How Reds rebuilt from losing half of Irish Cup winning squad

Cliftonville head into a second successive Irish Cup final with a markedly different squad to last year's that helped end the club's 45-year wait to claim the trophy.

Of the Reds' 18-man squad that was involved in the 3-1 extra-time win against Linfield, just nine remain at the club a year later.

A mix of players out of contract, retirements and those moving on to pastures new, has led to a huge overhaul of players at the north Belfast side.

Yet, Jim Magilton has somehow rebuilt a squad that whilst flattering to deceive in the league, have become a team that can deliver in the cup competitions.

They have already won a League Cup and have the chance to complete a cup double by beating Dungannon Swifts in Saturday's Irish Cup final.

That's no mean feat for a practically new squad fused with experienced pros and a heap of signings.

Paddy Burns, Ronan Doherty, Sam Ashford and most notably Ronan Hale started last year's decider in a strong Reds side that lined-up against the Blues.

Nathan Gartside, Luke Kenny, Ben Wilson, Stephen Mallon and Chris Curran were introduced off the bench, with Gartside and Kenny coming on before half-time due to injuries to David Odumosu and Odhran Casey.

Burns, Gartside, Ashford and Mallon left at the end of the contracts, with striker Ashford delivering the perfect parting gift by netting the equaliser in the final, his eighth goal for the club.

Kenny returned to St Mirren after spending last year on loan, whilst Doherty moved to Coleraine in January.

Legendary club captain Curran called time on his career after winning every possible domestic trophy at the club.

Yet, there is no doubt that the biggest losses were those of prolific forwards Wilson to Airdrieonians and Hale to Ross County.

Wilson scored 20 goals in 42 appearances during his sole season with the Reds, and like Ashford, made a big impact in the cup final, assisting Hale's two extra-time goals.

Those two goals from Hale, the second of which will go down as one of the most famous strikes and celebrations in Irish Cup history, cemented his status as a Cliftonville hero.

He registered 51 goals in 82 appearances during his two-year spell at the club, including 21 in all competitions in his final season and his absence has been most keenly felt at Solitude this campaign.

In an attempt to build another squad capable of retaining the Irish Cup and challenging in the Irish Premiership after an impressive third place finish last year, Cliftonville had a busy summer transfer window.

Eleven players were brought in, the majority of whom were young, with no Irish Premiership experience that arrived when the season had already started.

Axel Piesold and Taylor Steven came in on loan whilst Lewis Ridd, Luke Conlan, the late Michael Newberry, Shaun Leppard, Michael Glynn, Arran Pettifer, Destiny Ojo, Rory Donnelly and Ryan Markey also joined.

Injuries and inconsistencies have hampered a lot of the signings and as Magilton tried to find his best starting side, Cliftonville's results dipped and they began to fall down the table.

Steven was recalled by St Johnstone in January whilst Leppard suffered a season-ending leg break in October.

Donnelly made his return off the bench in the penultimate league game of the season after a long spell out injured.

Ojo and Markey have struggled for game time, with Magilton looking to older strikers in fit again Ryan Curran and veteran Joe Gormley to fill the void left by Ashford, Wilson and Hale.

Those three managed 49 goals between them last year and kept Gormley out of the team for large spells, evidenced by the fact he was an unused substitute in last year's final.

This year however, at the age of 35, he has largely shouldered the goal scoring burden himself, scoring 20 league goals as well as the winner in the League Cup final.

Some of Cliftonville's other best performers this year are those who were part of the 2024 Irish Cup winning team.

Jonny Addis has been relied upon to marshal Cliftonville's defence, Shea Kearney has been a bright spark, whilst captain Rory Hale continues to lead by example and remains their main creative output.

Those three were equally as important as Gormley to the Reds' 1-0 League Cup final win against Glentoran and the Reds' other good performances in the Irish Cup this season: most notably against Crusaders and Ards.

The four January additions have also fared reasonably well so far with Jack Keaney and Harry Wilson slotting into the side and Eric McWoods and Alex Parsons contributing some goals in their cameos since arriving.

Parsons scored the winner against Crusaders in the Irish Cup quarter-final and also netted against Ards in the semi-final.

He is an example of how Cliftonville have cast the net far and wide in terms of recruitment to replace the creativity they lost with the Australian swapping sunny Brisbane for north Belfast.

The vast overhaul of players is a huge factor in Cliftonville's disappointing seventh-place finish in the league, but this current crop have tended to save their best performances for the big occasions in the cup this year.

With the Toronto Investment Group set to take over ahead of the next season, a similar rebuild, albeit one in which Cliftonville will hope to attract better players and keep prized assets already at the club, could be on horizon.

If Saturday's Irish Cup final is to be a few of these players' last game for the club, they will want to repeat the feat of the nine who departed last year in playing their part in delivering another Irish Cup for the Reds.