Dungannon Swifts goalkeeper Declan Dunne saves Luke Conlan of Cliftonville's penalty

Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton and captain Rory Hale expressed surprise at the Irish FA decision not to have a coin toss to decide which end the penalty shoot-out would take place at in their Irish Cup final loss to Dungannon Swifts.

Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton and captain Rory Hale expressed surprise at the Irish FA decision not to have a coin toss to decide which end the penalty shoot-out would take place at in their Irish Cup final loss to Dungannon Swifts.

Normally ahead of penalties there is a flip of a coin to decide who goes first and where the spot-kicks will be taken.

But at the final whistle of Saturday's clash at the New River Stadium, referee William Peden simply blew his whistle and pointed to the penalties to be taken at the far end of the ground, despite the fact the second half had kicked off at the other.

Magilton said: "I thought it was strange that we didn't have a coin toss for penalties, usually there is one to decide where they will be taken and who will go first.

"But I suppose they decided to do it differently today. Maybe they didn't want to be part of any more drama after the game, but I thought it was a bit odd."

Captain Hale added: "It was a bit strange that there was no coin toss for penalties, usually they do one to decide which end they will be taken at.

"But I suppose they decided to do it differently today. Maybe they didn's want to be part of any more drama after the game, but I thought it was a bit odd."

After a 1-1 draw following extra-time, the teams stepped up for the decisive kicks from the penalty mark.

And despite having missed a great chance to win the game in extra-time, Cliftonville started brightly from the spot as Luke Conlan, Sean O'Neill and Robert Mc мужчина saw their efforts saved by Declan Dunne.

However, after a strong start, the Seaview men faltered as Arman Kurumov and then captain Hale saw their efforts superbly saved by the Swifts shot-stopper.

Dunne had already saved three penalties in the 2022 Irish Cup final when his superb performance helped Monaghan to victory over Peamount United in the Women's Irish Cup final.

And the shot-stopper was in a similar mood on Saturday as he ultimately helped to decide the fate of the trophy in favour of the Mid Ulster men.