Linfield made it through to the semi-finals of the Co Antrim Shield with a 2-0 victory over Cliftonville at Windsor Park.
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Linfield 2 - 0 Cliftonville
A Curtis Allen double sealed the deal for the Blues who make it four wins out of four after an indifferent start to the season.
Eddie Patterson's side had the first chance of the game on 10 minutes. Chris Scannell found a bit of space on the left hand side before whipping a great ball into the box.
With Martin Jones and Ciaran Caldwell lurking in the middle, the former completely missed the ball before it came to the latter who could not get enough power on his shot to trouble Blayney.
David Jeffrey's side made the visitors pay on 19 minutes. Michael Carvill's back heel found Curtis Allen on the left of the Cliftonville box and his shot appeared to be deflected as it wrong footed John Connolly in the Reds' goal.
Cliftonville almost responded on 28 minutes. O'Connor's threaded ball found Martin Jones one-on-one with Blayney and the Northern Ireland International had to be at his best to deny the young forward.
Mark McAllister could have made it two for Linfield on 36 minutes. Aaron Burns' cross from the left found McAllister in the box but his effort was inadvertently blocked by the back of Liam Fleming.
The away side had big shouts for a penalty on 54 minutes. Jamie Tomelty appeared to trip Ronan Scannell in the box but it was perhaps the Cliftonville left back's reluctance to go down which placed some doubt in the head of referee Alan Black who waved away the protestations.
Three minutes later, Michael Carvill's out swinging corner was punched off the head of Curtis Allen and Mark McAllister's follow up was straight at Connolly.
Linfield went two up on 65 minutes. Aaron Burns' pinpoint cross was met by the head of Curtis Allen who made no mistake from close range.
Other than Paul Munster's late header from Aaron Burns' corner, the Blues saw out the rest of the match to record a decent win, but with Cliftonville back at Windsor Park on Saturday, Eddie Patterson will believe his side can cause the current league Champions some problems.
Linfield Team: Alan Blayney, Billy Joe Burns, David Armstrong, Chris Casement, Aaron Burns, Michael Carvill (Andrew McCrory 75'), Philip Lowry, Michael Gault, Jamie Tomelty (Marcus Kane 66'), Curtis Allen (Paul Munster 78'), Mark McAllister.
Subs: Stephen Douglas, Aidan O'Kane.
Cliftonville Team: John Connolly, Liam Fleming, Ronan Scannell (Rory Donnelly 85'), Peter Hutton, Ciaran Donaghy, Chris Scannell, Ciaran Caldwell, Eamonn Seydak (Dermot McVeigh 20'), Barry Johnston, Keiran O'Connor, Martin Jones (Darren Stuart 69').
Subs: Aaron Smyth, Conal Burns.
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