North Belfast derby

Founded in 1879, Cliftonville are Ireland's oldest football team, and along with Distillery, Glentoran and Linfield were founder members of the Irish League, and are one of three teams never to have been relegated and to have competed in every top-flight season (along with Glentoran and Linfield). Although a major force in the first 20 years of Irish football their strict amateur status (not dropped until the early 1970s) meant they were also-rans for long periods once professionalism took hold. Once professional they added a cup win in 1979 and a league title in late 1990s.

Location of Solitude (left) and Seaview in North Belfast

Founded in 1898, Crusaders applied unsuccessfully for many years to join the Irish League and became one of the top junior sides in the country, but it was not until 1949-50 season following the resignation of Belfast Celtic they finally entered the league. They endured a tough start but became a major side during the 1960s, winning two Irish Cups, and also having successful spells in the 1970s and 1990s, winning two league titles in each decade.

The first match between the two clubs took place on 13 January 1923 in the first round of the County Antrim Shield at Solitude; this was also Crusaders first ever match in senior competition. The senior side of Cliftonville was too good for the intermediate Crusaders team, with the Reds recording a 1-0 victory. The first game between the two sides as senior teams took place in the Ulster Cup on 17 September 1949, finishing in a 2-2 draw at Solitude. The first league match and Boxing Day derby took place on 26 December 1949, with Cliftonville emerging victorious with a 5-0 victory at Seaview. In 1979 at the height of The Troubles, there were more than 1,900 police officers on duty for the Ulster Cup match on 21 September between Crusaders and Cliftonville at Seaview, more than has ever been recorded at a football match in the United Kingdom.[1][2]

The sides first played each other in a cup final in 1978-79, with Cliftonville winning the County Antrim Shield in a penalty shoot-out, but with Glentoran and Linfield dominating Northern Irish football the sides did not reach a national cup final together until the 2008-09 season when they met in the final of the 2008–09 Irish Cup. Crusaders won the match 1 – 0 in front of 7,500 fans at Windsor Park. It would be not long before the two met again in a cup final as in the 2012-13 season with the sides first and second in the league table they played each other in the final of the 2012–13 Irish League Cup with Cliftonville emphatically winning 4 – 0 at Windsor Park. The following season they played again the League Cup Final but this time in a more cagey affair. Finishing 0 – 0 after extra time Cliftonville retained the cup with a 3 – 2 win on penalties.

A fixture during the 2012-13 season came to national media attention after a game was cancelled due to a Loyalist flag protest. Going into the fixture on 16 February 2013 Cliftonville led the Irish Premier League with a twelve-point lead, Crusaders in second had a game in hand and hoped a win over their rivals could see them falter. A small group of 20 flag protesters turned up half an hour before kick off and engaged in skirmishes with police. Around 2000 fans were in attendance but many supporters were unable to enter due to the protesters outside the turnstiles. The decision was made to cancel the game with condemnation of the protesters tactics and police's handling of the situation. Due to fixture congestion it was not rearranged until 22 April by which time Cliftonville had long won the title. Despite praise for both clubs during the incident further controversy emerged for the rearranged fixture when Crusaders on advice of the police only offered 200 tickets for away supporters (around 800 would be normal). Cliftonville fans issued a boycott of fixture (seven tickets were purchased, presumably to ticket stub collectors) leaving a completely empty away stand and total attendance of just 395.

In September 2018 the derby was chosen to be the first live NIFL Premiership match to be shown on BBC Two Northern Ireland, a part of a three year deal between BBC Sport NI, the Irish Football Association and Northern Ireland Football League.[3]

Traditionally Cliftonville's support was less polarised and they were seen as a cross community team in comparison to Crusaders, who had traditionally been regarded as a Unionist club. During the troubles the Cliftonville support came to be regarded as a nationalist due to their location along the Cliftonville Road. With road blocks and cross community violence meaning that many away supporters no longer felt safe venturing to Solitude or Seaview. However, in recent years, with the streets safer than before, many supporters of both away teams choose to walk to their opponent's ground, given the close proximity of the grounds and the fact that both teams have largely local supports.[4]

Despite the community differences the rivalry between supporters is fairly amicable and brings financial benefits to both clubs. A sell out league fixture can bring in an income of £30,000. As is the tradition with many other derbies in the Irish League, each season a fixture is played on Boxing Day, unless this day falls on a Sunday.

In results between the two teams, Crusaders have 153 victories to Cliftonville's 85. Crusaders have won more games in the league, County Antrim Shield, Ulster Cup and the City Cup, whereas Cliftonville have won more head-to heads in the Irish Cup, League Cup, Setanta Sports Cup, Gold Cup and Belfast Charity Cup. It should also be noted that Cliftonville's amateur status meant that they were rarely competitive until the early 1970s, losing most of their games and finishing bottom of the table on several occasions.

All time results taken from Irish Football Club Project, Ireland's Saturday Night, and various other sources.[5][6][7] Attendance figures from ifapremiership.com [8]

Key

Players with 7 or more goals in the North Belfast derby. (League and cup fixtures since 1970-71 season) Those in bold still with either side.

See talk page for required pre 1982 goalscorers

As of 23 October 2020

Since the reorganisation of Irish football in 2008 clubs are required to publish attendances. Attendances in the 1960s and 1970s would have been considerably higher.