After having a first half lead by two goals The Swifts allowed Ballinamallard United to claw their way back to claim a point from their inaugural outing in the Danske Bank Premiership.
The Swifts took the lead after only the eight minute of the new league campaign. Former Swift ‘keeper Alvin Rouse attempted to catch a ball crossing into the box but unfortunately for him, the ball bounced around the home penalty area, eventually coming off the knee of defender Mark Stafford allowing Ryan Harpur in to direct it past Rouse.
It was 2-0 on 28 minutes after Johnny Topley connected with a Neal Gawley corner to turn home a well placed glancing header.
Ballinamallard almost reduced the gap two minutes after that only for Andy Crawford’s goalbound header to be cleared safely by the Swifts. They came closer still on the stroke of half-time when Jason McCartney went on a run only to see his resultant shot cannon back off the crossbar.
The Premiership new boys did score on 63 minutes when Andy Crawford pounced on a poor backpass to round ‘keeper Jonny Curran and guide the ball into the empty net.
Then, right at the end, Chris Curran secured a point for Whitey Anderson’s side when he managed to find the net straight from a corner, helped in with the leg of a Swifts defender.
Ballinamallard United: Rouse, McConkey, Keohane, Harper, Stafford, Kee, Curran, O’Grady, Campbell, Crawford, McCartney subs McGrath, Carters, Hutchinson, McKenna, Martin
Dungannon Swifts: Curran, Hutchinson, E. Friars, Grieve, McMinn, Harpur, Topley, Hazley, S. O’Neill, S. Friars, Gawley subs S. Lavery, C. Lavery, Fitzpatrick, Cahoon, McKerr
Match photos can be found in our Gallery section of the website.