Joe Gormley's 'brutal' Cliftonville arrival and the goal that changed everything

Barry Johnston has revealed how Joe Gormley was "absolutely brutal" in his first training session with Cliftonville 11 years ago.

A fresh-faced Gormley joined the Reds from Amateur League club Crumlin Star in 2011 - and the rest, as they say, is history.

The now 32-year-old has gone on to become the North Belfast side's all-time record goalscorer, and won countless domestic honours including back-to-back league titles in 2013 and '14.

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Gormley is a Cliftonville legend, his name etched in the pantheon of legendary Irish League strikers.

But former teammate Johnston admits the initial signs were less than inspiring when Tommy Breslin signed the raw striker from the Star.

That is until Gormley got a chance to showcase his finishing skills.

Reflecting on the striker's first night at training 11 years ago, Johnston told Belfast Live's That's What I Call Football podcast : "Bressy would have said to me and George (McMullan), 'you boys look after him. Talk to him'. Joe was a skinny drip. He was 6ft with no beard.

"We were jogging around the back and doing possession boxes, and Joe was absolutely brutal.

"We were saying to Bressy, 'he is never going to make it' and 'he's never going to do'. But Bressy just said, 'wait to you see the shooting at the end'.

"I think Conor Devlin was in nets, and I swear I have never seen anyone hit a ball as hard in my life. Geordie was just 'get him signed up! Get him signed up now!'.

"And then there was Chris Scannell saying the opposite, 'get him out. He's not good enough'.

"So his first night's training was unbelievable. He was useless in the possession boxes but his shooting was lethal."

Gormley himself admits the