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FIRST HALF GOAL FLURRY ENOUGH FOR BLUES
Three goals in a devastating eight minute period helped Linfield defeat Dungannon Swifts at Windsor Park.
Joel Cooper opened the scoring for the Blues on 28 minutes with a tidy finish back across goal after Ethan McGee had cut the ball over the right from Chris Shields' lay-off.
Kyle McClean doubled the home advantage five minutes after that. Cooper turned provider on this occasion with a ball into the box flicked on by Matthew Fitzpatrick for McClean to volley past the keeper from around 12 yards out.
Then, barely three minutes later, Shields added Linfield's third with a half volley from outside the box that sailed past Declan Dunne via a deflection.
Dungannon did reduce the deficit a little early in the second half through Adam Glenny when he did well to control Thomas Maguire's cross to the back post before beating Chris Johns with a powerful left-foot strike.
Linfield: Johns, Roscoe-Byrne, East, Whiteside, Shields, Millar, McClean, Cooper, McKee, McGee, Fitzpatrick subs Walsh, Allen, McBrien, Ballantyne, Archer, Annett, McKay
Dungannon Swifts: Dunne, S. Scott, Curry, Knowles, Dillon, Alves, Glenny, McGinty, McAleese, Mitchell, Bigirimana subs Solis Grogan, J. Scott, King, Owens, Maguire, Hutchinson, Hegarty