Rodney McAree says his players 'deserve so much credit' as Dungannon Swifts produce thrilling comeback to draw at champions Larne

The Swifts looked like leaving Inver Park empty handed as they found themselves three goals down with ten minutes remaining.

However, a stunning comeback would leave Larne shell-shocked as Ben Gallagher, Tomas Galvin and Andrew Whiteside all netted to ensure the Swifts left with the most unlikely share of the spoils.

The fixture was McAree's first competitive game in charge since returning to the hot seat at the Swifts and it's one he certainly won't forget.

"When you go 1-0 down you can feel the worst but we challenged the players to respond to going behind because maybe in the past they could have thrown the towel in a little bit," he said.

"We responded, scored and got in 1-1 at half-time.

"We came out for the second-half and conceded a poor goal but we stayed in the game.

"I didn't think we were great in possession for large parts of it, I thought we were careless and gave it away but even at 2-1 I felt we could have nicked something.

"Within the space of three minutes after giving away a cheap corner kick, you find yourself 4-1 down and you're worried at that stage that your world is going to collapse and it could end up worse.

"But Ben Gallagher has special qualities, he is a fantastic talent and the goal he scores to bring it back to 4-2 at that stage you think might be a consolation.

"However, whenever he challenges Rohan Ferguson for the third and for Tomas Galvin to show that composure with his left foot to loop it into the goal gets us back to 4-3.

"You're now suddenly back in with a chance and thankfully we forced a corner-kick, it's a great delivery in which about three players have claimed it!

"The players deserve so much credit, it's all down to them and we ask them to show fight, desire and commitment, and I thought we got that in abundance."

McAree believes his five substitutions all had a major part to play in the comeback and was pleased to see his side's fitness levels against a Larne side who have already been back early to prepare for European competition.

"Larne had a few half chances from the edge of the box but nothing that really frightened us,” he added.

"Then whenever you concede two quick-fire goals and are 4-1 down you sit there thinking 'how's this happened'?

"We got a great response, they were fantastic and I thought the substitutions of James Knowles, Andy Whiteside, John Scott in midfield and Galvin and Gallagher through the middle made a difference.

"It's not often when you make five substitutions and they all contribute but we just felt at that stage of the game we were lacking a bit of energy in the middle of the park and we tried to freshen up all three of them as best as we could.

"Early on in the season when you play Larne who have played four competitive games, we were going to be a bit behind them as they're a full-time club and we will never get to their levels.

"However, we kept going and ultimately we looked more fit towards the end which was encouraging."