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Dun the hard way

Cliftonville 4-2 Dungannon Swifts

Cliftonville were forced to dig deep for three points against a stubborn Dungannon Swifts outfit at Solitude this afternoon.

The Reds’ day might have been more straightforward had they been awarded any of three strong penalty appeals, while the spot kick that allowed James Knowles to open the scoring for the visitors came following a foul that appeared to have occurred outside the box.

Ronan Hale levelled matters and a deflected Chris Gallagher strike put Cliftonville in front by the break, only for Joe McCready to draw Dungannon level shortly after the turnaround.

A Michael Ruddy own goal restored the home advantage before substitute Chris Curran rounded things off with a well-taken finish.

The first penalty claim of the day came on 12 minutes when Rory Hale was tripped by John Scott, with Cliftonville’s frustrations over that non-award heightened when referee Ian McNabb pointed to the spot after Rhyss Campbell had been felled by Jonny Addis outside the area at the other end.

Former Reds midfielder Knowles stepped up to convert and his side should have doubled their advantage when the ball fell Ben Gallagher’s way soon later but, completely unmarked, he fired his snapshot straight at Nathan Gartside.

A good stop from Declan Dunne stopped Rory Hale from levelling matters but it wasn’t long before his younger sibling hit the equaliser; Ronan seizing on a Kris Lowe cross to blast a firm drive into the top corner.

In first-half injury-time, Gartland made a timely catch on the goal-line when Terry Devlin threatened to hook an effort in from an unlikely angle and that intervention proved crucial because the Reds edged in front shortly afterwards when Gallagher’s long-range drive took a touch off his Dungannon namesake en route past Dunne.

The lead didn’t last long, though, and McCready’s clever turn and finish restored parity early in the second period but, again, the game’s next goal wasn’t far away; Ruddy turning Ryan Curran’s cross into his own net.

Ethan McGee’s last-man foul on Ronan Hale should have seen the home side awarded a penalty before the seal was finally put on things when Gormley’s clipped ball in behind the visiting defence set Chris Curran clear and, after waltzing inside past two challenges, his angled drive found the bottom far corner to secure the points.

There was, however, still time for one last spot-kick claim when, with literally the final action of the contest, Sean Moore was tripped by Mayowa Animasahun, but the officials remained unswayed.

Cliftonville: Gartside, Addis, Gallagher, Rory Hale (Gormley, 58 mins), R Curran (Casey, 87 mins), McDonagh (C Curran, 58 mins), Lowe, Doherty, Turner, Ronan Hale (Moore, 90 mins), Coates. Unused subs: Talley, Robinson, McGuinness.