Cliftonville FC's hopes of climbing the Premiership table were dealt a blow by a 2-1 home defeat to Glentoran, a match that turned on a second-half red card. Jack Malone's dismissal for a second yellow card left the Reds exposed, and substitute Jordan Jenkins punished them with an 84th-minute winner.
Malone had earlier given Cliftonville the lead in the 15th minute, finishing from a Ross Clarke cross. Dean McMaster then levelled the scores with a fine free-kick in the 33rd minute, setting up what looked like a tight contest. The game's key moment arrived when Malone, already booked for a foul involving Rory Hale and Keevan Hawthorne, received a second caution and was sent off.
Playing with ten men, Cliftonville still created chances. Rhyss Campbell fired from the edge of the box and Ben Quinn forced a save from Glentoran goalkeeper Andrew Mills, who was in excellent form throughout. At the other end, PJ Morrison had kept his side level with a superb stop to turn a Jordan Stewart effort onto the post. The decisive goal came from a partially-cleared Marcus Kane corner, which fell to Jenkins to finish.
The defeat is Cliftonville's second consecutive loss, following a 2-0 reverse at Larne, and leaves them fifth in the Premiership with 12 points from eight games. They now sit ten points behind leaders Coleraine, a gap that highlights the cost of dropped points at Solitude.
Managerial changes saw Samuels replaced by Conlan after just 20 minutes, while Liam McStravick and Quinn made way for Hawthorne and Gormley in the second half. The team must now regroup quickly ahead of a trip to face Limavady United, who are currently 10th, next Saturday. The full schedule is on our fixtures page.
First reported at Cliftonville Football Club
