CLIFTONVILLE boss Paddy McLaughlin ruefully admits it will be' really difficult' to win the Danske Bank Premiership title after Monday night's North Belfast derby.
The Reds came back from a 1-0 deficit at Seaview to lead 2-1 thanks to a Ryan Curran double, but were pegged back by a late Ross Clarke strike for Crusaders.
The result sees Cliftonville move a point ahead of Linfield into second place, but they trail leaders Larne by six points with just seven games remaining.
McLaughlin insists he and his players will keep the pressure up to chase Larne down, but concedes the Inver Park club are in the driving seat.
“We knew how important a win would have been, to take the lead down to four points”, said the Cliftonville boss. “It would have made much better reading.
“Six is going to be really difficult but we're still there, we're still fighting, there are 21 points to play for so you never know what could happen.
“Once you get to the split, and we're in touching distance, we saw last year how many points were dropped and I'm sure it will be even more this year, because look at the top six, there's nothing between the sides at all.
“It's very, very competitive and evenly matched when clubs go into battle, so anything can happen between now and the end of the season.
“We've 21 points to play for, we'll give it our best shot and hopefully Larne can drop points along the way.
“But they're in a really strong position and I don't know how many teams out there can pick points off them.
“As I say, once it gets to the split you never know.”
Flares were launched onto the pitch before kick-off and on the field of play there were plenty of fireworks in a full-blooded, pulsating encounter that ultimately satisfied neither side wholly.
“It was a proper North Belfast derby”, said McLaughlin. I don't think there was a booking or a tackle made in the Boxing Day game, that was the complete opposite and that's how it should be played as long as you stay within the laws of the game.
“It was end to end, it was feisty, both sides came away with a point and we're slightly disappointed. We had chances to win it but coming to Crusaders, it's a difficult place to come, any point is valuable and we'll take it and move on to next week.”
Some damage was done to the Seaview pitch from the flares thrown on from the Cliftonville end, and the North Belfast neighbours will cooperate to address the matter.
“The two clubs have spoken and we are working towards getting the matter resolved”, a Cliftonville spokesperson told the Irish News.
