When Cliftonville had last faced Glentoran at the Blanchflower Stadium in the Women’s Premiership in 2025, it was a day they wanted to forget.
Nadene Caldwell’s late winner on the final day of the season meant Glentoran lifted the league title in dramatic circumstances at the expense of the Reds.
But, almost a year on, Cliftonville turned the tables on their title rivals with a 2-1 win in east Belfast on Sunday, which put them in control of the title race.
“I think it wasn’t something that was mentioned, but I’d say subconsciously, if not consciously, people were thinking about the fact the last time we played at the Blanchflower, they were lifting the league,” said key Cliftonville striker Teegan Lynch, who scored in Sunday’s win.
“They’re not great memories, they’re more of nightmares, but at the same time it was maybe that extra 10% that we needed to get over the line.
“For us to come out and win was ideal, and we’ll take it moving forward”.
Lynch had a superb August as she scored six goals as Cliftonville had a 100% winning record, and was rewarded by being named player of the month by the Northern Ireland Football Writers’ Association.
Despite moving eight points clear of both Linfield and Glentoran, who both have a game in hand, ahead of the final round of fixtures before the split, Lynch is not getting carried away.
The Reds’ hopes are boosted by the fact that Glentoran and Linfield have to play each other in their outstanding fixture, which means at least one of the title challengers will drop more points before the split.
“The ball is kind on everybody else’s court and we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing.
“We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves by any stretch of the imagination. We’re just going to take it game by game and hopefully we can get the job done.”
Cliftonville are back in action on Friday night at Derry City, and will be favourites to pick up another three points despite the Candystripes’ improved run of form this season.
“There’s no major gaps between top and bottom anymore,” Lynch added.
“So the fact that we are where we are now, we’ve worked hard for it and nobody’s handed us this. It’s brilliant that the league is developing this way.”
If Cliftonville could regain the Women’s Premiership title, Lynch says it would mean “everything”.
“It would obviously mean a lot,” she added.
“But we’re not getting ahead of ourselves and we’ll see how the last few games go now in the split.”
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