It’s lucky 13 for Jeffrey as Braidmen hit the summit
NEWRY CITY: Coleman, King, Mooney (Lavery, 81 mins), Noonan, Boyle, McCann (McCabe, 76 mins), Montgomery, Carville, Teggart (Maguire, 61 mins), S Hughes, M Hughes.
Subs not used:
McCullough.
BALLYMENA UNITED: McDermott, Kane, Addis, Ervin, Whiteside (Balmer, 45 mins), Knowles (Winchester, 76 mins), S McCullough, Glendinning, Lecky, Friel (McMurray, 76 mins), McGrory.
Subs not used: McCauley, Burns, Nolan, Shevlin
Referee:
Rushe, McArdle, Healy, M
Evan Boyce WITH their 13th win in 14 games in all competitions, David Jeffrey’s Ballymena United moved to the top of the Danske Bank Premiership with a gritty victory away to lowly Newry City.
It was the home side who dominated the opening half-hour of the game and they looked the most likely to score in the first period.
After Stephen Hughes’ crossshot had been held by Ballymena keeper Thomas McDermott in the 10th minute, City went even closer three minutes later when Thomas McCann played a onetwo with Declan Carville outside the box before curling an effort just over the crossbar from 20 yards.
Darren King then fired his diving header from a Dale Montgomery free-kick wide of the post on the quarter-hour as Newry continued to have the better of the possession and territory without putting McDermott under enough pressure.
Despite their continued dominance, City went behind nine minutes before the break with a Sky Blues goal that came totally against the run of play.
Some nimble footwork from James Knowles on the edge of the area saw the midfielder superbly make space before attempting an audacious chip over Andy Coleman. The ball beat the Newry keeper but came back off the inside of the right-hand post, and Adam Lecky (below) was on hand to sidefoot the rebound into the empty net.
The Braidmen then doubled their lead a minute before the break when Reece Glendinning’s excellent low cross from the right saw Andy McGrory power into the box to crash home a fine right-foot volley from 12 yards that gave Coleman no chance.
As the tie entered stoppage time in the first half, there was a flare-up involving most of the players on the pitch just outside the Ballymena box that resulted in yellow cards for Newry’s Mark Hughes and Carville, while Lecky was also booked for the visitors.
Newry thought they had pulled one back just before the whistle when Mark Hughes’ corner from the right was headed home by Dara Noonan, but referee Evan Boyce had already blown his whistle for a free-kick for apparent blocking.
Newry were then dealt a serious blow on the hour mark when an off-the-ball incident saw Coleman shown a straight red card after he and Cathair Friel clashed in the Newry box.
Replacement keeper Steven Maguire was called into action soon after coming on for Stephen Teggart, keeping out shots from Friel and McGrory in quick succession as Ballymena looked to finish the game off completely. But it was City who scored on 68 minutes when Mark Hughes’ cross wasn’t cleared by the visiting defence and Montgomery was on hand to lash the ball high into the net from 15 yards.
It proved to only be a consolation, though. INSTITUTE will relish the challenge of trying to stop Crusaders goal machines Jordan Owens and Paul Heatley at Seaview today, according to manager Paddy McLaughlin.
After an inconsistent opening to the campaign, the Crues now look to be firing on all cylinders with the brilliant Owens and Heatley hitting the target on a regular basis.
Last weekend the deadly duo netted stunning goals in a 3-0 home success over Glenavon as Stephen Baxter’s side claimed a fourth victory in succession.
“We are going to the home of the champions and it will be tough,” admitted McLaughlin.
“They began the season in stop-start fashion but they have shown over the last few weeks what they are all about.
“Jordan Owens and Paul Heatley are in great form and we know it will be difficult, yet we have to embrace the challenge and look forward to it.
“I always knew that Crusaders would come good. You don’t win the league one season and become a bad side the next. Even the best teams can go through a sticky few weeks and then it’s about character, and they have displayed that. They are definitely back in the mix.”
Institute have impressed in the top flight this season but are experiencing their first run of defeats, having lost four in a row, including three in the league.
“We played Coleraine, Dungannon — where we felt the defeat was a harsh because a big penalty decision went against us — and then Linfield. Now we have Crusaders, so it’s a tough run of games but this is why we worked so hard last season to get promoted.
“We want to play against the best teams and the best players in the country,” says McLaughlin, who along with assistant Brian Donaghy will sit in the stands today due to suspension after words with referee Keith Kennedy after the loss to Dungannon.
“The boys haven’t let their heads go down, and they understand we are underdogs every week we play, but they enjoy the challenge and are determined to get points back on the board as soon as possible.”