Crusaders ace Philip Lowry: We won’t be silenced by Cliftonville's hostile derby crowd

Philip Lowry hopes his Crusaders team can get the better of Cliftonville in the north Belfast derby

Crusaders manager Stephen Baxter will hope to inspire his Hatchetmen to a derby delight over Cliftonville

Cliftonville's attack, including Hale brothers Rory and Ronan, will hope to make a say in the derby with Crusaders

Crusaders midfielder Philip Lowry has urged his team to focus on the challenge and not the occasion in Saturday’s mouthwatering north Belfast derby showdown with Cliftonville at Solitude.

Jim Magilton’s Reds hogged the bragging rights with an impressive victory over their rivals down the road at Seaview earlier in 2023/24, but Lowry believes it’s an ideal opportunity for the Crues to reap a little revenge.

Only four points separate the teams in the Sports Direct Premiership table, although Cliftonville have played one game more, but crucially both cannot afford to fall further behind the sides above them – so something must give.

“It’s a big game for both clubs, they don’t get much bigger if you are a fan of either club,” said the 34-year-old Lowry.

“It’s got a bit of added spice because we didn’t do ourselves justice against them earlier in the season... Cliftonville won it at a canter.

“We’ll be fully prepared for it and, with our game last week against Linfield being called off (the Blues had players on international duty), hopefully, we’ll be fresh and ready for it.

“We had a few boys carrying knocks, so it came at a good time. In saying that, you never want games to be postponed, but it did allow us to get a few bodies back again.

“In our last game (against Loughgall), we had quite a few boys with niggling problems, we had a few people struggling, so the break has been good.

“We’ve had a good two