Strength in depth was key to winning the North Belfast derby at Seaview on St Stephen’s Day, says Crusaders boss Declan Caddell.
Kieran Offord scored twice in quick succession immediately after the restart against Cliftonville to win the traditional Boxing Day fixture for the home side.
But the Crues had to withstand intense pressure from the visitors when manager Jim Magilton made changes to chase the game.
Caddell watched Jordan Stewart and Mal Smith suffer knocks as the Reds pressed hard, and brought all five substitutes on in the second half.
Stewart Nixon, Robbie Weir, Lewis Barr, Jordan Owens and Josh Williamson made vital contributions when Crusaders were under the cosh and Caddell was delighted to see his players see the win through to end a run of three defeats in a row.
“Over the last month I probably didn’t have the ability to bring players on to change games or see games out”, said the Crues manager. “On Boxing Day I did.
“We had Stewart Nixon coming back, Robbie Weir and Lewis Barr coming back in to help shut up shop.
“Cliftonville are a good side, they look to build from the back and they do it really well.
“So, first things first, we had to stop that at source and I thought we were extremely good in the first half.
“Our press was good, we didn’t allow them to play and they resorted to long balls to feet and over the top, which suited us.
“We got the first 45 minutes out of the way, no goals at either end but it gave us something to build on and thankfully we were able to do that.
“Scoring two goals in the first five minutes of the second half was good, and it eased things for us.
“Naturally Cliftonville are going to have a spell in the game, they did and put us under immense pressure for fifteen or twenty minutes, and that’s when the big characters stood up.
“We had sixteen real men willing to dig in when they needed to dig in and get over the line, so for me it was really pleasing.
“Coming off the back of three defeats, the boys stood up on Boxing Day.
“We had to bounce back. We had it earlier in the season when we lost three games in a row.
“We recovered and went on a bit of a run and we need to do it again.
“Thankfully the boys stepped up to the plate and delivered, I thought to a man we were exceptional.”
With the transfer window opening next week, every manager is on red alert, looking to add or retain players and Caddell insists no one will be leaving Seaview.
“Definitely not, because we have a small squad and we’ve seen in the last month that with the long-term injuries, we’re a bit light.
“Players coming in? Yes, you’re always looking to freshen things up in January to add competition, that’s always good for players coming in and players who are here.
“Every player needs that bit of competition so I’ll be open; yes, of course, we are in the market but it has to be the right player.”