A much changed Swifts travelled to Ardglass on Saturday after a few weeks off due to the adverse weather, that coupled with no less than 7 players missing due to injury and work commitments made it a difficult tie against a team that would provide a stern test.
The Swifts started brightly and were putting the Ardglass defence under considerable pressure, if it had not been for the experience of the Ardglass centre half partnership an early goal would of been a strong possibility.
The Swifts were patient in their build up play and waited for the right opportunity, aided by the defence who were firmly in control they were getting closer to breaking the deadlock with every attack. On the half hour mark a quickly taken free kick by Alan Massey caught the Ardglass midfield flat footed, Paul King received the ball and let a rasping shot go from 25 yards – such was the power in the shot the Ardglass keeper was lucky to save but could not hold onto it and the lively Jack Patterson made no mistake from 10 yards when the ball broke loose.
That goal gave The Swifts more confidence and with Bonner, King, McMenamin and McNeill in commanding form, McGreevy in nets had little to do.
A quick corner from Massey near the break saw him play a one-two and chip a ball onto the far post. A couple of last ditch tackles kept the score at 1 nil. But The Swifts would not be denied. Matty Manley’s smart free kick from the edge of the box caused considerable confusion and again Jack Patterson was in tip top form to smash the ball in.
A mere lapse in consentration just before the halftime whistle saw Ardglass gain a goal direct from a corner when The Swifts ought to have done better.
The Swifts had a clear vision of what was needed in the 2nd half and carried it out well. Bingham never missed a thing all day long and with the impressive Jack Patterson and Manley on the wings The Swifts were a constant threat. Indeed it was Manley on 70 mins who took a short corner to Massey who played the ball back to him, with a neat cross-field pass it was met by McMenamin on the volley for the goal of the game.
This was a good strong team performance from The Swifts who remain unbeaten this season, but with stronger tests on the horizon it will be all hands to the pump especially at home to Annalong this saturday.