The slow crawl towards Premiership safety continues for Dungannon Swifts after they secured another vital point at Ballymena United. A rare goal from Michael Funston and a less surprising strike from Sky Blues top-scorer Gary McCutcheon saw this fixture end in a 1-1 draw for the third time this season. It was a credible result for Dungannon, who have now lost just one of their last six matches. However, its value was somewhat lessened by surprise victories for two of their main relegation rivals, Lisburn Distillery and Carrick Rangers. And it means that with just six weeks of the season remaining, it is still far from clear which team is facing the drop following another dramatic weekend. As head coach Darren Murphy later pointed out, what other teams do is out of Swifts’ control. Instead their priority is to secure as many points as possible from the final seven games – starting tomorrow night at Donegal Celtic. This was a game Murphy will feel they should have won. After weathering some first half pressure, Dungannon snatched the lead through Funston – only to concede a dreadful equaliser on the stroke of half-time. With 14 minutes remaining Ballymena fullback Tony Kane was sent off for a senseless clash of heads, handing the initiative back to their opponents. And they had a strong case for a late penalty when Ryan Harpur was taken down in the box, only to see it rejected by visiting Welsh referee Richard Harrington. So the weekend ends with Swifts now just four points ahead of basement side Carrick, although that gap will be stretched if they win their game in hand against DC. Despite not bagging three points, Murphy can still take positives from Saturday’s match. His side started brightly and had an early chance as Ryan O’Neill crossed to Johnny Topley, whose wayward header should have at least hit the target. Moments later O’Neill directed a free-kick from JP Gallagher wide of goal.. Ballymena’s first chance came in the 18th minute following a foul on Alan Jenkins, however the goalkeeper got down to block Alan Davidson’s free-kick. Niall Morgan followed that up with an impressive double-save soon afterwards, beating away rasping efforts from Davidson and Alan Teggart. But it was Dungannon who edged ahead in the 30th minute after some less impressive goalkeeping by their former number one, Dwayne Nelson. He failed to collect a deep cross under pressure from Marc Brolly, dropping the ball at the feet of Funston who fired home into the empty net. Harpur then tested Nelson’s confidence with a neat turn and shot, but the ‘keeper kept his concentration and made a textbook save. However, Swifts’ hopes suffered a setback when Ballymena equalised with the final kick of the half. It was a comedy of errors as a needless corner was not collected by Morgan. McCutcheon headed against the post and was then left free to fire home the rebound. That briefly brought Ballymena to life in the early stages of the second half. Jenkins had two chances, heading wide from a James Costello cross before miscuing from a glorious position following another Costello delivery. However, the initiative swung back Swifts’ way, and Funston lost his footing at the vital time as he tried to take Brolly’s through ball around the ‘keeper. The dismissal of Kane, stupidly sent off for clashing with Gallagher, was a further boost to Dungannon. Brolly tested Nelson with a 30-yard effort while Harpur was denied a penalty after being fouled by Chris Rodgers as the game ended in controversy and stalemate.
BALLYMENA UTD: Nelson, Kane, Black, A Davidson (Taggart, 68), McCutcheon, Jenkins, Carson (Costello, 46), Teggart (J Davidson, 83), Munster, Taylor, Rodgers Subs not used: Stewart, Lowry
DGN SWIFTS: Morgan, O’Neill, Montgomery, E Friars, Gallagher, Funston (S Lavery, 87), Harpur, Fitzpatrick, Topley, Ward (S Friars, 64), Brolly Subs not used: McMinn, Murphy, C Forker
Referee: Richard Harrington (Wales)
