Soccer

Cosgrove derteminded to end derby hurt

RED LETTER DAY: Tomás Cosgrove battles for possession with Crusaders player Paul Heatley in October 2014, the last time the Solitude side earned a league win in the north Belfast derby Photo Aidan O'Reilly/Pacemaker Press
RED LETTER DAY: Tomás Cosgrove battles for possession with Crusaders player Paul Heatley in October 2014, the last time the Solitude side earned a league win in the north Belfast derby Photo Aidan O'Reilly/Pacemaker Press RED LETTER DAY: Tomás Cosgrove battles for possession with Crusaders player Paul Heatley in October 2014, the last time the Solitude side earned a league win in the north Belfast derby Photo Aidan O'Reilly/Pacemaker Press

Danske Bank Premiership: Cliftonville v Crusaders (today, Solitude, 3pm)

IT’S ‘Retro Reds’ day at Solitude this afternoon and Cliftonville will certainly be hoping to revisit an era when they were competitive against Crusaders having failed to win in their last 11 league games against them.

That ‘era’ may only be a couple of seasons ago, but it feels like a lifetime for their loyal fanbase. You have to go all the way back to October 4, 2014 – when Joe Gormley scored the only goal of the game – for the last time that the Reds held sway in the north Belfast derby. It was their third consecutive win in this particular fixture.

Since then it has been one-way traffic with the Seaview men winning 10 of those 11 league games. Crusaders’s acquisition of two league titles in that period was just the icing on a foul-tasting cake for Cliftonville fans.

For defender Tomás Cosgrove it’s just some extra motivation for a fixture that is already laced with it.

“It’s not been a good showing over the last two or three seasons, I think there was a draw in there just,” he said.

“We have played well in a lot of the games but we just haven’t got over the line,

“We were up 3-0 in one game (eventually lost 4-3) and we felt there was a few fouls on our ’keeper for their goals so we haven’t had the rub of the green either.

“That’s no excuse though because Crusaders have been a great team over the last couple of seasons. We had the hoodoo over them in the derby when we won a couple of titles and it’s been the same for them when they’ve won a couple of titles.

“Obviously the motivation is there to get the win because we know how much it means to everyone, including ourselves.

“It’s the same for the Crusaders players, it’s a derby game so there’s no motivation needed at all.”

As Warrenpoint manager, Barry Gray was unable to earn a win over the Crues but he did record three credible 1-1 draws against them.

His reign as Cliftonville manager has started with a win, a draw and a defeat - and ending the side’s winless derby run today would be a real early fillip.

“It’s been very good under Barry, it’s different to what we were used to under Tommy (Breslin) and ‘Skin’ (Gerard Lyttle),” Cosgrove said of his new boss.

“He takes a different approach to things, he’s more vocal and he’s very much into motivation.

“Harry Fay, his assistant, and Stevie Small are very good too. Stevie knows the club anyway and I have been learning off him because he was a full-back.

“I’ve only really had pre-season with Barry, but I’m enjoying it, I’m liking it.”

Today’s other game will see a rampant Linfield side taking on a Ballymena United side still chasing their first win of the new season.

Heading into the game at Windsor Park, Blues chairman Roy McGivern has denied reports that they have accepted a bid from Queens Park Rangers for the transfer of teenage sensation Paul Smyth.

There has been action in the other direction though with striker Louis Rooney joining Linfield from Plymouth Argyle on a one-year deal, manager David Healy announced yesterday.