Gormley earns Cliftonville surprise win
A second half goal from Joe Gormley earned Cliftonville a surprise 1-0 win over St. Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park as the Belfast side knocked out the Dubliners in the first round for the second year running.
St. Pat’s dominated the first half with John Russell hitting a post. But midfielder Russell was shown a straight red card for a two-footed challenge on Ciaran Caldwell on 65 minutes before Gormley scooped home the winner three minutes later, after Diarmuid O’Carroll headed a George McMullan free kick off the bar, to give Cliftonville a 2-0 aggregate win.
In perhaps the surprise of the round, Aaron Callaghan's young Bohemians side shocked Portadown 1-0 at Shamrock Park - thanks to an 86th minute goal from Keith Ward - for a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Derry City, 4-0 up from the first leg, beat Lisburn Distillery 3-0 at the Brandywell with goals from Patrick McEleney, Stephen McLaughlin and Rory Patterson for a 7-0 aggregate win.
Glentoran, 4-2 ahead from the first leg at the Carlisle Grounds, eased to a 3-0 win over Bray Wanderers at The Oval. Darren Boyce put the Glens in front on 11 minutes to end any hope of a Bray revival. Colin Nixon added a second in the final minute of the first half with Boyce getting the third from a 75th minute penalty.
Quarter-final draw: Shamrock Rovers v Cliftonville; Crusaders v Bohemians; Linfield v Derry City; Sligo Rovers v Glentoran. (Ties to be played on March 5th and 20th).
