Week four in the Irish Premiership just dropped a bomb, with a clean sweep of *five* away wins across the league! This wild weekend has completely shaken up the early standings, with an in-form quartet of teams now sitting on nine points each, just one single point behind early leaders Coleraine. Dungannon Swifts, Carrick Rangers, Crusaders, and Linfield all snagged victories on Saturday, pushing them into second through fifth place. Talk about an early season sprint!
Swifts Shaking Off Last Season’s Woes
Nobody expected this kind of bounce back, but Dungannon Swifts are proving everyone wrong. After kicking off their campaign with a disappointing 3-1 home loss against Coleraine, Rodney McAree’s crew hit the gas, rattling off wins against Portadown, Bangor, and Cliftonville. This isn’t last season’s Swifts, who lost their opening five league games; this is a whole new beast! Midfielder Sean McAllister has been an absolute force, already bagging three goals and being everywhere when they push into the final third. New signings like Kris Lowe are crushing it, too. Former Portadown boss Niall Currie wasn’t holding back on Sportsound, saying this is the “strongest” Dungannon squad he’s ever seen. “Rodney has gone out and got strength and depth,” Currie said, and you can see it on the pitch. They’ve secured a top six finish for the past two seasons, and right now, they’re looking like they mean business.
Carrick’s Experience Paying Off Big Time
Then there’s Carrick Rangers, showing that Irish League experience is a *major* asset. After a seventh-place finish last season and that resultant play-off involvement, you might expect a solid start, but this is beyond that. Paul Heatley, at 39, is playing like he’s ten years younger! Manager Stephen Baxter literally had to talk him out of retirement over the summer, and Heatley responded with three goals already this season after signing a new one-year deal. His link-up with Danny Gibson is giving opposing defenses nightmares. We saw pure dominance in their emphatic 4-0 win over Bangor; they even hit the woodwork four times! Seasiders manager Lee Feeney summed it up best: his side “were lucky it was only four.” Carrick’s about to face a brutal September stretch, with Linfield, Cliftonville, Ballymena United, Larne, and Glentoran all on the schedule. This month is going to tell us a *lot* about what this team is truly made of.
So yeah, it’s August, and we’re not talking about title races or European spots just yet; the league itself reminds us of that. But you can’t ignore the early form from these four teams. They are packed together, right on Coleraine’s heels, and every single point matters. This early jostling is setting the stage for what could be an absolutely insane season. Keep an eye on those September fixtures for Carrick, because the pressure is on!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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