Swifts left frustrated after conceding last-gasp equaliser

Dungannon Swifts 2  Warrenpoint Town 2

THE bleak midwinter continues for Dungannon Swifts after a 90th minute equaliser denied them a crucial win in this relegation six-pointer.

They were moments from claiming maximum points against 10-man Warrenpoint, only to let it slip at the death as their league struggles continued.

It wasn’t quite as bad as it felt – the five-point gap between the sides remains, and has not shortened – but this was a real opportunity missed.

Dungannon took an early lead but were never quite able to build on Ben Gallagher’s well-taken header.

The game was level at the break, but the dismissal of Gavin Peers, and Adam Glenny’s 75th minute goal, looked to be decisive.

That was until Alan O’Sullivan swept in at the end, leaving Swifts boss Dean Shiels gutted.

Dungannon started well but never really clicked into their slick, quick passing game.

Darragh McBrien was the subject of close attention from the visitors – with Shiels feeling some of the challenges went too far.

The Swifts were also without the suspended midfield duo of Oisin Smyth and Ryan Mayse, with the latter’s creativity badly missed.

Joe McCready was ill, while goalkeeper Alex Moore is edging closer to a return, but not fit enough yet to feature.

Shiels made two changes to the side that lost to Ballymena at the weekend, with Ethan McGee and Rhyss Campbell recalled.

And it was Campbell, operating in an advanced role on the right of midfield, who created the opening goal.

Warrenpoint have the second worst defensive record in the division – behind the Swifts – and their deficiencies were all too apparent with the goal.

Campbell got the ball off Shane McGinty on the right and brushed aside full-back Stephen Ball far too easily.

Suddenly he was into space, and had time to search out Gallagher, who arrived in time to score with a downward header.

In such a high pressure, high stakes game, between the bottom two sides at the start of the night, it was just the start Shiels would have wanted.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t build on it and Warrenpoint crept back into the game.

They had a chance when Jonathan Leddy’s free-kick found Peers, whose header was weak and easily collected by goalkeeper Michael Quinn, before the equaliser came in the 30th minute.

Ball collected a pass out of midfield and delivered a high cross to the back post, where Greg Moorhouse out-jumped the otherwise excellent Glenny to head in.

There was controversy just before the break when Dungannon had a penalty appeal rejected.

With players crowding the goalkeeper, James Knowles played a corner back to McGinty, who went down, but referee Tim Marshall wasn’t interested.

Early in the second half, Thomas Maguire won a foul in a promising area, but Kealan Dillon hammered the free-kick into the wall.
Warrenpoint’s hopes suffered a big blow after two incidents barely 10 seconds apart.

First a ball released O’Sullivan and he raced into the box, but Glenny did superbly to get back to make a goal-saving block.

As McBrien countered, Peers – already on a booking for a strong challenge on the winger minutes earlier – brought him down again, and was shown a second yellow.

It left the Swifts with a man advantage for the final 25 minutes, and they looked to force more pressure on the visitors’ goal.

Gallagher turned and shot straight at goalkeeper Conor Mitchell, then McGee released Campbell, whose effort flashed across goal.

Dungannon got the second goal with a quarter of an hour to go.

McBrien made another raid down the left, pulling the ball back to the near post, where Glenny’s initial effort was blocked by Leddy, but he stabbed in second time.

As the clock ticked down, Shiels urged his players to keep possession and not let Warrenpoint out of their half.

But in the 90th minute the visitors hit back, as Dillon’s well-executed pass found Ball, who crossed first time and O’Sullivan was there to slot in.