How Cliftonville completed the 'perfect season' in the Women's Premiership

Cliftonville had a 100% record in the league

Cliftonville's second Women's Premiership title in three years came not only at a canter but, without a blemish.

With 16 wins from 16 matches the Reds completed an 'invincible' season by beating Crusaders in their final league game.

The perfect record in the league comes for the side who have already won the League Cup and will look to complete a domestic treble in the Irish Cup final.

In 2022 when they first lifted the league trophy, they went toe-to-toe with Glentoran.

This year they strolled to the title with their dominance emphasised in their penultimate game as they hammered the Glens - their nearest challengers - 6-0 at Solitude.

After the conclusion of the league season, BBC Sport NI takes a look at how the Reds enjoyed such a superb campaign.

Strength and depth in the squad

Carla Devine (right) hit 10 league goals for Cliftonville in the run in after arriving from Linfield

A criticism of Cliftonville last season when they attempted to retain their title was that they didn't have the squad capable of challenging on four fronts in comparison to Glentoran's.

Their frontline players invariably lined out just about in every game they could which appeared to take its toll as they finished second and lost the Irish Cup final against the Glens.

How the tables turned this campaign however, as the Reds have won the league in style, retained the League Cup and are in the Women's Challenge Cup final later this month against Lisburn Rangers.

They brought in experienced Women's Premiership players in Erin McAllister and Carla Devine from Linfield as well as Sion Swifts trio Aoibhe O'Neill, Naomi McLaughlin and Tasmin McCartan.

McAllister quickly established herself as Cliftonville's number one goalkeeper and pulled off a number of good saves throughout the season, whilst Devine has been the perfect impact player off the bench.

She has netted 10 league goals and has provided a more direct option to replace or play alongside Caitlin McGuinness.

O'Neill, McLaughlin and McCartan's minutes have been limited but they have stepped in and performed well when called upon when Reds manager John McGrady opted to rotate.

None more so than McLaughlin, who despite having an injury-plagued season, scored twice as Cliftonville beat Linfield 5-2 last month.

Goals across the team

The McGuinness sisters have contributed 26 league goals in Cliftonville's run to the title

While Cliftonville were reliant on goals from Caitlin McGuinness when they secured a historic first league title in 2022, this time the goals have been spread across the team.

McGuinness is one of four players who have managed double figures in the league.

The 22-year-old is unsurprisingly the Reds' top goal scorer with 14 but sister Kirsty McGuinness is close behind with 12 league goals.

Danielle Maxwell and Devine have both hit 10 whilst the evergreen Marissa Callaghan has managed nine from midfield.

Other players like McLaughlin, Vicky Carleton, Toni-Leigh Finnegan, Abbie Magee and Fi Morgan have also all chipped in with goals at important times across the campaign.

They are the league's top scorers with 67 goals, and they beat the Glens twice this season, something they failed to do last campaign.

The Reds have shown a ruthless streak that they lacked at times last season when they picked up too many draws.

Collecting clean sheets

Burrows and Magee have been part of a Cliftonville defence that conceded just eight league goals this season

The old cliche that attacking players wins you games but the defensive effort wins you titles rings true for Cliftonville this season.

The Reds have scored two more goals than second-place Glentoran but crucially have only conceded eight goals to the Glens' 14, although six of those conceded by the east Belfast club came in the penultimate game.

Having a solid defensive structure has aided McGrady's side with Morgan and captain Kelsie Burrows forming a formidable centre-back partnership as the Reds kept nine clean sheets.

Full-backs Abbie Magee and Hannah Doherty have proved equally adept at defending and attacking and with those four in front of McAllister, the Reds have quickly developed the best defence in the league.

Magic Maxwell

Maxwell scored and provided three assists as Cliftonville beat Glentoran 6-0 on Sunday to clinch the title

So many players have enjoyed superb seasons for the Reds but none more so than Northern Ireland international Maxwell, who has lit up the league once again this term.

The 22-year old won the division's player of the year award last campaign and her performances, particularly at the business end of the campaign have put her right in contention to retain that trophy.

Returning to the Reds in April after a short spell with Women's Championship side Blackburn Rovers, Maxwell has been a consistently star performer for the north Belfast outfit.

She won the league's Player of the Month award for September after scoring seven times as Cliftonville won six straight games in the month.

The highlight was a hat-trick as Cliftonville hammered Lisburn Rangers 8-1 in their crucial game in hand that put them clear at the top with five games left.

Maxwell was also instrumental in the hammering of Glentoran, assisting three goals, scoring and winning the penalty for the fifth goal.

Her direct running, pinpoint crosses and sharp finishing have made her a nightmare for defenders to face this season as she spearheaded the Reds to league success.