Penalty punishment

Cliftonville 1-1 Dungannon Swifts [3-4 on penalties]

Familiar hoodoos combined to deliver more Clearer Water Irish Cup heartache as Cliftonville suffered semi-final elimination at the Clearer Twist Stadium this evening.

Dungannon Swifts, a regular nemesis in the competition, progressed to the Final as the Reds lost a fourth penalty shootout in 11 months – a sequence that began against the Swifts in last year’s decider.

After 90 goalless and largely underwhelming minutes, Dungannon looked set for victory when Kealan Dillon netted early in extra-time but, with the very last touch of the game, Cliftonville bundled home an equaliser when Keevan Hawthorne’s corner delivery appeared to find the net via a mixture of Joe Sheridan and Swifts defender Danny Wallace.

That took the contest to penalties but, just like last year’s Final in front of the Railway Stand, the Reds – who had also plundered a last-gasp leveller in a 1-1 draw on that occasion – fell short, with the Irish Cup now joining the BetMcLean Cup quarter-final and County Antrim Shield Final in completing an unwanted hat-trick of Cup exits this season.