Reds defeat Coleraine and Blues see off Bangor

Irish Premiership leaders Coleraine passed up the opportunity to increase their advantage at the summit of the table as Rory Hale's goal gave Cliftonville a 1-0 win over the Bannsiders at Solitude.

The midfielder struck before half-time to give the Reds victory and extend their unbeaten league run to four games, without conceding a goal in each.

Ruaidhri Higgins' side lead nearest challengers Larne by a single point ahead of the meeting between the top two on Tuesday night while Cliftonville move into the top half of the standings.

Matthew Fitzpatrick's second-half strike helped Linfield grind out a 1-0 win at Bangor and end a run of three top-flight draws in a row.

David Healy's side move to within eight points of the pacesetters with three matches in hand.

Ballymena United twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Crusaders while Portadown were 2-1 winners at Carrick Rangers.

Hale goal sees Reds see off Coleraine

Cliftonville captain Hale broke the deadlock at Solitude five minutes before the break to make it 16 games unbeaten against the Bannsiders.

The move began when Johnny Addis picked out Keevan Hawthorne with a trademark long pass out of defence.

The midfielder looked up and picked out the unmarked Hale racing into the box who calmly side-footed past Coleraine goalkeeper Aidan Harris from close range.

Earlier, Eric McWoods twice went close for the home side, blazing over the bar, while at the other end Jamie Glackin shot into the side netting when well placed.

Cliftonville came close to doubling their advantage on a number of occasions after half-time.

First, Hale narrowly missed the target with a 20 yard effort before Rowan McDonald blocked Ryan Curran's goal bound effort on the line.

Defender Jack Keaney, in an advanced position, was denied by a smart save by Harris following a quickly taken Rory Hale free-kick.

At the other end, Will Patching's free-kick just after the hour was comfortably saved by Reds keeper PJ Morrison and the stopper was at it again deep into added time when he dived low to his left to deny second half sub Ollie Devlin what would have been a dramatic equaliser.

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