Magilton laments 'disappointing night' after Blues defeat

Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton says his side conceded "two really poor goals" in the 2-1 defeat by leaders Linfield on Saturday.

Joe Gormley gave the Reds a 76th-minute lead at Windsor Park and it came after Linfield's Chris Shield saw his first-half penalty saved by David Odumosu.

The hosts struck twice in two minutes - through Kyle McClean and Matthew Fitzpatrick - to clinch victory and move 16 points clear at the top.

"It's a disappointing night - after half-time we were set up better and we showed a bit more vigour and had a little bit more aspiration on the ball," said Magilton.

"We scored a really good goal and then we couldn't catch a breath - if you you give the opposition, like Linfield with time and space and quality they have they are going to capitalise on that and we conceded two really poor goals. "

Magilton was particularly critical of his team's first-half performance after a defeat which sees the Reds drop to seventh place.

"It was a very disappointing first-half display - we needed half-time to come pretty quickly to regroup, to have a chat and to emphasis the positives.

"We just didn't play at all, we didn't show enough courage to get on the ball and play. We invited pressure and allowed Linfield to boss the game.

"What's disappointing from our perspective is that with the opportunities we had we gave the ball over needlessly and really poorly."