Location | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
---|---|
Teams | Cliftonville Crusaders |
First meeting | Cliftonville 1–0 Crusaders County Antrim Shield (13 January 1923) |
Latest meeting | Cliftonville 1–0 Crusaders NIFL Premiership (1 November 2024) |
Next meeting | Crusaders v Cliftonville NIFL Premiership (26 December 2024) |
Stadiums | Solitude (Cliftonville) Seaview (Crusaders) |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 316 |
Most wins | Crusaders (157) |
Top scorer | Jordan Owens (26) |
All-time series | Crusaders – 157 Cliftonville – 91 Draws – 68 |
Largest victory | Crusaders 8–0 Cliftonville 1972–73 City Cup (4 November 1972) |
The North Belfast derby is the name given to association football matches between Cliftonville and Crusaders who play in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The two are separated by around 1.5 miles with Cliftonville based at Solitude on Cliftonville Road and Crusaders at Seaview on the Shore Road.
The rivalry between the two clubs began in 1949 with Crusaders' ascension to senior football. For the majority of years the rivalry was simply competitive and geographical. The rivalry was heightened during The Troubles, and as the religious and political demographics within Belfast changed, Cliftonville began to develop a mainly nationalist following and Crusaders a unionist following. While there have been unsavoury incidents in the past between the clubs and the rivalry is fierce and intense on the pitch, off the pitch they have developed a strong cross-community relationship in recent years.
The two sides have met each other on over 300 occasions, and have met in three national cup finals (the 2009 Irish Cup final, 2013 League Cup final and 2014 League Cup final) and one regional cup final (the 1979 County Antrim Shield final). The two sides have also won twelve league titles between them, five of these wins coming in six seasons; Cliftonville winning in 2012–13 and 2013–14, and Crusaders winning in 2014–15, 2015–16 and 2017–18.
Both clubs also share rivalries with the Belfast 'Big Two' of Glentoran and Linfield, but the success disparity between the pairs of clubs has seen two distinct rivalries formed.