Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville (Result)
Reds book place in Uefa Conference League qualifying stages with victory
Rory Hale put Reds ahead in first half
Axel Piesold doubled advantage after Coleraine keeper Max Little sent off
FT: Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
That's all from us this afternoon, and for this Irish Premiership season, as Cliftonville claim European football for 2025-26 after securing a 2-0 win against their 10-man hosts at the Coleraine Showgrounds.
You can read the report from the match here and stay tuned on the BBC website for more reaction.
Thanks for joining us. Enjoy the rest of your day!
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Cliftonville clinch the final European spot as they defeat Coleraine 2-0 at the Showgrounds.
Image source, PacemakerFT: Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Philip Lowry
Crusaders midfielder on BBC iPlayer
When you look at Cliftonville, winning the League Cup, getting to the Irish Cup final, they've had their struggles for consistency in the league but, they're a classy outfit and you can't deny them this today.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Jamie Glackin is booked for pushing Harry Wilson.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Micheal Glynn tries to find Joe Gormley in the box, but Rory Brown reads the situation well and thwarts the chance.
Cliftonville are still pushing for another goal.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
There will be eleven minutes of additional time.
Plenty of time for some late drama?!
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Rory Brown gets down low to gather Joe Gormley's shot.
Into the final few minutes now.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
The Cliftonville defence are able to clear their lines before Matthew Shevlin can get a shot away.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
The free-kick comes to nothing and Coleraine can't create a counter-attack either.
It's not been the most exciting last 10 minutes!
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Is this the goal that seals the Reds' place in Europe next season?
Watch: Axel Piesold makes it 2-0 to Cliftonville
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
We're into the final ten minutes here and Cliftonville have a free-kick in a good position.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Philip Lowry
Crusaders midfielder on BBC iPlayer
Cliftonville have been excellent, really composed in possession, always making the right decisions, available for each other on and off the ball.
It's been a really polished performance.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Harry Wilson and Micheal Glynn are on for Rory Hale and Luke Conlan.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Goodness, he nearly does!
Matthew Shevlin does well to weave his way around multiple red shirts before firing just over the crossbar.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Declan McManus makes way for Matthew Shevlin.
Can Shevlin find Coleraine a goal?
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
It has been a frustrating afternoon for Ruaidhri Higgins as his side had lots of chances in the first half.
However now they are two goals down and down to ten men, they are struggling to break into the box.
Coleraine 0-2 Cliftonville
Conor Pepper replaces Shea Gordon.
Jamie McGonigle and Dean Jarvis are introduced for the home side.
Axel Piesold- 66mins
Cliftonville double their advantage!
Rory Brown makes a good save to stop Joe Gormley's shot from finding the back of the net.
However, the rebound is played into the box for Axel Piesold, who fires home
Image source, Pacemaker PressColeraine 0-1 Cliftonville
Not too much has happened of note in the last few minutes.
It looks like Coleraine are going to make more changes soon though.
Coleraine 0-1 Cliftonville
Rory Brown is called into action straight away to make a diving save to divert Ryan Curran's shot from Rory Hale's free-kick.
It was an impressive performance from the Reds, a week after their Irish Cup final defeat
Cliftonville secured the Irish Premiership's final European spot as they defeated 10-man Coleraine 2-0 at the Showgrounds.
The Reds broke the deadlock on 31 minutes when Rory Hale tapped home the rebound of Ryan Curran's shot.
Coleraine goalkeeper Max Little was shown a straight red card early in the second half for a poor challenge on Joe Gormley with Axel Piesold doubling Cliftonville's lead in the 66th minute.
Jim Magilton's side will now play in the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League while the Bannsiders still wait for their first victory in the European play-off final fixture.
It was a lively start to the game with Eric McWoods having a huge opportunity in the opening minutes when he controlled a superb pass from Hale, but his resulting strike wasn't as convincing as the build-up play and was easily gathered by Little.
Shortly after Cliftonville stopper Lewis Ridd was called into action and made a diving save to thwart Rhyss Campbell's shot with Kyle McClelland unable to convert the rebound.
Jamie Glackin's effort was then blocked by Shea Kearney before Campbell blasted the rebound well over the crossbar.
The home side continued to dominate and had a huge chance when Glackin travelled forward and found the unmarked Declan McManus, whose tame shot was gathered by Ridd.
Coleraine were made to regret not taking advantage of their opportunities when the Reds broke the deadlock just after the half hour when Ryan Curran's shot was palmed away by Little with Rory Hale able to fire home the rebound.
Ronan Doherty tried to find a quick leveller with his curling effort gathered by Ridd before Little denied Hale's shot at the other end.
Things became more challenging for Coleraine just after the restart when stopper Little was shown a straight red card for crashing into half-time substitute Gormley outside the box after trying to get to Hale's cross but missing the ball.
Substitute stopper Brown was tested straight away and made a diving save to deny Cliftonville a more comfortable lead from the resulting free-kick when Curran had sent Hale's delivery towards goal.
Magilton's side did get their second when Gormley's shot was parried by Brown but Luke Conlan sent the ball back into the box for Axel Piesold to convert.
As they chased the game in the closing stages, Coleraine struggled to create more opportunities with substitute Matthew Shevlin having a few half chances, but the Cliftonville defence closed down any opportunity created and cleared their lines.
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Linfield | 38 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 69 | 28 | 41 | 85 |
|
2 Larne | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 46 | 33 | 13 | 63 |
|
3 Glentoran | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 49 | 37 | 12 | 61 |
|
4 Dungannon Swifts | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 51 | 48 | 3 | 57 |
|
5 Coleraine | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 55 | 50 | 5 | 55 |
|
6 Crusaders | 38 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 47 | 53 | -6 | 54 |
|
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Cliftonville | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 58 | 41 | 17 | 58 |
|
2 Portadown | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 48 | 45 | 3 | 56 |
|
3 Ballymena United | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 47 | 54 | -7 | 47 |
|
4 Glenavon | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 47 | -5 | 46 |
|
5 Carrick Rangers | 38 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 32 | 59 | -27 | 32 |
|
6 Loughgall | 38 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 36 | 85 | -49 | 22 |
|
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Linfield | 33 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 61 | 23 | 38 | 76 |
|
2 Larne | 33 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 39 | 28 | 11 | 54 |
|
3 Glentoran | 33 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 40 | 31 | 9 | 54 |
|
4 Dungannon Swifts | 33 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 44 | 40 | 4 | 50 |
|
5 Crusaders | 33 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 41 | 43 | -2 | 50 |
|
6 Coleraine | 33 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 49 | 41 | 8 | 49 |
|
7 Cliftonville | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 44 | 37 | 7 | 46 |
|
8 Portadown | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 38 | 1 | 46 |
|
9 Ballymena United | 33 | 13 | 4 | 16 | 40 | 42 | -2 | 43 |
|
10 Glenavon | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 35 | 43 | -8 | 39 |
|
11 Carrick Rangers | 33 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 24 | 48 | -24 | 27 |
|
12 Loughgall | 33 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 71 | -42 | 18 |
|
Manager: Ruaidhrí Higgins
Manager: Jim Magilton
Manager: Ruaidhrí Higgins
Manager: Jim Magilton
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