Dungannon Swifts are still searching for the victory which will secure their senior status after blowing a two-goal lead against Glenavon on Tuesday.
They ended up losing a match they should have easily won, as the Lurgan side staged a stunning turnaround at Stangmore Park. It seemed Dungannon were on course for the points when goals from ex-Glenavon pair Matt Hazley and James Costello gave them a 2-0 lead. But Marc Brown started the comeback with a free-kick soon afterwards and Mark Farren headed the visitors level two minutes into the second half. Ciaran Martyn completed the comeback just short of the hour mark. Swifts manager Darren Murphy admitted he was shocked to emerge empty-handed from a game his team had dominated. “I feel sick after that – I don’t know how we lost it,” he said. “The chances that we missed in the first half came back to bite us. “We should have been four or five goals up at the break.” With Donegal Celtic beating Lisburn Distillery, Dungannon’s lead over the relegation zone has been cut to nine points. They are still in a comfortable position with just four rounds of fixtures left, but Murphy would have wanted to end their home campaign on a winning note. Dungannon were handed a dream start when Hazley scored after 16 minutes. It came from a penalty which was awarded after Eddie McCallion hauled down Stefan Lavery inside the box. The lead was almost doubled when Costello hit the inside of the post two minutes later. Although unfortunate, he probably should have squared to Hazley who was waiting in a better position. Costello made up for that miss, however, when he fired into the bottom corner in the 23rd minute. So far, so good for Dungannon, who knew three points would guarantee survival. But the game was back in the balance just three minutes later when Brown’s curling free-kick found a way around the wall to make it 2-1. That aside, the chances continued for Dungannon. Glenavon goalkeeper David O’Hare tipped a header from Costello just over while Terry Fitzpatrick clipped the top of the bar from the resulting corner. And they paid for those misses when Glenavon levelled two minutes into the second half. Again Brown was involved, his deep corner being met by a bullet header from Farren to leave the game all square. Glenavon edged ahead with 59 minutes played through Martyn. He nodded home from close range after Guy Bates’ header came back off the underside of the bar from another excellent Brown free kick. Dungannon piled men forward in search of an equaliser but Chris Lavery headed their best chance straight at the goalkeeper. DGN SWIFTS: Curran, McKerr, Montgomery, McMinn, Grieve, O’Neill (PJ Lavery, 86), Fitzpatrick, Hutchinson (Harpur, 57), Hazley, Costello (C Lavery, 75), S Lavery Subs not used: Glackin, Brennan GLENAVON: O’Hare, Shannon, Haughey, McCallion, Turkington, Brown, Kilmartin, Gardiner (Neill, 88), Martyn, Farren (Hamilton, 90), Bates Subs not used: Doherty, Hagan, McGrory Referee: Tim Marshall (Irvinestown)