Carrick Rangers suffered a 3-1 defeat to Dungannon Swifts in their European play-off match. The visitors were reduced to 10 men after goalkeeper Nathan Gartside was given a red card for handling the ball outside the box. Despite the setback, Luke McCullough drew Carrick level in the 38th minute. However, second-half goals from Caolan Marron and Kealan Dillon secured the Swifts' place in Saturday's semi-final against Cliftonville at the expense of Baxter's side. The referees clearly need help with making big key decisions, particularly in big games. I don't mind VAR, provided it comes in and it's used in the right manner as regards to all the competitions and everybody knows the rules and how it's all set up. All of those things are important. Despite missing out on a potential European spot, Baxter is pleased with the progress his side have made this season as they ended their 33-year wait for a trophy by lifting the County Antrim Shield. I'm thrilled at the improvement. There's lots of stuff going on behind the scenes that we've been working on for ages. It all just doesn't happen overnight. You're working hard to make these things happen. But it's disappointing because you put an awful lot of work into it all year round to get yourself into this position and to get done on a few decisions is never good.