Isaac Baird struck twice as Linfield grabbed their second win against Dungannon Swifts in a week after a 4-1 win tonight at Stangmore Park in the Sports Direct Premiership.
Matthew Fitzpatrick’s hot form continued as he scored for the Blues; as did Kyle McClean. The Blues struck early but were pegged back quickly by Gael Bigirimana. However, the hosts’ resolve faded after the break and they eventually ran out of ideas as Linfield leapfrog Glentoran into third place in the table.
There was also a win for Ballymena United over Crusaders while the Portadown v Cliftonville tie was abandoned before half-time.
With just five minutes on the clock in Dungannon, home fans must have thought they were having a serious case of déjà vu when Fitzpatrick scored for the visitors for his sixth in three games and his fourth against Rodney McAree’s side in seven days.
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The Swifts’ coughed up possession in their own half allowing Isaac Baird to escape down the left-hand side of the penalty area before passing inside for the former Antrim GAA man to slot past Declan Dunne in the Dungannon goal.
However, if the Belfast team thought they were heading for another mammoth victory to match last week’s 6-0 win they were brought down to Earth with a bump just two minutes later.
Adam Glenny punished Dadid Healy’s men for some poor defending by playing the ball into the path of captain Bigirimana, and he fired beyond Chris Johns and into the bottom corner of the net for a rapid equaliser.
Ten minutes later and Fitzpatrick almost re-established Linfield’s lead. After gaining possession and charging forward he offloaded a low shot that had Dunne beaten, but unfortunately for the striker his effort re-bounded off the upright as Dungannon escaped.
As the game ticked towards the break Fitzpatrick was at it again, when he had another effort that Dunne managed to tip on to the post with a fantastic save as the half ended all square.
The second period began much the same way as the first with Linfield on top, and it was no surprise when they re-took the lead on 55 minutes. Darragh Leahy’s cross from the left was not dealt with successfully by the home defence.
Fitzpatrick, once again, had an initial effort blocked but the ball fell perfectly for Baird to poke home from 10 yards.
Dungannon pushed hard afterwards and Kaelan Dillon went close with a free-kick, but the game was ended as a contest on 74 minutes when Baird struck his second of the evening.
Sam Taylor’s corner caused more mayhem around the Swifts’ penalty area, and it was Baird who found himself in the right place to fire home from close range.
The game was then completely put to bed just five minutes before full-time when McClean grabbed a fourth for the Blues. The skipper dispossessed Glenny 25 yards from goal before he charged into the box and unleashed a driving effort high into the Dungannon net to complete the rout.
Elsewhere this evening, Ballymena United got their first league win of 2026 after seeing off Crusaders at the Showgrounds. Igor Rutkowski grabbed a double for the Sky Blues in a 2-0 win against their relegation rivals. Rutkowski, who arrived from Armagh in January is turning out to be the purchase of the winter transfer window.
Meanwhile at Shamrock Park, fans only got to see 40 minutes of action as a floodlight failure led to the game being abandoned. Visitors Cliftonville will be the most disappointed as they were defeating Portadown 1-0 at the time thanks to a wonder strike from Joe Toole. However, the game will now have to be replayed, giving the north Belfast outfit a headache as they try to complete a number of extra games before the split next month.