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Dungannon Swifts 1-0 Cliftonville

Cliftonville failed to find any spark en route to exiting the BetMcLean Cup at the hands of Dungannon Swifts this evening.

Matthew Lusty’s 77th minute strike was enough to earn the hosts a deserved spot in the quarter-finals on an evening when a much-changed Reds side simply never clicked.

After an ominous start when Nathan Gartside was forced to make a first minute save from Niall Owens following Shea Kearney’s underhit backpass, Cliftonville found themselves on the back foot for the majority of the first-half with only an off target effort from Ronan Hale and a low drive by brother Rory to show for their attacking threat.

Things were marginally better after the break, with teasing crosses from Stephen Mallon and Chris Gallagher finding no takers in the middle before Sam Ashford nodded wide from a Ronan Doherty delivery.

The visitors’ best chance arrived just past the hour when Jonny Addis free-kick found Ronan Hale in the middle but, perhaps unaware of exactly how much time and space he had to bring the ball down, he opted for a first-time effort which goalkeeper Declan Dunne gratefully grasped.

Slowly but surely, however, the Swifts began reasserting a foothold on proceedings and came close to making the breakthrough when a powerful blast from Caolan Marron rattled the woodwork before both Owens and Marron sent headers over the top.

The contest’s only goal came when Lusty showed good tenacity to hold on to the ball and wriggle his way past both Addis and Luke Kenny before slamming into the bottom corner – a strike which finally sparked Cliftonville into some degree of life.

Marron threw himself in front of a last from Ronan Hale, who sent another attempt into the side netting as the clock ticked down but the closest the Reds came to forcing extra-time was when Dunne dropped a Gallagher corner and Addis saw his follow-up deflected over the top.

Cliftonville: Gartside, Addis, Kenny, Gallagher, Rory Hale (Gormley, 89 mins), Mallon (Berry, 85 mins), Doherty, Ashford (Wilson, 72 mins), Ronan Hale, Kearney, McGuinness. Unused subs: Odumosu, Pepper, C Curran, Casey.