League Cup Quarter Final: Linfield 1-0 Cliftonville

Joel Cooper's early goal was enough for Linfield to get past Cliftonville in a tense League Cup Quarter Final at Windsor Park.

The strike came after 10 minutes as a result of Kirk Millar's whipped corner from the right.

The ball was glanced towards his own goal by Conor McDermott, only for the right back's blushes to be spared as it was cleared off the line by Chris Curran.

However, the Reds captain's block rebounded straight into the path of Cooper, and the Linfield winger smashed a low finish hard into the bottom corner with his right foot.

The Blues were then given a contentious penalty in the 23rd minute after Shayne Lavery was judged to have been bundled over in the box by Joseph Gorman.

Lavery saw his spot-kick well saved by Richard Brush, and Cliftonville quickly got defenders back to make goal-line clearances from rebounded efforts from Cooper and Matthew Clarke - although Cooper's shot appeared to cross the line.

Both teams kept up the intensity after the break, but the chances dried up for the most part.

Linfield sub Andy Waterworth did manage to work some space to strike the post in the 86th, only for Stephen Fallon to scoop the follow-up over the bar rather than into the empty net.

However, it was of no consequence as Cliftonville couldn't find a way back into the game, and Linfield held on for a spot in the semi-finals.