Saturday 5th November 2022
Kick Off 3.00pm
On Saturday we seek to extend our winning run when eleventh placed Dungannon visit the Bet McLean Oval.
Dungannon have endured a hugely disappointing start to the season so far, picking up just four points from their opening twelve league games of the season and (along with basement side Portadown) have the worst defensive record in the league, having conceded a worrying thirty goals. Indeed, it is only their win over Portadown last month that is keeping the Swifts off the bottom of the table at the moment, and a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Coleraine in Tuesday’s League Cup Quarter Final will have only compounded their current woes.
Having started the season with six consecutive defeats prior to the 2-0 victory over the Ports at Stangmore Park, heavy defeats to Carrick and Glenavon have proceeded it with just a solitary point from a 1-1 draw with Ballymena to show from their last five fixtures. With only six league goals scored all season , manager Dean Shiels has problems at both ends of the pitch, with away games a particular problem; losing all five so far and conceded eighteen goals in doing so.
Having backed Shiels to make ten new signings this summer, including defender Darren Cole and striker Ben Cushnie on loan deals and Caolan Marron as part of the swap deal that brought Terry Devlin to the Oval, the Swifts will be hugely disappointed to find themselves in such a lowly position.
Both Cole and Cushnie will be ineligible to face their parent club, while Marron has not featured since the defeat at Carrick in mid-October and fellow defender Dean Curry, who played against us in the Stangmore Park game in August, has been missing for several weeks.
Dungannon last won at the Oval in January 2019; their 4-2 triumph providing to be Ronnie McFall’s final game in charge of the Glens. They have lost all four of their visits since then however (conceding sixteen goals in the process) and you have to go back to March 2013 for their last win in east Belfast prior to that.
Mick McDermott: “Games are coming quite quickly at the minute and after our trip to Loughgall on Tuesday we must now pay full attention to the next one, Dungannon at the Oval.
Loughgall were impressive in how they approached the game and I can understand why they are sitting on top of the Championship.
The game allowed us to get match experience for a few of our younger lads and also valuable minutes for other senior players.
Dungannon recruited well over the summer period. However, it doesn’t appear they have found their form yet, whether that be down to injuries or other factors, only Dean will know.
All we can control is how we prepare and perform in the day and no doubt, our players have shown their desire in recent weeks to get results.
We have a healthy squad to choose from and welcome back Luke McCullough to our available panel.”
