Coleraine: James McLaughlin and Stephen Lowry goals fire Bannsiders up to fourth in defeat of Dungannon Swifts

The Bannsiders, still smarting from a defeat at the hands of the Swifts a fortnight ago, were determined to make amends at Stangmore Park.

And they inflicted the damage in the first half thanks to goals from James McLaughlin and Stevie Lowry.

The second half was largely a non-event - with the visitors happy to hold what they had, and the Swifts struggling to find any rhythm.

The home side made the early running but they almost presented the Bannsiders with a goal-scoring opportunity on five minutes.

Chris Hegarty tried to flick a long ball back to Alex Moore but didn’t get enough contact before slipping and Jamie McGonigle looked set to pounce only to be denied by the alert Swifts keeper.

Thirteen minutes proved lucky for the visitors as a swift counter-attack saw McGonigle cross for strike partner James McLaughlin to slide in and loop a finish past Moore.

Jamie Glackin forced Moore into a decent stop on his return to his old stomping ground with 20 minutes on the clock.

From the resulting corner, Lowry reacted quickest to turn and fire home inside the six-yard box.

Coleraine were looking dangerous on the break.

Another swift counter on 39 minutes saw McGonigle combine with Glackin but the striker failed to connect with the cross properly and McLaughlin was flagged for offside as he tried to latch on to the loose ball.

Into the second half and Paul McElroy latched on to a long punt forward from Moore on 51 minutes, but he cut inside and saw his shot blocked for Dungannon Swifts.