Turkington and Brown the key men

Turkington made a sterling return to first-team action, making a fantastic bid for a regular starting spot. He was rarely beaten on the flank and on several occasions scampered back to make key tackles that no doubt helped to keep Coleraine’s attack at bay and earn the Blues their 1-1 draw.

“Turk was my man of the match on Saturday,” agreed boss Gary Hamilton.

“He came back into the team and put in a fantastic performance and was exceptional again against Dungannon on Tuesday as well.”

He was, however, outshone by Brown against the Swifts. The former Larne man was again solid in defence and pulled his weight going forward as well. Scoring once and having a hand in the other two goals, his set-pieces caused a lot of difficulties in Dungannon’s defence and really he was the key that unlocked Glenavon’s victory.

“Marc Brown was excellent. His deliveries were great,” said Hamilton.

“Ciaran Martyn popped up with another goal too. That’s why he was brought to the club and he was fantastic on Tuesday.

“Mark Turkington and Grant Gardiner were great down the left, Eddie McCallion and Brendan Shannon were good down the right and the central midfielders picked up so many second balls it was frightening. The ball stuck with the two front-men too.

“They hadn’t got the service in the first half but when they got it in the second, Mark (Farren) got a goal and Batesy held the ball up well to bring others into the game. Getting the ball to them is key. They’re good players but they need service.

“Mark had missed a couple of chances on Saturday but the goalkeeper had made a couple of good saves. Mark at least hits the target. He popped up and got a key goal for us on Tuesday. He works hard and he keeps hold of the ball too.

“He might not be as involved as Guy Bates over the duration of a game but when he does get the ball, he keeps it.”