Cliftonville 5 Coleraine 3
(AET - 90 mins 3-3)
Cliftonville produced a stunning comeback to book their place in the Europa League playoff final.
Trailing 3-1 with just 14 minutes remaining, the Reds scored twice including an injury time penalty to force the tie into extra time.
And Paddy McLaughlin's men sealed the deal with goals from Levi Ives and Conor McMenamin to complete a remarkable 5-3 victory.
It was cruel luck on Coleraine who looked destined to be progressing to Saturday's final, not least on James McLaughlin who bagged a hat-trick on the night.
"It will take a while to sum that one up," Reds boss McLaughlin said.
"Coleraine were better than us at the start of the game and took the lead. We were too sluggish.
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"That can happen, and you get punished if you start slowly. But the boys showed great character in the game, and the first goal we scored gave us belief.
"We got one before the break, and when we scored the first we looked strong. The boys showed great bravery and tried to play the right way at the right time.
"To win 5-3 against a good Coleraine side is a positive. We earned it tonight."
First Half
McLaughlin headed home in the ninth and 28th minutes to put the Bannsiders in control early on.
The first saw McLaughlin's effort rebound off the underside of the bar and land on the line, and Reds keeper Richard Brush could only nudge the ball over the line.
The second was a bullet header from Adam Mullan's cross that gave Brush no chance.
Cliftonville were under the cosh, but they were gifted a lifeline in the 34th minute.
It came from Chris Johns' dreadful clearance which was pounced on by Ryan Curran, he managed to lift a pass through to Gormley who scrambled the ball home.
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Second Half
McLaughlin bagged his hat-trick in the 71st minute with a superb overhead kick from 12 yards that flew into the net.
It looked to have paved the way for a Coleraine victory, but the Reds were back in it again in the 76th minute when McMenamin blasted home from six yards after being teed up by Gormley.
Cliftonville had chances to equalise but were either denied by Johns or some poor finishing, not least from Gormley who blazed over from 12 yards.
But they were then awarded a penalty in the sixth minute of added time when Ryan Curran tumbled under a challenge inside the box.
And Curran dusted himself down to dispatch the resulting penalty into the bottom corner and send the playoff into extra time.
Extra Time
Cliftonville took the lead for the first time in the game in the 92nd minute when Ives surged forward before drilling a low shot past Johns from the edge of the area.
And it was 5-3 in the 111th minute when Gormley played in McMenamin and he coolly rounded Johns to score.
Teams
Cliftonville : Brush, Ives, Breen, Grace, Harney, C Curran, R Curran, R Donnelly, A Harkin, Gormley, McMenamin.
Subs : Neeson, Bagnall, McGovern, Garrett, Maguire, Rocks, Gorman.
Coleraine : Johns, Mullan, Douglas, McLaughlin, Carson, Crown, O’Donnell, McGonigle, Canning, Doherty, Glackin
Subs : Doherty, McConaghie, Parkhill, Bradley, Burke, Shiels, King.
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