SuperCupNI | Play-off Report

Argyle secured a 4-2 victory over Cliftonville in the SuperCupNI Globe Play-off on Friday morning to round out their week in Northern Ireland.

The high-scoring affair started with multiple attacking efforts from Cliftonville, all of which seemingly missed to the left side of Argyle’s goal.

The first major chance came in the 13th minute when Argyle won a corner. Quick thinking and a short pass resulted in a wide-open Ben Turner in the middle of the box, and his quick shot beat the opposition keeper and handed the Greens the lead.

Five minutes later, Argyle's lead doubled as Harrison Green beat his defender for pace and slotted home, following a composed ball through the Cliftonville defence.

Immediately after the second-half restart, the Young Pilgrims' high press worked in their favour. Turner blocked a ball out from the back and coolly beat the goalkeeper and trailing defender to pass the ball into the open goal for Argyle’s third.

A flurry of goals caught everyone off guard in the final 10 minutes of the match. A whipped ball into the box gave Cliftonville hope after the Argyle defence was caught sleeping, and a tap-in brought the advantage to two.

The Greens reacted positively and were awarded a free-kick 25 yards out following a chopping challenge on Ronnie Hughes. Jacob Hare, a second-half substitute, stepped up and surprised the keeper with his shooting effort. The ball bounced into the bottom left of the goal, much to the annoyance of the Cliftonville players, and regained the Greens' three-goal lead.

Another free-kick crossed into the box handed the Northern Irish side a second goal, but Argyle held onto their lead until the full-time whistle.