed a win at Solitude in the league, a 2-0 success, and they would take that result in a heartbeat tonight in front of a sold-out crowd.
The bookies are struggling to separate the sides, with Cliftonville holding a slight edge in the odds, and another tight contest looks in store.