"I'm so proud of them": Rodney McAree credits his Dungannon squad for second-half comeback at Carrick Rangers
Rodney McAree praised his Dungannon Swifts players for their second-half performance as they came from behind to book a semi-final spot in the Irish Cup.
After trailing at half-time to Danny Gibson's early goal, the Swifts responded in fine style as Andy Mitchell bagged an equaliser just ten minutes after the restart.
The visitors then took control of the tie as John McGovern netted twice within an eight-minute spell to see off their fellow Premiership opponents at Taylors Avenue.
Speaking to the club's social media platforms after the game, McAree acknowledged that his squad had to "adapt" to the conditions after the interval.
"It wasn't easy and I don't think we made it easy for ourselves," he said.
"Whenever you come to Taylors Avenue and play against Carrick, you have to work extremely hard and you have to fight for everything.
"In my opinion, we didn't fight hard enough collectively in the first-half. We didn't ask enough questions and we didn't get into the right areas of the pitch.
"We didn't put their back three under enough pressure and we spoke about it at half-time.
"It's difficult because we're a team that wants to play and be pretty but it didn't lend itself towards that and you have to adapt.
"I thought our second 45 minutes typified how the boys have worked all season.
"They fought tirelessly for each other, they worked extremely hard, they defended balls into the box and asked plenty of questions. I'm so proud of them."
The victory marked a return to first-team action for Caolan Marron after more than a year on the sidelines.
The defender came on in the latter stages of the contest for his first appearance since January 2024.
"It was nice to get Caolan on the pitch," McAree added.
"It was a case of getting him on because he could help us defensively with set-pieces and balls into the box.
"It was nice to get him back involved and he's busting to return.
"He played 62 minutes on Monday night in the U20s match which was good, so to introduce him today is fantastic and hopefully he will bring a little bit of positivity and give us a wee bit between now and the end of the season."