Dungannon Swifts defeated Championship opponents Bangor at Seaview to secure a place in the Clearer Water Irish Cup final for the first time since 2007.
After a tentative opening as both sides found their feet it fell to the Swifts to create the first opportunity of note when James Knowles sent John McGovern clear only for Bangor keeper James Taylor to be aware of the danger and rush out to deal with the threat.
A few minutes after that Knowles was involved again, this time with an effort from outside the area which Taylor comfortably controlled.
Given those early chances it was no perhaps no surprise when Dungannon moved in front on 16 minutes.
A Leo Alves through ball sent Andrew Mitchell clear of the Bangor defence. He lobbed the advancing Taylor but the unfortunate Kyle Owens headed into his own net whilst attempting to direct the ball out for a corner.
As the first half progressed the somewhat breezy conditions limited decent scoring opportunities.
The Swifts did breathe a sigh of relief in the latter part of the half, however, when Caomhan McGuinness sent a ball over the top of the defence. Ben Arthurs got on the end of it on the edge of the area only for play to be called back after it was adjudged he had impeded the advancing Swifts keeper.
Rodney McAree's side came close to doubling their lead early in the second half after a Knowles free-kick was flicked on by Dean Curry only for Danny Wallace to narrowly fail to connect at the far post.
Play then switched to the other end for Reece Neale to test Declan Dunne with a powerfully struck free-kick which the Swifts keeper needed two attempts to gather.
Dungannon then threatened twice in quick succession with Kealan Dillon firing wide of the target from McGovern's lay-off followed swiftly by a Mitchell shot into the side netting after Adam Glenny had sent over the cross.
The Swifts continued to press in search of a second goal, with Gael Bigirimana playing McGovern through but Taylor came to the rescue to make a save with his feet.
The sides traded further chances as the game progressed. Owens looked to make up for that early own goal with a strike from distance which Dunne did well to cope with before, down the other end, Mitchell sent the ball just over from another Dillon cross.
McGovern had the ball in the net a few minutes after that only for his lob over Taylor to be ruled out for offside while, for Bangor, a Michael Morgan header towards goal was straight at Dunne.
However, the game was settled with eight minutes remaining when, from a Dillon corner, skipper Dean Curry powered in to send a strong header into the net from the edge of the six-yard box.
There was almost a third for the Swifts not long after that through substitute Tomas Galvin who, moments after coming off the bench, broke through the defence to fire against an upright before Taylor gratefully gathered the loose ball.
Bangor: James Taylor, Reece Neale, Kyle Owens, Lewis Harrison, Ben Arthurs, Ben Cushnie, Scott McArthur, Jack O'Mahony, Liam Hassin, Caomhan McGuinness, Callum Byers. Substitutes: Benjamin Fry, Kielan Reid, Tom Mathieson, Michael Halliday, Michael Morgan, Jamie McDonagh, Jordan Hughes.
Dungannon Swifts: Declan Dunne, Steven Scott, Dean Curry, James Knowles, John McGovern, Kealan Dillon, Leo Alves, Adam Glenny, Daniel Wallace, Andrew Mitchell, Gael Bigirimana. Substitutes: Alex Henderson, Caolan Marron, Cahal McGinty, Tomas Galvin, Thomas Maguire, Grant Hutchinson, Brandon Bermingham.
Action from Seaview
