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.
