10.8 C
London
Sunday, May 19, 2024

Irish Cup: Ronan Hale hits hat-trick as clinical Cliftonville hammer Dundela to ease through

There was no hint of an Irish Cup upset as a Ronan Hale hat-trick helped ease Cliftonville through to the sixth round with a 5-0 win over Championship side Dundela at Wilgar Park.

Impressive teenager Sean Moore opened the scoring in the first half while Joe Gormley scored a second-half penalty.

Willie Faulkner missed a great chance for the Duns just before half-time with the score at 2-0.

The remaining 15 fifth-round ties will be played on Saturday.

After a slow start to the match in windy conditions in east Belfast, a quickfire double midway through the first half eased any nerves the Irish Premiership side may have had against the team sitting third in the Championship.

Seventeen-year-old Moore, who has made a big impression in recent weeks, ran on to a long ball into the channel from Luke Turner before cutting inside at pace and finishing past Sam Johnston in the 26th minute.

Johnston, making his Dundela debut after joining on loan this week, was beaten at his near post for the second two minutes later when Ronan Hale hit his shot early after controlling well.

The hosts missed an excellent chance to get back into the game on the stroke of half time when Faulkner side-footed wide when he had plenty of time inside the box.

Cliftonville, beaten finalists in last season’s Irish Cup, started the second half strongly and Gormley put them three up when he blasted home a 48th-minute penalty after Tony Kane had fouled Moore.

Hale grabbed his second and the Reds’ fourth just before the hour, controlling well to volley in on the rebound after Johnston had saved a Gormley shot.

Hale completed his hat-trick 16 minutes from time when he tapped home from close range after substitute Colin Coates headed towards goal from a corner.

Latest news
Related news

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here