Dungannon Swifts manager Rodney McAree praised the fighting qualities of his side after watching them beat Carrick Rangers 1-0 at Taylors Avenue on Saturday.

James Knowles scored a late winner in a game that rarely rose above mediocre quality but saw plenty of effort from both teams.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, the rain overnight didn’t help, although the pitch was in fantastic condition so fair play to Carrick,” McAree told BBC Sport NI.

“We knew it was going to be a battle and we had to fight for everything we got and keep it tight at the back to give ourselves a chance.

“I thought it was always going to be a goal that decided it.”

The Stangmore Park club have responded to a three-match losing streak by securing successive wins over Glenavon and Carrick without conceding a goal.

“It was important that we got out of the groove with three losses in a row and now we have kept two clean sheets and clean sheets are winning games.

“This season we haven’t conceded that many goals and that has given us the chance to earn more points – we haven’t scored that many but as long as we don’t concede we give ourselves an opportunity to stay so close to the top for so long we can.”