Irish Premiership: Joel Cooper strikes as Linfield and Glenavon win
James Knowles came close to breaking the deadlock after a quiet 20 minutes at Stanmore Park, sending his free-kick just over the bar.
Linfield goalkeeper David Walsh was then called upon to make a low save to keep out Leo Alves’ shot.
The visitors requested a penalty kick in the 34th minute after Gael Bigirimana brought down Matthew Fitzpatrick in the penalty area, but referee Declan Hassan dismissed their appeal.
Soon after, Dunn did well to block Cooper’s long-range shot and Jamie Mulgrew was unable to convert the rebound.
In the 53rd minute, Cooper moved forward and scored with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area to break the deadlock.
Linfield almost had a second chance when Mulgrew’s cross was not cleared by the Dungannon defence, giving Kirk Miller time to control the ball and fire a fierce shot towards goal which set up Dunne Impressive reaction save.
At the other end, Knowles made a timely cross to McGovern, who directly hit Linfield defender Walsh with a header from close range.
Knowles continued to be at the heart of Dungannon’s attack and the midfielder’s free-kick hit the left post as McCurry’s side went on to equalize.
In the 87th minute, home team goalkeeper Dunn was directly shown a red card for handling the ball outside the penalty area in an attempt to prevent Fitzpatrick from scoring a goal.
