Cliftonville 0 Linfield 3
Daniel Finlayson of Linfield adds a second during his team's 3-0 win over Cliftonville at Solitude.
Linfield sent out a timely reminder that they have the mettle for a title fight after powering past Cliftonville at Solitude.
Without a win to their name in three Sports Direct Premiership outings, the Blues roared to victory courtesy of second-half goals from Kyle McClean, Daniel Finlayson and Chris McKee.
The result sees David Healy’s men leapfrog the Reds into second spot and, while they now sit just a point behind defending champions Larne, Cliftonville have been left to re-evaluate their challenge with just eight fixtures left on the board.
Jim Magilton’s side entered the contest on the back of an undefeated streak that had seen them win 13 and draw two of their last 15 Premiership games stretching back to the opening week of November.
Such has been the form of the pair above them in the standings, however, that the north Belfast side had not enjoyed any tangible progress in terms of narrowing the gap at the top – until last month.
Ronan Hale of Cliftonville and Ethan McGee of Linfield clash in the first half
Linfield’s loss at home to Dungannon Swifts provided a chink of light for both the Reds and defending champions Larne, while the Blues’ failure to total more than a single point from subsequent League trips to Glenavon and Coleraine engineered a shake-up at the summit, with Healy’s side dropping to third at the weekend.
Linfield’s involvement in next month’s BetMcLean Cup Final meant this heavyweight clash was brought forward and provided both teams with an opportunity to steal a psychological march on a Larne side that won’t play its game in hand for another two-and-a-half-weeks, while
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