Cliftonville manager Paddy McLaughlin gutted with Irish Cup exit after believing "the opportunity was there this year"

​Not many were predicting Dean Shiels’ men, who were coming off a 3-1 league defeat to bottom side Portadown, to progress against the high-flying Reds but a Rhyss Campbell second-half brace ensured the Swifts booked their spot in the last four, despite a nervy conclusion after Joe Gormley netted in injury time.

Cliftonville haven’t lost a single Danske Bank Premiership match at home this season but have now perished in both the Irish League Cup (vs Coleraine) and Irish Cup at Solitude as their 44-year wait to lift the famous trophy for a ninth time continues.

“At no stage in the game did we show the intensity or the quality that we’ve been showing, especially at home,” manager Paddy McLaughlin told the club’s website.

“Even going back to last week’s game with Glentoran, the energy we brought, the work rate and everything we did was lacking here.

"That’s frustrating for the players and the staff because of all the work that they put in but also for the supporters. We know this record the club have had in the Irish Cup and how long it’s been.

“I did genuinely believe that the opportunity was there this year – especially at home in the quarter-final with a semi-final at a neutral ground.

"It was there for us and we prepared everything exactly the same as we always do, we’ve nothing to blame and no excuses – we just didn’t perform.”

McLaughlin was full of credit for the Swifts, who he believes out-played his men and could have punished them even more in front of goal.

“There’s no area of the pitch that’s coming out with any credit and, on the flip side of that, I thought Dungannon were excellent. They counter-attacked us really well and defended really well, nullifying us down to absolutely zero threats on goal,” he added.

“They scored two and could have scored another couple. They were better than us, they broke better than us and they created more chances than us.

“It was a whole collective thing where we needed someone to give us that spark and get the fans off their seats but we just didn’t have that.”