by DSFC Media | October 24, 2026 | Match Report
Dungannon Swifts left Stangmore Park disappointed as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Cliftonville on a very wet and windy Saturday afternoon.
Rodney McAree’s starting line-up sawthree changes from Tuesdays 2-1 win in the League Cup over Bangor. John Scott, Andrew Mitchell and Jamie Glackin were replaced by Danny Wallace, Junior and Tiernan Kelly.
Importantly, Cliftonville captain Rory Hale won the coin toss before the game and opted to play with the gale force wind and switch ends for the first half.
The early period of the game lacked clear-cut chance. Cliftonville had a couple of corners and saw a shot from Liam McStravick go just past the post and a saved shot from Ben Quinn, while the Swifts forced Morrison in the Cliftonville goal into a save from a Kealan Dillon free kick and the same player had a shot from distance that went wide.
Cliftonville broke the deadlock on twenty six minutes. Aaron Wightman crossed into the box and Brian Healy managed to get in front of Barney McKeown to tap into the goal and give the Reds a one goal lead.
Just two minutes later, the Reds doubled their advantage. They worked their way from a throw in until Ben Quinn crossed into the box. The ball went over everyone and reached McStravick, who set up Rory Hale to strike into the net and make the score 2-0.
Both teams tried without success to score before the break. The Swifts had a cross from Kealan Dillon which went over the bar and Cliftonville also had a cross which was well headed out by Danny Wallace.
The visitors staretd the second half more lively, creating a number of half chances, including a cross which was just cleared by Steven Scott.
The Swifts, with a less powerful wind behind them in the second half, bolstered their attacking options with a quadruple change at the hour mark in hopes of getting back into the game. It seemed to be quickly effective as Sean McAllister came close to converting in the 65th minute, before scoring five minutes later.
Substitute Corey Smith made a cross-field pass to Shea Gordon in the box and he laid the ball off to McAllister who converted to narrow the Cliftonville lead and bring Dungannon Swifts back into the game.
With the momentum in their favour, the Swifts created a good chance to level the game just minutes later. Jame Glackin played to fellow substitute Andrew Mitchell who made a one touch flick to Adam Glenny, but his shot at the near post was strongly stopped by PJ Morrison.
However, against the run of play, Cliftonville extended their lead through Healy. McStravick received the ball in the middle of the half, turned, and played Healy through. His shot was perfectly placed into the bottom corner for his second and Cliftonville’s third of the game.
The Cliftonville defence remained resolute to stop the Swifts from creating any meaningful chances for the remainder of the game and win by three goals to one.
Post-match, Rodney McAree said: “I thought we started the game quite well. I thought, bar the first mistake that we made that leads to an opportunity where Liam McStravick hits outside the post right in the first minute, I thought after that, up until the 25th, 26th minute, I thought we’d done well, then a ball comes in the box, we allow the ball to come into our box too easily. We don’t defend the near post space well enough, and we allowed Brian Healy to get between us and he pokes it into the back of the net and you find yourself 1-0 down and the elements were tough today, the conditions were tough, that’s maybe making excuses and we’ve got to do better.Then, in the space of two and a half minutes, we put ourselves under pressure. We put ourselves right under pressure right from the kick off, whereas in my opinion, we should have been playing in the opposition’s half, get the ball up the pitch, take a little bit of pressure off us, see out the next five minutes, but we put ourselves under pressure and conceded a second. That’s the most frustrating thing because you give yourself a mountain to climb.
“I thought the second half didn’t start overly well but we made four substitutions. I thought the substitutions who came on maybe put a little bit of a spark into us going forward and we get ourselves back in the game through Sean McAllister and you think you have a real good opportunity and you kick yourself in the foot because we don’t show the hunger the desire to stop Cliftonville playing out of a tight area in their back four, and we allow them up the pitch and concede a third and you find yourself 3-1 down. It’s just disappointing. Everything I do, everything I’ll try to do and the staff will try to do will be for Dungannon Swifts Football Club and emotionally it hurts, and we have to make sure that the changing room hurt a little bit more emotionally and also hurt a little bit more physically because at this moment in time, I don’t believe we’re maybe getting as much as what we should and that that comes through results as well. I understand that, but we just need to we just need to be doing more collectively across the board at this moment in time.”
Up next for the Swifts is a trip to Windsor Park to face an in-form Linfield side next Saturday.
Dungannon Swifts: Dunne (GK), McKeown, Kelly, S. Scott (Glackin 59’), Dillon (Mitchell 59’), Glenny, Gordon, Doyle (C) (Alves 59’), Wallace, Junior (Smith 59’), McAllister.
Unused Substitutes: Henderson, McGinty, J. Scott.
Cliftonville: Morrison (GK), Wightman, Samuels (Conlan 76’), Wilson (Thompson 76’), Hale (C), (McMaster 76’), Healy, Leppard, Quinn, Bannon, McStravick (Murray 80’), Sheridan.
Unused Substitutes: Cremen-Crowe (GK), McClelland.
Referee: Christopher Morrison
by DSFC Media | October 21, 2026 | Match Report
The Swifts progressed to the next round of the Bet McLean League Cup with a hard-fought but deserved victory in their second game in Bangor in a short number of days.
Rodney McAree announced three changes to the team which started in the scoreless draw against the same opponents at the weekend. In came Steven Scott, Andrew Mitchell and Shea Gordon for Leo Alves, Junior and Tiernan Kelly.
The Swifts started superbly, creating two early chances. Andrew Mitchell caught the goalkeeper off his line, but he did well to recover by saving the shot and stopping the oncoming McAllister from tapping in. Minutes later, Sean McAllister was able to test former Swifts goalkeeper Solis-Grogan, but his effort was saved well.
It was third time lucky for the visitors as they took the lead on nine minutes. A long shot from Sean McAllister was saved, but only as far as Jamie Glackin, who tapped in to open the scoring and net his first Dungannon Swifts goal since 2017.
It didn’t take long for the Swifts to double their advantage. Kealan Dillon found space and produced an incredible strike from outside the box into the top right corner, to the delight of the Swifts supporters.
However, with almost their first chance of the game, the Seasiders grabbed a goal back only four minutes later. A shot from Jay Boyd was saved by Dunne in goal, but the follow up was scored by Ben Cushnie to reduce the deficit.
Bangor got another chance minutes later as Jay Boyd’s effort skimmed the post.
Despite this, the Swifts would create numerous opportunities to score in the remainder of the half. Andrew Mitchell had three attempts at goal, with two shots and one header, calling the Bangor goalkeeper into action at times and dragging just past the upright on one occasion. Shea Gordon and Paul Doyle had efforts as well, but couldn’t get past the Bangor back-line.
The action in the second half was quiet compared to the first, but it would be Dungannon Swifts to create the opening chance of the half. Mitchell’s pass to goalscorer Glackin forced Solis-Grogan into a superb save to keep the score 2-1.
The Seasiders came inches away from an equaliser just after the hour mark. Devlin’s cross found McRoberts in the area, whose header passed Declan Dunne only to smash against the inside of the post, which Barney McKeown cleared away to safety.
The home side came close again on seventy three minutes. O’Mahony’s sent a perfect through ball to Mulvenna, but the Swifts goalkeeper was up to the task by getting low and making an excellent save to keep his team in the lead.
Bangor sought to find an equaliser and send the game to extra time as the Swifts attempted to create another opportunity to put the game to bed, but before either could happen, the referee sounded his full time whistle and Dungannon Swifts were in the hat for the next round of the Bet McLean League Cup.
Post-match, Rodney McAree said: “Delighted. It’s a cup competition and it’s about progression and it’s about getting into the next round. It’s about being in the hat. We said before the game, by hook or by crook, we wanted to be there.
“I thought the first twenty minutes, half an hour, in large parts of the first half, overall, I thought we were excellent. I thought we played some really good stuff. We looked composed, we got the basics right, we moved the ball well, we got Adam Glenny released a lot on the left hand side and I was really, really happy. I thought we were good to watch at times in the first half, second half we ended up turning it into a game which maybe suits Bangor. It turned into a real cup tie in terms of, one team’s trying to get back into it because they know they’re going out and they threw everything at us.
“We didn’t do well enough whenever we had the ball, but we defended admirably. I thought Barney McKeown, somebody who took cramp with about twenty five minutes to go, I thought he was outstanding. John Scott, Danny Wallace whenever he came on, did well. The whole back five at the end and Decky I thought was excellent too. We stood up for ourselves, we fought our corner, which we have to do at times, and we’re just delighted to be in the next round.”
Up next for the Swifts is a return to Stangmore Park and league action with a game against Cliftonville at 15:00 on Saturday.
Bangor: Solis-Grogan, Francis, Harrison (C) (Hassin 60’), Cushnie (Mulvenna 60’), O’Mahony (Hughes 83’), Mitchell (Neale 60’), Devlin, McRoberts, Boyd (Arthurs 69’), Strachan, S McGuinness.
Unused Substitutes: McMahon (GK), Borja.
Dungannon Swifts: Dunne, J.Scott, McKeown, S.Scott (McGinty 63’), Mitchell (Junior 75’), Dillon (Alves 75’), Glenny, Gordon, Glackin (Wallace 89’), Doyle (C) (Kelly 63’), McAllister.
Unused Substitutes: Henderson (GK), Smith.
by DSFC Media | October 18, 2026 | Match Report
Dungannon Swifts’ first of two matches against Bangor at Clandeboye Park in the coming days ended scoreless.
Rodney McAree made five changes to his lineup from the mid-week victory over Armagh City in the Mid-Ulster Cup. Barney McKeown, Leo Alves, Jamie Glackin, Junior and Sean McAllister were included after not starting the game on Wednesday night.
Both teams created early chances. For the home side, Mulvenna broke into the box and his shot was gathered by Declan Dunne at the second attempt. For the Swifts, Adam Glenny’s cross reached Junior, who managed to supply Sean McAllister, whose shot was blocked.
Bangor came close to opening the scoring just before the half hour mark. Ben Arthurs did well to get past John Scott, and his low cross met McCullough. He looked certain to score with the net open, but the shot smacked off the crossbar.
Leo Alves went near at the other end after this, but his shot from outside the box went over the bar.
Dunne made an excellent near post save soon after. After Sean McAllister tested Solis-Grogan in the Bangor net, they broke away. A cross was cleared by Barney McKeown, but only as far as Steven McCullough, whose shot was saved very well.
The Swifts had a series of half chances before the end of the half, but none which tested former goalkeeper Patrick Solis-Grogan in the Bangor net.
In the second half, Ben Arthurs had two chances, one stopped by Scott, and a header over the bar, but there were no real opportunities until there was twenty minutes to go.
A nice flick from Junior gave Tiernan Kelly a chance to shoot. He attempted to lob the goalkeeper, but he was alert to tip over the bar for a corner.
Junior had another good chance to open the scoring minutes later. A long ball and then a flick on from Shea Gordon gave a chance to shoot, but it was blocked.
As both teams huffed and puffed in the remaining minutes to try to score a winner through comers, free kicks and shots, the defences of both Bangor and Dungannon Swifts did enough to keep each other out and end the game 0-0.
Rodney McAree said, “Probably not a footballing classic. I thought in the early stages of the game we were the better team and then we showed a little less composure and we invited a wee bit more pressure on to us, but I’m massively proud of the players. I thought in the second half we dominated in terms of territory, but we probably didn’t do enough to get the ball over the line. We had a few half chances, a couple of shots from just inside the eighteen yard box, but we probably didn’t do enough.
“I thought we showed some heart, showed some desire and we wanted to try and keep that clean sheet. We’ve always pointed a finger in terms of last year, we didn’t get enough draws or we didn’t turn enough defeats into draws and I think today we’ve showed a real doggedness about us. It’s a difficult surface to play on, but we showed a real doggedness and a huge desire to make sure that we leave here with something and I’m massively proud of the players for their efforts.”
The Swifts return to Clandeboye Park on Tuesday night to face the same opposition in the 2026/27 Bet McLean League Cup opener.
Bangor: Solis Grogan (GK), McGuinness, Neale, Francis, Harrison (C) (Devlin 77’), Hassin, Mulvenna, Arthurs, McCullough, A. Mitchell (Cushnie 77’), Hughes (O’Mahony 76’).
Unused Substitutes: McMahon (GK), Boyd, Strachan, S. McGuinness.
Dungannon Swifts: Dunne (GK), J. Scott, McKeown, Kelly, Dillon (Gordon 61’), Alves (S. Scott 71’), Glenny, Glackin (Mitchell 87’), Doyle (C), Junior, McAllister.
Unused Substitutes: Henderson (GK), McGinty, Smith, Wallace.
Referee: Tony Clarke
by DSFC Media | October 14, 2026 | Match Report
Three goals helped the Swifts to defeat Armagh City at Holm Park to reach the semi-finals of the Mid-Ulster Cup for the first time in two seasons.
Rodney McAree named a much-changed side from the league defeat on Saturday against Carrick Rangers. He made eight changes, with only Kealan Dillon, Adam Glenny and Shea Gordon renaining on the team sheet.
The game saw the return of Declan Dunne in the Dungannon Swifts goal following his three-game suspension after being red carded in a 3-0 defeat against Crusaders. Thomas Slater also earned his first competitive senior appearance on the bench and Steven Scott made a return to the squad after being out with two separate injuries.
The game started perfectly for the away side. A good ball from John Scott and touch from Shea Gordon allowed him to tap past the Armagh City goalkeeper. This was already his second goal of the Mid-Ulster Cup campaign to put the Swifts ahead after just five minutes.
The Swifts continued to keep possession throughout the rest of the half, creating a number of half chances, whilst the defence remained resolute to keep Armagh at bay.
Shea Gordon’s goal was the difference at the break as the referee blew the half time whistle.
The second half continued the way the first half ended with the Swifts keeping the ball for prolonged periods, but the home side did well to prevent any further goals at this stage whilst also creating chances of their own.
The lead was doubled just before the hour mark. Andrew Mitchell grabbed his second goal of the season to give the visitors a two-goal cushion and put one foot in the next round.
Rodney McAree unleashed a triple substitution minutes later, and there was an impact shortly after as Corey Smith scored the Swifts’ third goal of the evening. It was also his first goal of the season, and his first Dungannon Swifts goal since April 2023.
The Swifts then saw the game out effectively, dealing with the pressure that Armagh put on them late in the second half in hopes of getting back into the game, and were helped by some important saves late on by Declan Dunne to secure a clean sheet.
Thomas Slater was introduced to the play during this time to make his competitive senior debut after signing his first professional contract just under one week ago. Steven Scott was also brought on to make his first competitive appearance March.
Following the game, Rodney McAree said: “It’s nice. It’s nice to have a semi final to look forward to. It’s nice to win a game of football. It’s nice to score three goals and it’s nice to keep a clean sheet. It’s great to see.
“I thought Shea Gordon playing higher up the pitch, gets the first goal, makes a good run and a good first touch. It’s a good ball from John Scott and then it’s nice to see Mitch score in the second half, Corey Smith scores also. I just felt in the first half we needed to be a little bit more advanced in terms of getting bodies higher up the pitch and asking a wee bit more questions of Armagh. We were a little bit stand-off, a little bit safe and once we got bodies higher, and bodies running beyond Armagh, I felt we caused problems especially at the start of the second half and thanks to Decky, he makes a couple of saves late on, and keeps a clean sheet and it’s nice to see him out between the sticks again even though I feel Alex has done really well.”
Up next for the Swifts is a trip to the seaside and Clandeboye Park to face Bangor in a league fixture.
Armagh City: Byrne (GK), Parker, O’Connor (Emmanuel 66’), Spain (C), Smyth (Keogh 77’), Adair, Conway (Halliday 77’), Doherty (Wilson 77’), Murray (Murphy 77’), Oladunjoye, Gorman.
Unused Substitutes: McElroy (GK), McCloskey.
Dungannon Swifts: Dunne (GK), McGinty, J. Scott, Kelly, Smith, Mitchell (Glackin 61’), Dillon (S. Scott 61’), Glenny (McAllister 73’), Gordon (Slater 73’), Doyle (C) (Junior 61’), Johnston.
Unused Substitutes: Henderson (GK), Wallace.
Referee: Niall Devlin
by DSFC Media | October 11, 2026 | Match Report
Dungannon Swifts suffered a home defeat to Carrick Rangers after a game filled with attacking football, ending with six goals and a 4-2 win for the ‘Gers.
Rodney McAree named an unchanged side from last Saturdays 2-0 loss away to Glentoran.
Both teams started the game well, creating chances in the early stages. The visitors had a shot from Danny Gibson saved by Henderson, while Shea Gordon sent an effort over the bar for the Swifts after a good cross from Jamie Glackin.
The first goal came on just nine minutes. A ball over the top reached Paul Heatley, who tapped it over the approaching Alex Henderson and headed in to give Carrick Rangers a 1-0 lead.
However, the Swifts replied just three minutes later. A nice flick from Junior reached Jamie Glackin, who played Kealan Dillon through and he slotted in to level the score.
The ‘Gers thought they had regained the lead just a minute later after a Danny Gibson eader from a throw-in ended up in the net, only for the linesman to raise his flag.
On 20 minutes, Carrick did take the lead. A corner from the left was cleared only to Steele at the edge of the penalty area, whose cross met Joe Crowe and he tapped in to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
Both teams continued to pile the pressure on each other’s defences. Danny Gibson forced a great foot save from the Swifts goalkeeper, and Adam Glenny’s header from six yards out produced a great reaction block from Nathan Gartside.
After a series of half chances for both teams, Danny Gibson had the ball in the net for the second time in the game, but it was deja-vu for him as it was once again ruled offside.
On the stroke of half-time, the away side scored again. Ben Buchanan-Rolleston made a lightning run down the left and crossed in, with Swifts defender Danny Wallace turning the ball into his own net to give Carrick a 3-1 lead at the break.
The second half saw lots more attacking football, and there were great opportunities for both teams to score early on. Leo Alves was played through by Kealan Dillon, but his effort from the left hit the side netting. Minutes later, Paul Heatley’s volley smacked the crossbar.
Carrick got their fourth mid-way through the half. A long throw-in was flicked on to Danny Gibson who volleyed into the net from inside the six yards out.
The Swifts continued to put pressure on the Carrick Rangers defence with Adam Glenny and Sean McAllister getting shots on goal without any success. With 10 minutes to go, the referee awarded a penalty after Corey Smith was fouled, and McAllister slotted into the goal to give the Swifts some hope for the remainder of the game.
However, the Carrick defence managed to restrict the Swifts to minor chances and keep the score 4-2 until the final whistle.
Post-match, Rodney McAree said, “Probably the one of one of the worst results that we’ve had. Certainly defensively it was one of the worst performances we’ve had, it wasn’t good enough. We all have to take responsibility for that, we have to identify where Carrick was hurting us, especially in the first half. We were getting caught too high up the pitch and whenever we got caught too high up the pitch we gave the ball away needlessly. We give the ball away cheaply and with Paul Heatley and Danny Gibson, they’ve got two players whose pace can cause you problems and they certainly did that. But we certainly brought a lot of pressure on ourselves in terms of how we defended.
“I thought we had chances in the game. I thought we created plenty of chances. It’s a strange game where I thought we were really poor, but we could have scored six or seven, and on the flip side of that, Carrick could have scored ten or eleven, and that’s a wee bit concerning. We go in at half time and Carrick have scored three and had two goals disallowed as well, and it just felt as if every time on transition whenever they won the ball back, they were going to hurt us and
we didn’t identify that and we stepped into areas as defenders that we shouldn’t have been stepping in to and we left massive space behind us and we got punished.”
Dungannon Swifts: Henderson (GK), McKeown (Doyle 62’), Dillon, Alves, Glenny, Gordon (McGinty 46’), Glackin (Smith 68’), Wallace, Bigirimana (C) (Kelly 46’), Junior (Mitchell 68’), McAllister.
Unused Substitutes: McCloskey (GK), J. Scott.
Carrick Rangers: Gartside (GK), Nelson, Forsythe (O’Connor 72’), Callacher, Gibson, Lecky, Steele, Buchanan-Rolleston, Crowe (C) (Clucas 72’), Heatley, Snoddy.
Unused Substitutes: Agnew (GK), Maciulaitis, Moore, Hastings, Hawthorne.
Referee: Mark Dillon
