Wise to the occasion

Jim Magilton wants his players to embrace the occasion when they go toe-to-toe with Dungannon Swifts at the Clearer Twist Stadium this evening.

Cliftonville head into their Clearer Water Irish Cup semi-final duel seeking to earn their place in the Final for the third consecutive year and the Manager has no qualms about his team being suitably motivated by the fixture’s high stakes status.

“When I hear ‘you don’t play the occasion, you play the game’, I think that’s a complete load of bunkum,” he declares

“You work so hard to play in these games, these games should motivate you, never intimidate you.

“They should inspire you. These are the matches you work so hard to play in, you should embrace the occasion because it’s such a huge event.

“To win and play in a semi-final only adds to the absolute pleasure of then going and representing your Club in an Irish Cup Final, so I’ve never bought into that as a player nor as a Manager.

“I think the occasion is there – it should be a big event, players should want to play in big events, enjoy the occasion, embrace it and then go out and play.”

Dungannon have, of course, been regular Irish Cup adversaries over the years, with the sides’ most recent clash in the competition being last year’s Final, which Rodney McAree’s side won on penalties.

Reds boss Magilton is well aware of the Swifts’ capabilities and expects the Tyrone outfit to provide a typically stern test tonight.

“This is a game of huge significance for both Clubs and for us being there again is a huge achievement,” he adds.

“Winning semi-finals is about winning semi-finals and you have to do that by whatever means necessary. We know that we’re up against a side that are more than capable of beating anybody in the League – they’ve proved that time and time again, so it’s a game that we’re going to have to work very hard to win.”

Cliftonville v Dungannon Swifts
Friday, April 3, 2026
Adults: £15
Concessions: £10
Tickets: General Sale