Nothing was won or lost after Newry City victory, claims Dungannon Swifts boss Dean Shiels

A goal in each half from Marc Walsh and a James Knowles penalty sealed the win at The Showgrounds, which now moves the Swifts level on points with City.

Shiels' side had trailed Newry by 11 points at one stage but that gap has quickly vanished as both teams aim to avoid the drop.

"Nothing was ever going to be won or lost tonight," Shiels told Dungannon Swifts TV.

"We told the players before the game about being calm and managing the situation.

"I think the players did that well and we knew the importance of the game - there's no getting away from it.

"We look like a team that's playing well, that's strong and hungry which will help us.

"We were eleven points behind Newry City at one stage but we believed in the process.

"We had trust in what we were doing despite starting the season poorly.

"However, we feel strong, we feel like we are playing well and we feel like we have momentum.

"Hopefully, we can continue that until the split."

Shiels was delighted to see his players register a clean sheet and reinforced the belief that if he can get his attackers onto the pitch, then they will cause damage to other teams in the division.

"I feel like we started well and that's down to the mentality of the team," he stressed.

"We wanted the three points and there was nothing that was going to stop that.

"When we get our attacking players on the pitch, we know we can hurt teams and that was the case.

"Marc Walsh scored one and set-up the other and when you get a clean sheet away from home, you're looking for those at the top end to make a difference.

"We have defended well recently but I think that comes down to the work rate of the front players.

"When we lose the ball, we have 11 defenders and that has to be the attitude.

"We had to be smart in terms of selection and we tried to manage the squad as best as we could.

"We looked vibrant and that showed from the very first whistle."