Cliftonville 1-0 Ballymena Utd
Stephen Garrett's strike midway through the 2nd half was enough for Cliftonville to get past Ballymena United 1-0 at Solitude.
It means Barry Gray's men have won their last 5 matches in the Danske Bank Premiership, keeping clean sheets on every occasion.
The opening spell was an even contest, and in the 15th minute Ballymena defender Emmett Friars was called into action, getting a vital touch to deflect a dangerous cross from Rory Donnelly, sending it narrowly wide for a corner.
4 minutes later, Sky Blues forward Cathair Friel had an ambitious crack from distance, sending a dipping volley over the bar as the visitors began to dominate.
With 25 minutes gone, David Jeffrey's side had another go from long range, this time Tony Kane attempting to place a 25-yard-effort into the top corner - but it also sailed over. Kane went close again just two minutes later with a free kick.
Ballymena then produced a great chance on the counter following a Cliftonville corner, but Johnny McMurray miscontrolled a straightforward pass from Friel, and the ball somehow rolled between his legs as the chance died.
The visitors then carved out the first clear cut chance of the afternoon with Fra McCaffrey breaking from midfield before playing Conor McCloskey in behind the defence. His low, placed effort had beaten Neeson before striking the post and rolling into the grateful arms of the goalkeeper in the 35th minute.
Ballymena then struck the woodwork again with 5 minutes left to play in the first half after an awful clearance by Neeson. He scuffed a kick which rolled to the feet of McMurray who quickly shifted the ball onto his left boot before smashing the crossbar from 30 yards.
With the last action of the first half, Ballymena wasted another chance as McCaffrey missed with a free header from 6 yards after being set up by McCloskey's cross.
Cliftonville finally sparked into life in the second half. In the early stages Rory Donnelly saw his attempted header cleared by Kofi Balmer, and soon after Garry Breen headed just wide from a cross.
Joe Gormley then shot from distance in the 55th minute, and his deflected strike was about to creep under the crossbar until Ross Glendinning tipped it over. Gormley had another crack 2 minutes later after chasing a clearance upfield before dragging his shot wide of the post.
Jude Winchester struck from distance in the 63rd minute, and even though the ball was spilled by Glendinning, Rory Donnelly couldn't get his follow-up on target from a narrow angle.
With 67 minutes played Cliftonville almost found the breakthrough through Gormley. His shot caused a panic in the box, and with Jay Donnelly waiting for a tap-in, Sky Blues captain Jim Ervin came flying in with a crucial clearance.
However, the goal was inevitable, and it eventually came through Stephen Garrett. He was in the right place to tap into an empty goal after Gormley's effort bounced back off the post in the 70th minute.
Ballymena rallied as the game dragged on, but failed to produce anything of real danger as Cliftonville hung on to claim the points.