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
