Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree expressed his belief that his team was unfairly denied a penalty, and that the penalty awarded to Cliftonville should not have been given, during their 4-1 loss to the Reds. In the first half, Andy Mitchell of Dungannon Swifts fell in the penalty area following a challenge from Cliftonville’s Michael Newberry, but referee Jamie Robinson dismissed the appeals for a penalty. Later, just before half-time, Cliftonville’s Rory Hale went down after a challenge from Swifts goalkeeper Declan Dunne, leading Robinson to award a spot kick, which Joe Gormley successfully converted. McAree conveyed his perspective to BBC Sport NI, stating, “The one against us is not a penalty, we watched it on video and all Decky did was stand up and get a foot on it, he certainly hasn’t used force.” He further commented on the incident involving Mitchell, adding, “The challenge on Andy was a decision that went against us. We have to be careful; we can’t be too critical, we know we won’t get every decision, but I think we’re the only team in the league that haven’t had a penalty, and we could have had one today.” McAree also voiced his dissatisfaction regarding the manner in which the Swifts conceded goals. “We take the lead then concede straight away which is disappointing, Gormley is unmarked in the six-yard box, and he does what he does,” McAree remarked. He continued, “We watched set pieces all week and we know they try things, but we let Taylor Steven come inside and we find ourselves 2-1 down and at that stage Cliftonville are in control. We were thinking get in at 2-1 and we’re still in the game but a penalty goes against us.” Furthermore, McAree urged his squad to enhance their defensive performance as they aim to return to a winning streak. “We’re not doing enough defensively; we conceded 10 goals in the opening 13 game and 11 in the last three so as a unit we have to have a look at that and be harder to beat,” McAree stated. Post navigation Leicester and Chelsea Managers Discuss 1-1 Draw Sheffield United’s Tom Davies Calls Sunderland Winner “A Dream Come True”