The Swifts were forced to settle for a point against ten-man Ballymena United despite numerous chances to gain all three in the second half.
There were four changes in Rodney McAree’s team which was defeated 3-0 by Crusaders mid-week, with Alex Henderson replacing the suspended Declan Dunne and Adam Glenny, Shea Gordon and Kealan Dillon coming in for John Scott, Kris Lowe and Leo Alves.
The visitors began the game the stronger of the two sides, threatening the Swifts back-line on a number of occasions without creating any clear-cut chances.
However, this would change in the 17th minute. After some neat play, Caoimhin McConnell had space in the box to release a shot, which Alex Henderson saved excellently to prevent the ball from reaching the net. The resulting corner was headed by Chris McKee, and was saved again by Henderson.
The opening goal was scored seven minutes later. James Hood’s chase for the ball against Barney McKeown was successful, and his cross met a wide open Igor Rutkowski in the six-yard box, who chested the ball in to give Ballymena United the lead.
The game would then take a dramatic turn soon after. Striker Junior attempted to get onto a long ball from Alex Henderson, but his shirt was pulled by Scot Whiteside, which the referee deemed as a last man tackle, showing a red card to the defender.
This sparked the Swifts into life. They created a superb chance just before the half when Jamie Glackin laid the ball off to Tiernan Kelly, and his shot from 25 yards out was saved in the top corner by the fingertips of David Walsh to deny what looked like a certain goal.
However, the Swifts’ equaliser came from the corner after the Walsh save. Kealan Dillon’s ball met Junior’s head, and after a scamble, Danny Wallace poked home and celebrated for his new baby.
The Swifts started the second half the way they ended the first. Junior had a great opportunity early on when he met Corey Smith’s cross, but his header went over the bar.
Despite conceding almost all of the chances and possession, the ten men of Ballymena United remained resolute. David Walsh made another stunning save from Andrew Mitchell’s header, which he did well to tip over the crossbar.
In the time between this, both teams created half chances. Kealan Dillon had a couple of opportunities from outside the box that were blocked by the Ballymena United defenders, and Sean McAllister had a good opportunity which he wasn’t able to keep on target.
Substitute Finlay Thorndike had a free kick into the hands of Henderson and McCallion’s flick from a corner went just wide for the visitors.
After a chance when Barney McKeown’s long shot went just over, the Swifts came their closest yet to grabbing an equaliser when Sean McAllister’s deflected shot smacked off the upright.
In the dying moments of the game, the Swifts had one last chance to equalise with a corner. It was taken by Kealan Dillon and somehow evaded everyone in the box and went out for a goal kick.
This was the last event in the game, with referee Michael McKenna blowing his final whistle with the score at 1-1.
Post-match, Rodney McAree said: “Whenever it was 11v11, and we come out of it with a point, I’m probably happy because I thought at 11v11 we were atrocious. We started the game very, very poorly, we couldn’t get going.
“Ballymena put us under a lot of pressure and looked in complete control and then the sending off comes and gives us a little bit of a lifeline and we go in at half time one each through Danny reacting to the second, third ball, whatever it was in the box, and gives us a little bit of a lifeline and obviously playing against 10 men at that time, it’s about doing things quickly, it’s about keeping the ball moving, be patient and take our opportunities whenever they come along and unfortunately we haven’t done that.
“We haven’t taken our opportunities we did create. We weren’t good. It was too many below par performances today, and that has to improve and that has to be better, but we still created opportunities where we could have won the game.
“I think it might have been harsh on Ballymena if we had have to be honest even though we did create those opportunities, I thought they dug in and fought for each other and stayed in the game well, but just we didn’t show that real hunger and desire to go and actually kill the game.
“I thought we were a little bit lethargic. I thought we were a wee bit off it. I thought we were we bit off the pace of the game. I thought whenever we even got going, we asked the players to go and press Ballymena, but we were slow in our reaction, we didn’t go and press them with any real urgency, we were always a split second behind, and then second half probably whenever Ballymena sit in the way they are we have to move it quickly and as I say we have to be more patient, we have to do things better but I thought we got joy down the right hand side with Kris Lowe. I thought he was excellent whenever he came on at half-time. We got a little bit of joy out of Corey in the left hand side, but we have opportunities where in another day you probably go and score one of them, we just have to try and and force the ball over the line at times and be that little bit more hungry to actually go and be the person.”
The Swifts have no game for next week after the scheduled game against Larne was postponed, so their next fixture is an away game against Glentoran in two weeks time.
Dungannon Swifts: Henderson (GK), McKeown, Kelly (Smith 46’), Dillion, Glenny, Gordon (Lowe 46’), Glackin (Mitchell 72’), Wallace, Bigirimana (C), Junior, McAllister.
Unused Substitutes: McCloskey (GK), McGinty, J. Scott, Johnston.
Ballymena United: Walsh (GK), Toure, Glynn (Leeth 46’), Whiteside, Sule (C), McKee (Thorndike 46’), Archer (Murray 80’), Rutowski, Hood (McCallion 30’), McConnell (Fallon 85’), Lyons-Foster.
Unused Substitutes: Breen (GK), McEleney.
