Defensive lapses cost Dungannon says Shiels

Dean Shiels admitted defensive lapses cost Dungannon again as they were overpowered by league leaders Cliftonville.

The Swifts crashed to a 3-0 defeat at Solitude, where the Reds moved five points clear at the top.

Shiels felt his side were flat in the opening 45 minutes, before improving after half-time.

But he was frustrated by the goals they conceded, particularly the first as Ronan Doherty lost his marker and headed in.

Joe Gormley made it 2-0, finishing off a well-worked move, before Jamie McDonagh’s late third.

Shiels said, “There were plenty of positives to take out of the second half but I was disappointed by the goals.

“We knew it was going to be tough against a team scoring goals for fun, so we wanted to make it difficult for them, but we gave them an easy first goal- a free run from a corner and free header, and when you come here you can’t give up cheap goals.

“It put us on the back foot against a team that is flying with confidence.”
Dungannon recovered after the break, with Caolin Coyle coming close to pulling one back when the score was 2-0.

Shiels admitted it was a big moment in the game.

“The second half was more like Dungannon and what we are about,” he added. “Conor’s chance is a massive one, but after missing the chance to get us back into the game, they picked us off for the third.”

With Linfield dropping points against Portadown, Cliftonville stretched their lead at the top.

Boss Paddy McLaughlin was pleased with his side’s efforts – and particularly their clean sheet.

“I am delighted we won, with three good goals and most importantly a clean sheet because I challenged the boys last week for not keeping enough clean sheets,” he said.

“We’re delighted with our organisation. The guys at the back barked out their orders all game and you need that, especially against a team like Dungannon who have a lot of legs – you have to concentrate all day to shut them down and we did that all game.

“I was also delighted for McDonagh to score. He has a number of assists this year, he has a great delivery from out wide and it was great to see him get on the score sheet.”