If a football fan with scant knowledge of the Irish League rocked up at Solitude this season, there’s every chance he or she would struggle to believe that Cliftonville defender Luke Turner is still a teenager.
Turner grabbed the headlines with a crucial goal in Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Warrenpoint Town, a result that keeps the Reds in the title shake-up.
It was a memorable moment for the Dubliner who is currently on a season-long loan from Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen.
But goal celebrations aside, it has been the maturity of the 19-year-old’s performances alongside Jonny Addis at the heart of Cliftonville’s defence that has impressed onlookers the most
“Since the day Luke came in the door, he has been a revelation,” said Reds boss Paddy McLaughlin. “He has put in big performances and he has been really consistent.
“It’s difficult sometimes for young players to be consistently good every week, but he has been a really consistent performer for us at 19 years of age.
“He and Jonny (Addis) have struck up a really strong partnership over the course of the season and for such a young boy, he looks like an established player.”
It stands to reason that when McLaughlin first signed Turner in August, he didn’t expect the mobile centre back to establish himself as a regular just as quickly as he did.
The Republic of Ireland underage defender has featured in 25 of Cliftonville’s 28 league games and helped the club stay in the thick of the title race with Linfield and Glentoran.
“It was strange and quite quick the way the move happened because Luke came in to do a bit of training with us and he also played in a friendly,” he said.
“He played really well and we probably brought him in initially for competition because you can’t guarantee anyone regular football.
“But it has worked out really well for us. He’s from Dublin and obviously spent a couple of years at Aberdeen, but he has come across and bought into what we want to do.
“He was prepared to back himself coming over here and he is well settled and he loves the club. He has been brilliant and he has a bright future ahead of him.”
McLaughlin also reserved praise for midfielder Christopher ‘Cricky’ Gallagher who was an important component of Tuesday night’s victory.
“I thought it was a really top performance from Cricky,” he said. “He set the tempo for everything we did, helped marshall things and also kept us on the front foot.
“I thought he was really good and his leadership skills were superb.”
Turner won it for Cliftonville just before the break when he headed home after Ryan Curran’s initial header from a Jamie McDonagh cross crashed back off the crossbar.
The Reds might have added to their tally, but teenage Warrenpoint keeper Stephen McMullan produced a series of superb saves in both halves.
“What a performance from a 17-year-old,” said McLaughlin. “We might have scored more were it not for the brilliance of young McMullan.
“He pulled off five or six unbelievable saves and I thought he was superb for them. All credit to him.”
