Dungannon Swifts cup knockout blow perfect response to league 'suckerpunch'

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​Rodney McAree highlighted motivation from last weekend’s league ‘suckerpunch’ as a driving force behind Dungannon Swifts’ defeat of Coleraine across the Irish Cup.

​A second clash between the sides at Stangmore Park within a week finished with the Swifts securing a spot in the Irish Cup quarter-finals off extra-time delight – seven days on from missing out on full league points following Matthew Shevlin’s last-gasp equaliser for Coleraine.

Tomas Galvin had put the Swifts ahead in that 1-1 Premiership meeting and made his mark again on knockout duty with what proved the winning goal after extra-time, following Gael Bigirimana’s long-range opening strike and a Coleraine leveller off recent signing Declan McManus.

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"It's a massively enjoyable result...especially after last week,” said McAree. "We weren't the better team last week, I don't know if we were the better team today or not.

Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree. (Photo by Alan Weir/Pacemaker)Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree. (Photo by Alan Weir/Pacemaker)
Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree. (Photo by Alan Weir/Pacemaker)

"Coleraine are a very good side so it was a case of staying in the game.

"I didn't feel we were under as much threat this week as we were last and the suckerpunch was tough to take.

"We had to use that as motivation, especially when we got into extra-time...we had to find that bit extra and I thought we were the team that looked like it was going to score a winner.

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"I thought our fitness levels were good playing against a full-time team.

"Tomas Galvin came on and was excellent...he got us high up the pitch, he was a threat and deserved his goal.”

McAree highlighted Bigirimana’s commitment to the Swifts cause.

"I didn't think he had that in his locker (his goal), but he tries it occasionally,” said McAree. "Kealan Dillon scored a similar goal from the opposite side against Coleraine earlier in the season.

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"It was a great strike and as soon as it left his foot I thought it was going in.

"Fair play to him, he's been in his bed the last few days...he came down here after 12 today and did a bit of a jog to see how he felt.

"He said he felt he could give us something and he ended up giving us 120 minutes and scored a great goal.”

Now McAree wants to build on the “belief and hope that we can maybe go and do something” having “beaten a full-time team in extra-time whenever you're worried you might be over-run”.

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