NIFL Premiership
Dungannon Swifts 1
Cliftonville 3
At Stangmore Park
CLIFTONVILLE claimed their first league win since September with a 3-1 win over Dungannon Swifts at Stangmore Park on Saturday afternoon.
A quickfire first half double from Brian Healy and Rory Hale had their side in control at the interval, and despite Sean McAllister halving the deficit with twenty minutes remaining, Healy restored the Reds two goal cushion and sealed the elusive three league points that had deserted them in their long winless stretch.
Reds boss Jim Magilton was delighted with the manner of his side's performance and felt they played some really good football in tricky conditions.
“When you come down to Dungannon, you always know what to expect,” Magilton acknowledged.
“They never disappoint you because of the quality they possess, the way they play and the way the manager and his staff set them up.
“To win in the manner in which we did was fantastic. We played some really good stuff. Conditions were horrific at times, but we managed them. I’m delighted with the three points, it stops the bleeding if you like."
Magilton made one change from Tuesday evening's 2-0 midweek win over Portadown in the Bet McLean Cup.
Rory Hale returned after an injury against the Ports the previous weekend and he replaced Joel Thompson in the XI.
Cliftonville almost hit the front within two minutes when the ball spun in the stormy conditions and fell to Liam McStravick whose half volley was inches past the post.
Shaun Leppard upended Junior on the edge of the box and Kealan Dillon sent the resulting free-kick through the wall, but PJ Morrison got down and held on at the second attempt.
A snapshot from Paul Doyle was off target while Dillon flashed a shot past the near post as the hosts pushed for the opener.
The deadlock was broken in the 26th minute and fell to Cliftonville. Aaron Wightman clipped a ball towards the near post and Brian Healy reached it ahead of Barney McKeown to tap in and make it 1-0.
Things got better for the Solitude side within two minutes, Ben Quinn crossed towards the backpost where Rory Hale was unable to glance goalwards, Liam McStravick cut the loose ball back and Hale was this time able to turn and fire into the bottom corner past Declan Dunne.
In response Kealan Dillon looped a cross onto the roof of the net, whilst Cliftonville could have extended their lead before the break.
Rory Hale played a short corner to Ben Quinn and his cross was met by Shaun Leppard whose header was diverted out for a corner at the other side, which came to nothing as Healy and Hale’s goals were the difference at the interval.
The second period began frantically as Rory Hale’s corner was hacked away by Paul Doyle on the line.
At the other end Sean McAllister had a shot blocked and the danger was scrambled behind at the expense of a corner, Paul Doyle sent in the set-piece from the left and Junior glanced over the bar from close range.
Just before the hour mark a low Rory Hale cross was dangerous and Steven Scott was forced to concede a corner.
Swifts boss Rodney McAree saw enough and made four switches on the hour mark in the hope of injecting fresh impetus.
Andrew Mitchell had a sighting of goal, though Alex Bannon threw himself in the way of Mitchell’s shot.
Dungannon pulled a goal back with twenty minutes remaining. Corey Smith’s cross field pass picked out Shea Gordon in the area and his low sliding pass was forced home by Sean McAllister to make it 2-1.
The Swifts had the chance to restore parity when Adam Glenny cut in, but PJ Morrison held onto his shot.
Defence then turned to attack and Cliftonville restored their two-goal advantage with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Harry Wilson was able to carry the ball out of defence and switch to Liam McStravick and the winger's neat threaded pass found Brian Healy to fire low across the face of Declan Dunne and into the net.
Adam Glenny glanced wide from a corner a few minutes later, while Joe Sheridan may have got in on the act after Healy slipped in through in injury-time, however Sheridan shot straight at Dunne.
It mattered little as Cliftonville ended their six-game winless streak in the league and moved above the Swifts into seventh.
DUNGANNON SWIFTS: Dunne, McKeown, Kelly, Scott (Glackin 59’), Dillon (Mitchell 59’), Glenny, Gordon, Doyle (Alves 59’), Wallace, Junior (Smith 59’), McAllister.
CLIFTONVILLE: Morrison, Wightman, Bannon, Leppard, Samuels (Conlon 76’), Wilson (McMaster 76’), Hale (Thompson 76’), Sheridan, Quinn (Campbell 68’), Healy, McStravick (Murray 78’).
REFEREE: Christopher Morrison
