Tennent’s Irish Cup quarter-finals
MATTHEW Tipton has had the midas touch since taking over the reins at Warrenpoint Town, and midfielder Liam Bagnall hopes the Milltown men can keep up their winning ways against Dungannon Swifts in today’s Irish Cup quarter-final.
Since losing his first match in charge back in November, a League Cup clash with his former side Ballymena United, Tipton has overseen a 17-match unbeaten run during which Warrenpoint have soared 15 points clear at the top of the Championship.
The much-travelled striker may have taken to management like a duck to water, but the real acid test will come at Stangmore Park today when the ‘Point face a Dungannon side pushing for the European places in the Danske Bank Premiership.
Bagnall, who was on Sunderland’s books during the reigns of Roy Keane and Martin O’Neill, has been impressed by Tipton and says their unbeaten run has generated huge confidence.
“Matthew’s done very well for someone who’s just come into their first managerial job,” said the 24-year-old.
“He’s undefeated in the league, one defeat in a cup match against Ballymena so you can’t argue with the statistics. He’s brought a freshness to the whole thing.
“We’re into the habit of winning games so that can only be a good thing, but we’re under no illusions that tomorrow will probably be our biggest test all season.
“To get into the semi-final would be brilliant but we’ll take this game first and see what happens. We’ve played Dungannon numerous times in the last few years and the games have always been very competitive so I don’t expect it to be any different.”
Indeed, the two clubs have a bit of recent history.
On the final day of last season, Warrenpoint led the Swifts 1-0 as the game headed towards injury-time at Milltown, a result which would have kept the ‘Point out of the Premiership’s bottom two.
However, an Andrew Mitchell goal after a highly controversial penalty award cruelly consigned the county Down men to the Championship.
Bagnall was playing that day, but insists it is old news heading into today’s quarter-final.
“It’ll probably be dressed up that way, but that’s forgotten about,” he said.
“Tomorrow is a different game so we just have to prepare for it the right way. Dungannon are an established Premiership team, they’ve had a very good season and they’re on their own patch so it’ll be very difficult for us.”
While Warrenpoint are seen as minnows among the eight who remain, whoever emerges from the meeting of reigning Premiership champions Cruaders and Linfield will be seen as favourites to go on and win the Irish Cup.
Despite dominating the league in recent years - Stephen Baxter’s men are on course to bring the Gibson Cup back to Seaview for the third year in-a-row – they haven’t won an Irish Cup since 2009.
Elsewhere, holders Glenavon will be strong favourites to progress to the last four when they take on Niall Currie’s struggling Portadown in a mid-Ulster derby at Shamrock Park.
In the last of today’s quarter-finals, David Jeffrey’s Ballymena United will aim to build on their League Cup success last month when they welcome Oran Kearney’s high-flying Coleraine to The Showgrounds this afternoon.
