by DSFC Media | Aug 20, 2025 | Match Report
It was a third defeat of the season for the away side in yellow as they went down 2-0 to an impressive Coleraine.
The Swifts came into the match after a disappointing 4-1 loss to Mid-Ulster rivals Portadown, hoping to get their first points on the board on a fine evening on the north coast.
An hour before kick off, Rodney McAree revealed a side with several changes to the one that lined out on Saturday, being forced to take out Gaël Bigirimana and Leo Alves due to suspensions, and also replacing Andrew Mitchell, Kealan Dillon and Caolan Marron, and bringing in Thomas Maguire, James Knowles, Mal Smith and Bobby-Jack McAleese.
The Swifts started the better of the two sides, passing it around Coleraine, and had a close chance fifteen minutes in. Tomás Galvin picked up a loose ball in the middle of the Coleraine half, ran to around five yards outside the area, before releasing his shot, which went just past the post.
Ten minutes later, Coleraine had grown into the game, and created three chances in three minutes. The first was a Kodi-Lyons Foster header from a free kick, which went just past the upright; the next a William Patching shot from twenty five yards out, which the Swifts goalkeeper, Alex Henderson, saved well. Unfortunately, it was third time lucky for the home side when a short corner went to Patching, who whipped the ball in toward an open McManus, and he headed into the far corner to make it 1-0 to Coleraine. There were shouts for offside against the Coleraine striker, but the goal stood.
Coleraine earned another corner a short while later, and Joel Copper decided against the short routine that worked last time around. Last season’s player of the year fired the ball in, which Danny Wallace headed out, only to find Jamie Glackin, whose overhead kick into the net made it 2-0 to the home side.
This would be the last major action of the half, with the Swifts having an uphill task to get back into the game.
Coleraine would have a couple of half chances at the beginning of the second period, but the biggest chance came on fifty five minutes, when a ball over the top found Thomas Maguire and the Coleraine goalkeeper made a great save to keep the game at 2-0.
After this, the Swifts grew into the game, holding onto the ball and creating more chances, one coming from substitute Brandon Bermingham, who shot at the Coleraine goalkeeper, Harris.
The same man would get another chance five minutes later when Kodi Lyons Foster’s rash challenge on Thomas Maguire saw Bermingham’s shot from the resulting free go inches over the bar.
Coleraine would also threaten with shots from Cooper and Patching, but Henderson kept his goal intact in the second half.
The last involvement came in added minutes when a Kealan Dillon shot from outside the box went wide of the post. After this, the referee blew his whistle, and despite an improved performance against strong opposition, the Swifts were defeated once more.
Post-match, assistant manager, Dixie, described his thoughts on the game, saying, “I thought we started the game quite brightly, and were well in the game, and we probably switched off at a couple of set plays which was disappointing. We regrouped at half time, and I thought our second half performance was very good, we were competitive throughout the whole second half, but we needed to get that goal to get us back in contention to get us something out of the game, but Coleraine is a good side, and all in all, probably pleased with the overall performance, but disappointed in the manner of which we conceded both goals.”
Coleraine: Harris, Kane (C), Lyons-Foster, Dunne, Jarvis (Ives 67’), Boyle, Doherty (McGregor 67’), Cooper, Patching, Glackin (McGonigle 79’), McManus (Shevlin 72’).
Unused Substitutes: Evans, Long, Stewart.
Dungannon Swifts: Henderson, S. Scott, Knowles (Dillon 70’), Galvin, Glenny (J. Scott 83’), McGinty (C), T. Maguire (P. Maguire 83’), Smith, McAleese (Mitchell 78’), Wallace, McAllister (Bermingham 70’).
Unused Substitutes: Glass, Marron.
Up next for the Swifts is a return to Stangmore Park on Saturday afternoon to face Carrick Rangers. Up the Swifts!
by DSFC Media | Aug 17, 2025 | Match Report
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It was a frustrating day for the Swifts in the season’s first league game at Stangmore Park as they were defeated 4-1 by Mid-Ulster rivals Portadown.
The home side came into the match with a changed side to the one defeated in Windsor Park six days ago, bringing in Alex Henderson, Steven Scott, Tomás Galvin and Kealan Dillon for Declan Dunne, Mal Smith, Thomas Maguire and James Knowles.
Just two minutes in, Lewis MacKinnon fouled Galvin just outside the area, Dillon whipped in the free, and it went just past the post.
However, the away side were the team who created the best chances after this.
James Teelan whipped in two crosses in the space of a minute, one finding striker Abu Obhakhan’s head, who headed wide of the upright, and another just missing everyone in the area and going narrowly wide.
With six minutes on the clock, Portadown captain Gary Thompson got a ball to the face on the halfway line, going down, but the away side played on, and Eamon Fyfe found himself one on one with goalkeeper Henderson, and slotted it past him to make it 1-0.
Portadown maintained their momentum, earning a corner kick twelve minutes later. It found Josh Ukek and his header looped into the home team’s net, making it 2-0.
This sparked a reaction from the Swifts, with some great play finding Galvin in the box, who dribbled past one defender, and was too much for the next one to handle, being taken down, and the referee had no other choice than to point to the spot.
Sean McAllister stepped up from twelve yards and coolly slot the ball to Aaron McCarey’s left and into the net.
It looked like the away side would restore their two goal lead on twenty nine minutes when another corner was whipped in, this time however being cleared by Danny Wallace in the Swifts’ goal.
Despite there being three goals in the opening forty five minutes, the main talking point of the half came on thirty eight when the ball came to the middle of the pitch towards the Swifts captain, Gaël Bigirimana, who made an attempt at an overhead kick in the centre circle, but was unaware of the oncoming Eamon Fyfe, and connected with his head. Referee Steven Gregg immediately showed his red card to the man in blue and the Swifts were down to ten men.
“I thought it was a red card. Listen, he doesn’t know, I think it was Eamon Fyfe, he doesn’t know Eamon Fyfe is in the area that he is, he’s watching the ball go over his head, and he has a high foot, and it probably looks as if it was reckless. It’s very high, but it wasn’t intentional, but unfortunately, letter of the law, he deserved the red,” said Rodney McAree afterwards.
Even though it was the decisive moment in the first period, it wasn’t the last action. The Swifts whipped a ball into towards the Portadown defence, which found Tomás Galvin, and despite the last touch being off a red shirt, the linesman deemed him to be offside. The striker was unaware of this, and slotted it past the Portadown goalkeeper.
Rodney made three changes at the half time interval, bringing on James Knowles, Leo Alves, and Mal Smith.
The Swifts gained the first chance of the half when Steven Scott battled past a number of Portadown players and played the ball over to Sean McAllister whose shot went over the crossbar.
There looked to be a second penalty for the Swifts after this when Sean McAllister was tripped inside the box, however, to the disbelief of everyone in the ground, the challenge was waved away.
The second turning point of the game came twenty two minutes from time, when Leo Alves found himself sent to the dressing room. His first yellow card seemed harsh, with his first challenge of the afternoon landing him in the referee’s book. His second looked a little more reckless, and the referee showed him his second yellow card of the game, putting the home side down to nine men.
Regarding the second red card of the game, Rodney said, “The first tackle was found as a reckless challenge, I didn’t overly see it as a reckless challenge. I saw Leo, a lad who is a very good footballer take a poor touch, and he has dove in, he’s took a man down half way inside their own half, I didn’t see that as a yellow, and then it puts him under pressure, but the second yellow is a definite yellow.”
Despite the best efforts of the nine men in the blue shirts, the away side scored a third and fourth in the back end of the match.
Portadown’s third goal came from a deflected Jordan Gibson shot, which lifted over Alex Henderson in the home net, and the fourth came in injury time when a Ryan Mayse free kick found Jordan Gibson’s connected with the ball, and then landed in the back of the net, sealing his brace and a disappointing day for the Swifts.
Post-match, Rodney said, “I think whenever you look at us last season, we were competitive, and we fought for every ball, we competed for every second ball, we showed a competitive edge to us last season that we didn’t want to lose out in duels. First half, we didn’t win enough duels, first half we didn’t pick enough second balls up, we didn’t show any hunger, we didn’t show any desire. To be honest, the first half performance is totally unacceptable, we were lucky to go in at 2-1 down, we were lucky it wasn’t more.
“Losing Bigi at the stroke of half time was a disappointment, but I think the second half performance, and people may laugh at this, but the second half performance was probably the proudest I’ve felt as a manager of this football club, in terms of the effort, the desire, and the guts and determination that we showed in the second half, I thought that they were exceptional with ten men.
“I think we went thirty two minutes until we lost Leo to a second yellow card, I thought we were excellent. We competed, we were the better team for that thirty two minutes, we looked as if we were going to get an equaliser or get something out of the game, but unfortunately then we lose Leo to two yellow cards, and you’re fighting an uphill battle at that stage.”
Dungannon Swifts: Henderson, S. Scott, Marron (Knowles 45’), Galvin (T. Maguire 62’), Dillon (Alves 45’), Glenny, McGinty, Wallace, Mitchell (Smith 45’), Bigirimana (C), McAllister (McAleese 73’).
Unused Substitutes: Glass, P. Maguire.
Portadown: McCarey, Altintop, MacKinnon, Chapman, Wylie, Ukek, McCullough, Fyfe, Teelan (Mayse 68’), Obhakhan (Gibson 61’), Thompson (C) (Rea 78’).
Unused Substitutes: Moore, Isamala, Wilson, Traynor.
Next for the Swifts is a trip to Coleraine on Tuesday night. Up the Swifts!
by DSFC Media | Aug 10, 2025 | Match Report
Disappointed would be an understatement for the away side this afternoon as they were defeated 3-0 by league champions Linfield in the season opener Windsor Park.
Manager Rodney McAree made two changes from the team that took on FC Vaduz in the Conference League qualifier in north Belfast just over a week ago, bringing in Thomas Maguire and Mal Smith for Leo Alves and Steven Scott.
Darragh McBrien and Tiernan Kelly were ruled out through injury, while Steven Scott was missing due to suspension.
“Stevie Scott is suspended from the Irish Cup, from something that wasn’t a red card, but because it was a second yellow, you can’t appeal it. Leo Alves unfortunately is away with his family at this moment in time, is back during the week, so we’ll have those two boys coming back. Darragh McBrien is getting closer,” said Rodney.
It was the Swifts who started the brighter of the two teams. There were early shouts for a penalty when Thomas Maguire challenged for a loose clearance from the Linfield captain, Chris Shields, and both men went to the ground.
The Swifts also created the first decent chance of the afternoon on five minutes, when a James Knowles corner found the head of Adam Glenny, only for the ball to glide past the far post.
Just six minutes later, new signing Sean McAllister had the ball at his feet and shot from just outside the area. However, the Linfield stopper Chris Johns stood strong.
Linfield’s best chance of the half then came when a Kieran Offord cross looped into the box, just missed the head of his strike partner, Matthew Fitzpatrick, and flashed just wide of Declan Dunne’s far post.
The away side became frustrated with some decisions as the game went on, with both McAllister and Rodney McAree being cautioned in the first half and Adam Glenny, Mal Smith, Thomas Maguire, Declan Dunne and Tomas Galvin all added to the referee’s book later in the game.
This was evident also in the travelling support in the upper tier of the north stand.
The home side thought they had the lead on 42 minutes, when after what seemed like another soft free kick, Kirk Millar whipped in a cross towards the six-yard line and Fitzpatrick headed past Dunne, only for the offside flag to go up.
Seconds later at the other end, a cross found an open Andrew Mitchell, who headed just wide.
This would be the last action of the first half as the sides went in scoreless.
The turning point came just three minutes into the second half when Danny Wallace attempted to clear a loose ball inside his box and unwittingly made contact with Linfield striker Fitzpatrick. The referee pointed to the spot and Kieran Offord slotted into the right hand side of the goal.
Rodney said: “The penalty kick obviously, and how we respond after it, we didn’t get ourselves going again quickly enough, which was disappointing. We invite Linfield on, we didn’t really get out of our own half. We have to get out of our own half at that stage and take the pressure off us and we didn’t do, but it’s a learning curve.”
The Swifts brought on fresh legs in search of an equaliser in Bobby-Jack McAleese, Brandon Birmingham, Tomas Galvin and Kealan Dillon, only for Linfield to double their lead.
Cahal McGinty looked to be fouled while attempting to clear a corner but nothing was given, and Offord seized on the loose ball and fired it into the net.
Just a minute later, the score was 3-0. After the Swifts had lost the ball, Offord found himself in the Swifts’ box once more and although his first shot was saved by Dunne, he managed to head the rebound over the stranded keeper to seal his hat-trick.
After this, the Swifts created their best chance of the half on 86 minutes when a Bobby-Jack McAleese cross found the head of Cahal McGinty, but Chris John was able to save.
Rodney said it was a tough defeat to take.
“I thought for 45 minutes we did extremely well, we were well in the game, we shaded the first half, we got a couple of strikes away from distance, and Mitch has an opportunity just before half time, and we find ourselves going in nil each thinking we had a really good opportunity.
“Then we go out in the second half and we give away a cheap penalty kick – it is a penalty kick in my opinion, it is a little bit of lazy defending maybe, and we have to deal with it a little bit better.
“We put ourselves on the back foot, and I wasn’t happy with how we responded, with how we did for 20, 25 minutes after that, and then 70th, 71st first minute, we find ourselves three nil down, and it’s disappointing.
“We finished the game quite well, but I think Linfield took their foot off the pedal at that stage, and allowed us to have it.”
He added: “There didn’t look to be an awful pile between the two teams, but ultimately in the second half Linfield looked like a team that know how to win league titles, and will be right there at the end of the season.
“We looked like a team in the second half that just didn’t have that winning mentality, or that desire, or that commitment that Linfield had in the second half to be honest.”
Linfield: Johns, Hall, Roscoe, Orr, Allen (McKay 82’), Shields (C), McClean (McGee 73’), Archer, Millar (Brown 45’), Offord (McKee 73’), Fitzpatrick (Annett 82’).
Unused Substitutes: Walsh, Morrison.
Dungannon Swifts: Dunne, Marron Knowles (Dillon 65’), Glenny, McGinty, T. Maguire (Scott 71’), Smith (McAleese 65’),
Wallace, Mitchell (Bermingham 65’), Bigirimana (C), McAllister (Galvin 65’).
Unused Substitutes: Henderson, P. Maguire.
Next up for the Swifts is their first home game of the league season in a Mid-Ulster derby against Portadown. Up the Swifts!
by DSFC Media | Jul 31, 2025 | Match Report
After last week’s jubilation in Liechtenstein’s capital, the focus shifts back to football and the second leg of this crucial tie as the Swifts hope to swap celebrations in the main square in Vaduz to the square in Dungannon with passage to the third qualifying round of the Conference League.
However, it’s only half time, and the Swifts will have to overcome an extremely strong Vaduz side once again.
Post-match in the Rheinpark Stadion, manager Rodney described Vaduz as “a very good team, they play good football, they get into good areas”.
Last week’s game started slowly for the Swifts, but the defence stood strong to keep the Vaduz attackers out of the game. Post-match, Rodney discussed the slow start, saying,“I’m not sure whether it was nerves, I think it was more eagerness.” After this, the away side grew into the game, and had the best chance of the half on 39 minutes, when Tiernan Kelly played through fellow new signing Sean McAllister, who struck the outside of the post.
The second half again witnessed some wayward shooting from Vaduz and resolute defending from the Swifts, but the moment of the half came in the 54th minute. A Vaduz corner found the head of Andrew Mitchell, which then landed in the feet of Dantas Fernandes. Kealan Dillon capitalised on a poor touch from the Vaduz playmaker and sent the ball up the pitch to McAllister, who took it down, noticed the goalkeeper out of his area, and scored from forty yards. This turned out to be the decisive moment, and the Swifts travelled back home with a one goal advantage.
“I don’t know how to sum it up right now to be honest. I just remember flicking it down with my head, and I just saw the keeper off his line, and I just thought I may as well go for it,” said the goal scorer post-match.
Since jetting back down in Dublin last Friday morning, the Swifts were involved in a 0-0 draw with Championship side Institute with a team featuring largely those on the bench last Thursday night.
However, there has been more action on and off the pitch over in Vaduz. The Liechtenstein side began their league campaign last Sunday with a 2-1 win against Swiss side Yverdon Sport at home. The result leaves them top of the Swiss second division at this very early stage.
Star player Fabrizio Cavegn was left on the bench, amid speculation about a transfer. He was also the first Vaduz player to be withdrawn from action last Thursday.
The Swifts come into this tie in the almost the same way they arrived in the first leg. It is still unclear whether new signing Darragh McBrien will be ruled out for this leg, after picking up a knock in a friendly against his boyhood club Ballinamallard United two weeks ago, forcing his absence last week. Fellow new signing, Mal Smith will return to the action, having missed last week’s first leg as well.
Thursday’s game will be played on an unfamiliar 4G surface for FC Vaduz, with Solitude’s pitch also a similar size to Stangmore, so the Swifts will feel like they are at home. “It is somewhere where we played quite well last season, so it’s a pitch and a ground that suits how we want to do things,” said Rodney.
Last Thursday, Bigi played his first competitive game as the official captain of Dungannon Swifts. It was also his fifteenth game in a European competition, bringing some vital experience to the pitch.
Despite playing a in a more defensive manner than usual, Rodney said: “It’s not a system I overly enjoy. I’m not a fan of three at the back, and whether we set ourselves up like that or not again, I’m not so sure, we’ll have a look at it again.”
We know it’s going to be extremely difficult. We saw in the first fifteen, twenty minutes of the game in Vaduz that they’re an exceptional side, with good players, they play a very attractive style, and they can cause you a lot of problems,” said Rodney regarding the opposition.
All roads lead to Solitude tonight, so make sure you get your tickets and give all the team all the support they deserve. Up the Swifts!
by DSFC Media | Jul 26, 2025 | Match Report
What a night it was in Vaduz, with the fairytale year for the Swifts continuing on the road in Liechtenstein.
The victory over FC Vaduz was the first time a Dungannon side has won away from home in a European competition, and only the second ever win in Europe in either leg. It was also a first success in the relatively new UEFA Conference League competition.
An hour before kick-off, the Swifts revealed a more defensive side, and manager, Rodney McAree discussed his thinking post-match.
“It’s not a shape I like to be honest, I’m not a fan of playing three at the back, so if we change that for our home game…. we will have to look back at the match, we will have to see how certain things went, and then we will assess and go from there. “
After kicking off in the Rheinpark Stadion, the home side immediately piled on the pressure, and continued to do so for the first 20 minutes of the contest. Were there some nerves among the Swifts players?
“I’m not sure whether it was nerves, I think it was more eagerness,” Rodney said.
“I think it was more everybody was so eager to do well, to impress, and to carry out their responsibilities, that they ended up trying to do more, which they don’t have to. We got a lot of results last season through organisation and knowing what we were doing. Ultimately whenever we got our plan tonight correct, it probably paid off for us.”
Despite all of this early threat, the back five, which consisted of Adam Glenny, Cahal McGinty, Caolan Marron, Danny Wallace and Steven Scott, handled all of this pressure extremely well, being resolute in defence, and only limiting Vaduz to a couple of shots at keeper Declan Dunne. He made a standout save 11 minutes in, when Stephan Seiler picked up a loose ball in the middle of the D, only for Dunne to save it on his left-hand side.
The Swifts grew into the game, creating their first chance with 23 minutes on the clock, after a Kealan Dillon free kick found the head of Cahal McGinty, only for Caolan Marron to then put it wide of the post.
The best chance of the half fell to the visitors on 39 minutes, when new signing Tiernan Kelly capitalised on a defensive mistake, and slipped the ball through to Sean McAllister, only for his shot to strike the outside of the Vaduz goalkeeper’s near post.
As the second half kicked off, Vaduz continued to enjoy more of the possession, and in the 54th minute, they got their second corner of the half.
Attacking full back Mischa Beeli whipped in a corner towards the near post of Declan Dunne’s goal, which found the head of Andrew Mitchell, who headed it out into the middle of the pitch. Midfielders Kealan Dillon and Ronaldo Dantas Fernandes battled for the loose ball, with the Swifts player sending it up the pitch. Sean McAllister controlled with is head, and 40 yards from goal, spotted the Vaduz goalkeeper out of his area, and attempted the spectacular, and after what felt like an eternity for the travelling supporters, the ball dropped into the Vaduz goal and it was 1-0 to the Swifts.
“I just remember flicking it down with my head, and I just saw the keeper off his line, and I just thought I may as well go for it”, said the goal scorer.
McAllister came through the ranks at Dungannon before heading to Everton and Rodney said: “I’m sure he wondered if coming to Dungannon Swifts was the right opportunity. I don’t want to keep hold of Sean McAllister, I want to lose Sean McAllister, I want him to go back across to England and become a full time footballer again, and that’s our ambition as staff to help Sean to achieve that, and if he doesn’t achieve that, he’s going to be a hell of a player for us, because he has been fantastic since he has come through the door.
He’s athletic, he’s strong, he knows where the net is, he has scored in quite a few of the games he has played so far, his finish tonight was exceptional, without singling Sean out, everyone was marvellous, but Sean deserved his goal.”
The rest of the second half brought few chances at either end, with the resolute Swifts defence limiting the Vaduz forwards to wayward shots and half chances. Any crosses the Liechtenstein side produced were expertly headed away by the three centre backs in the middle, all having outstanding games.
Rodney made a number of substitutions during this half, bringing in Leo Alves, James Knowles, Tomas Galvin, Thomas Maguire and Peter Maguire. These fresh legs were priceless in seeing out the game.
The final minutes felt like an eternity for the Swifts fans who travelled in their numbers, with excess of two hundred making the trip to Zurich and then on to Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, until the referee blew his final whistle, leaving the supporters in fantasy land, taking a 1-0 advantage and another slice of history back home.
Regarding the travelling support, Rodney said:
“I think it’s amazing, I was actually lying on top of the bed this afternoon, and I actually had a little bit of a tear because I was watching the supporters down the street, and I was looking at photos, and this is Dungannon Swifts, and we are in Vaduz, in Liechtenstein, and there’s two hundred of them here, a few years ago we were going to Irish league grounds, and we were bringing twenty or thirty supporters.
What the Spirit of ‘49 has done is absolutely unbelievable, to see them there before the game today, to see their jubilations and their joy and the happiness on their faces, we’ve made it a great trip away to Liechtenstein, and we’ve made it even better with the result.”
Here is Rodney’s assessment of the first leg:
“In the early stages of the game, I thought we gave Vaduz too much respect, we allowed them to move us about, they are a very good team, they play good football, they get into good areas, and we were probably too eager, we needed to be patient, we needed to show more composure whenever we didn’t have the ball, and back what we were trying to do in terms of being hard to be broke down, and I think when we got our shape a little bit more, we were a little bit more patient without the ball, I thought we did quite well.”
“We understand that we are only at the halfway point, but you would much rather go home with a 1-0 win than a 1-0 defeat, so we have to enjoy it at this moment in time.”
The goalscorer said:
“It was tough, the first fifteen, twenty minutes, it took us a while to get into it, settle our heads, get into it, and it was just more trying to get close to them, not letting them play around us, and once we settled into it, we did very well.”
“It’s been unbelievable, since I’ve came into it, I’ve enjoyed every second of it, and this is what I’ve been looking forward to the most.”
The Swifts are back in action at Stangmore Park this afternoon in a friendly against championship side, Institute, and then next Thursday in the all-important second leg against F.C. Vaduz in Solitude, the home of Cliftonville.
Dungannon Swifts F.C. – Dunne, Glenny, McGinty, Marron (P. Maguire 82’), Wallace, Scott, Dillon (Knowles 56’), Bigirimana (C), Kelly (Alves 56’), Mitchell (Galvin 75’), McAllister (T. Maguire 82’).Unused Substitutes – Henderson, Glass, J. Scott, King, Bermingham, Boyd, McAleese.
F.C. Vaduz – Schaffran, Berisha (C), Simani, Schwizer, Seiler (N. Hasler 85’), Monsberger (Navarro 79’), Beeli, Mack, Eberhard, Cavegn (Campos 66’), Dantas Fernandes (De Donna 79’).
Unused Substitutes – Buchel, Ohri, A. Hasler, Hoxha, Hammerich, Lang.
Stadium – Rheinpark Stadion.
Official Attendance – 1,138.
