Irish Cup: Cliftonville ease past Loughgall to reach final

Joe Gormley and Rory Donnelly each scored twice as Cliftonville swept aside Loughgall 4-1 in the Irish Cup semi-final at the Oval.

Any plans of Loughgall making a solid start to the game were brutally thrown aside by the Premiership club, who took the lead after just 21 seconds.

Chris Curran crossed for Joe Gormley, and the striker was able to swivel about 14 yards from goal before shooting low beyond Gareth Buchanan with his right foot.

It wasn't the most powerful effort from Gormley, but it had enough behind it to sneak beyond the keeper for his 27th goal of the season.

By the 6th minute, the game was all but over as Cliftonville established a 2-0 lead.

A Loughgall clearance only made it as far as Rory Donnelly, who was able to ride a couple of challenges before slotting it into the far corner from inside the box.

Joe Gormley made it 3-0 in the 24th minute with a superb, opportunistic piece of finishing.

Having exchanged passes with Rory Donnelly, Gormley found himself 25 yards from goal. The striker then managed to casually chip the ball over Buchanan with a perfectly weighted right-footed lob.

Loughgall finally created a chance of note in the 29th minute, but Connor Mullen should have done better with his header, having connected with a pinpoint Jamie Rea cross.

In the 31st minute, they pulled a goal back through Andrew Hoey, who was able to tap-in after Gary Liggett saw his close-range effort cannon off the crossbar following good work by Mullen.

However, Loughgall's positive spell was undone by a sudden goalkeeping error.

Buchanan's kick clear in the 36th minute only made it as far as Jay Donnelly who hammered the ball back into the box where it was met by his brother Rory, who drove the ball into the net just as Buchanan got back to cover.

Despite his sprawling save, the ball had clearly crossed the line and Cliftonville moved 4-1 ahead.

It took 20 minutes of the second half for Loughgall to muster anything in reply. A comeback always looked impossible, but the Championship club were denied a second consolation goal as the linesman correctly ruled out a close-range effort from Hoey.

In the 73rd minute, Gormley looked certain to complete his hat-trick after connecting with an Ives cross. However, Buchanan managed to smother the shot from close range.

With 9 minutes left to play, Loughgall's Peter Campbell was sent off. The winger was booked twice in quick succession for dissent after arguing with the referee about a decision not to play the advantage.