Swifts the favourites to progress in Cup
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Dungannon Swifts' Darren Murphy and James Slater get their hands on the Co-Operative Insurance Cup ahead of tonight’s (Wednesday) third round second leg clash against Linfield at Stangmore Park. sc46319
By SIMON CUNNINGHAM.
DUNGANNON Swifts have a great chance to progress to the next stage of the Co-Operative Insurance Cup at Stangmore Park tonight (Wednesday) when they face Linfield in the third round at 7.45pm.
Despite the quality of opposition, Swifts fans are confident that their team can make it through with Dungannon holding a 3-0 advantage following the first leg at Windsor Park.
In only John Cunningham's second game in charge, the Swifts shocked favourites Linfield with a three goal blitz at Windsor Park. The blues exacted some amount of revenge on Saturday with a 3-1 league win but a similar scoreline tonight would see Dungannon through.
Although the odds may appear to be in favour of his team, Swifts boss John Cunningham is refusing to get carried away.
He told the Courier: "Wednesday night is just like another game. The 3-0 really doesn't matter."
Indeed, he knows only too well that the job is far from finished. "It's not over yet because we're playing Linfield," he said. "They've a massive squad of players who'll not lie down. They'll want to turn us over. We scored goals at the right time when we played them in the first leg and it helped us while on Saturday, they scored goals maybe from our mistakes so that's what we need to turn around."
Since taking over the helm, Cunningham has watched his Swifts team continually impress but performances have not been translated into results in recent games. Dungannon were worth so much more than their 3-1 loss at Linfield on Saturday but John believes that they can turn the corner.
“What we have to do is keep putting in good performances," he said. "It doesn't matter if it is the league or the Cup. We need to turn these performances into wins.
“At the end of the day, what we need to do is keep clean sheets. That's very important when you're playing a team like Linfield. They have so many options. That's what we have to work towards."
And he laid down his hopes for the future of the Club. "I want to play a nice style of football and I want the team to score goals and I want people to come and watch us play. It's going to take time before we get there. Rome wasn't built in a day but I'll turn it around - there's no mistake about that."
Timmy Adamson made a scoring return to the team on Saturday following his lay off with a broken rib but he remains doubtful for tonight's game.
Said John: "Timmy had a bit of a calf strain because he's been out for a while. He gives the team something different and he looks a very good player."
There could be other changes in the starting lineup as Cunningham continues to give as many players as possible a chance to make their mark.
“I'll probably freshen things up with one or two positions for Wednesday night and give everyone an opportunity," he said."
Meanwhile, Linfield manager David Jeffrey has injury worries of his own ahead of the game. Harkness picked up a hamstring injury on Saturday while Hagan, Gault and White also remain injured for the short term.
And Jeffrey is determined to turn the fixture around despite the mountain of a three goal deficit to climb.
Said Jeffrey: " Some people would say that the tie is dead and buried and what's the point of going there just to fulfill the the fixture.
“Obviously Dungannon can sit back as they don't have to press or come at us. The challenge is on our players. We hold the trophy and we don't want to go out with a whimper. Saturday's result will encourage us but at the same time let us know how hard it is going to be on Wednesday night.
“It'll be a tight game down there. Dungannon have some excellent players. They work very hard up front and have discipline in middle of the park. They pass the ball about and they've always been like that. Wednesday is going to be really tough."
Tonight's Co-Operative Insurance Cup fixtures
Kick-off 7.45pm
Cliftonville v Portadown
Institute v Loughgall
Lisburn Distillery v Bangor
Dungannon Swifts v Linfield
Vs Ballymena United
Dungannon host Ballymena United at Stangmore Park on Saturday at 3pm for what is a "must win" game.
The Braidmen currently prop up the rest of the IFA Premiership but a win over the Swifts would see them leap frog their hosts leaving Dungannon rock bottom.
The sides last met in August at the Ballymena Showgrounds when the Swifts enjoyed a 3-0 victory.
