MANAGER'S VERDICT: Rodney McAree bemoans slow start and sucker-punch ending after defeat at the Coleraine Showgrounds
Rodney McAree says his Dungannon Swifts side gave themselves a mountain to climb after finding themselves 2-0 down against Coleraine after just nine minutes on a sunny north coast.
The Swifts did rally to make the scores level at 2-2 but Jamie Glackin had the final say of the contest as his strike from distance gave the hosts a valuable three points.
Here’s Rodney McAree’s views after the game.
THOUGHTS ON THE GAME:
"We gave ourselves a mountain to climb to be honest.
"We put ourselves under pressure with the two goals we conceded early on.
"For the second one we should try to prevent the corner and then do better from the corner.
"We were 2-0 down after nine minutes, so it was a difficult start, but I thought we responded quite well.
"I thought we played some decent stuff in the first half and John McGovern hit a wonderful strike which got us back in the game.
"In the second half, I thought there was only one team who was going to win it and one team who wanted to win it.
"We pushed and pushed and we felt we needed to try and win it and we went for it.
"We very nearly got there but we were hit with a sucker-punch at the end with Jamie Glackin.
"I know Glacks personally and I know he has the capabilities of doing what he did, so fair play to him, but we could have maybe dealt with it better initially.
HECTIC SCHEDULE:
"I think at this stage of the season it's about ticking over.
"Our fitness levels are good and we aren't going to lose them too soon.
"It's a case of getting everyone back in during the week and preparing to go to Linfield next.
"We want to go there and be competitive and try to win another game of football.
"We said at the start of the season that we want to be competitive in every game that we play and I feel that we have done that relatively well over the course of the campaign.
LINFIELD NEXT:
"I think we've taken points off everybody bar Linfield.
"It would be nice to go to Windsor Park and get something.
"They had a big win today, they will be extremely pleased with that one and they'll be looking forward to seeing the season out in style.
"We have to go to Linfield and brace the challenge that lies ahead.
"It will be a massive challenge, we know they are an extremely good side with a lot of good players, no matter if they make rotations or not.
"But we will set ourselves up in a way that we will try and get a positive result.