Dogged Swifts were determined to progress in BetMcLean Cup 'by hook or by crook' - McAree

A “delighted” Rodney McAree said Dungannon Swifts were determined to seal their passage into the second round of the BetMcLean Cup “by hook or by crook”.

The Swifts defeated Bangor 2-1 at Clandeboye Park in the all-Premiership tie on Tuesday evening, with Jamie Glackin and Kealan Dillon putting the visitors in early command.

Although Ben Cushnie halved the deficit after 20 minutes, Bangor were unable to force an equaliser.

McAree was particularly pleased with his side’s performance in the first half but admitted Dungannon had to grind out the result in the second half.

“Delighted, it’s a cup competition and it's about progressing,” McAree told Dungannon FC’s social media channels.

“It's about getting into the next round and it’s about being in the hat. And we said before the game by hook or by crook, we wanted to be there.

“I thought the first 25 minutes, half an hour - in large parts of the first half overall - I thought we were excellent. I thought we played some really good stuff.

“We look composed. We got the basics right. We moved the ball well.

“We got Adam Glenny released a lot on the left. And I was really, really happy. I thought we were good to watch at times in the first half.

“Second half, we end up turning it into the game that maybe suits Banger,” McAree said. “It turned into maybe a real cup tie in terms of one team trying to get back into it because they know they're going out, and they threw everything at us.

“We didn't do well enough whenever we had the ball, but we defended admirably.”

McAree was pleased by the number of opportunities created by Dungannon but said his players didn’t fully capitalise on the chances that fell their way.

“I think we've been waiting for a while [to take their chances] and we feel as if there are goals in us,” he added.

“We feel as if we're going to create opportunities and we created loads of opportunities tonight in the first half. And we didn't take enough of them.

“It was nice to see Jamie Glackin score, it's nice to see him get off the mark and Kealan Dillon’s is a wonderful strike too.

“There were more goals in this in the first half and we should have made it a little bit easier for ourselves.”

Carrick Rangers also progressed, seeing off Newry City 3-0 at home despite Nedas Maciulaitis being sent off after the break, while Ballymena United recovered from a goal down to beat Championship outfit Newington 3-1.

There was late drama at Annagh United, where John Butcher struck seven minutes from time to earn 10-man Limavady United a 4-3 victory.

Limavady had led by two when Adam Mullan was dismissed, allowing the hosts to battle back on level terms before Butcher settled the contest.

Elsewhere, Loughgall claimed a 3-0 win away to Institute. Harland & Wolff Welders won 3-1 at Armagh City, Moyola Park impressed with a 4-1 success at Dundela, and Glenavon cruised to a 5-0 victory over 10-man Strabane Athletic.

Two ties went the distance. Queen’s University prevailed 3-1 on penalties at Ballinamallard United following a 1-1 draw, while Rathfriland Rangers held their nerve to defeat Ards 6-5 in a shoot-out after a goalless stalemate.