Cliftonville thrash Barry Town to make Europa League 1st Round
Last updated 4th Jul 2019
Cliftonville are through to the First Qualifying Round of the Europa League after getting past Barry Town with an emphatic 4-0 win in the Preliminary Round.
Conor McMenamin, Joe Gormley, Conor McDermott and Rory Donnelly scored the goals to settle the tie at Solitude after last week's goalless draw out in Wales in the first leg.
It's a result that sets up a meeting with Norwegian club Haugesund, with the first leg to be played next week in North Belfast.
The first half was all Cliftonville, with Gormley and Chris Curran going close within the opening ten minutes as the home side aggressively chased a goal.
It deservedly came in the 25th minute as a result of Ronan Doherty's corner. His delivery from the right was met by the head of McMenamin, and despite the best efforts of a Welsh defender on the line, the ball found its way into the net.
A minute before the break, Paddy McLaughlin's side were fully in control.
Captain Chris Curran drove down the right before pulling the ball back to Joe Gormley, lurking unmarked on the edge of the box. As is so often the case, Gormley powered his finish hard and high into the net, the keeper unable to do anything, even if the shot was fairly central.
Barry Town were chasing the tie, but didn't look like a side playing with any urgency. It was Cliftonville that remained comfortably on top, with Rory Donnelly's shot from distance in the 54th minute tipped wide.
20 minutes later, Doherty swept a left-footed shot just inches shy of the bottom corner with the keeper flat-footed, as the Welsh began to run out of steam.
As their meagre hopes of a comeback faded, Cliftonville made absolutely sure of the result when right-back Conor McDermott got forward to finish well from an angle, scoring his first goal for the club in the 82nd minute.
It was a strike that killed off any Welsh hopes, and with the players flagging, Gormley weaved through the defence in the 84th minute before teeing up Donnelly to rifle the 4th into the net via the post.