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Ballymena United
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Portadown
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Mark Surgenor (78)
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Neil McCafferty (70)
Emmet Friars (75)
David Miskelly (90) |
Appearances & Goals To Date
Starting Lineup
| Youngest Player: | Gary Thompson (23 years 176 days) |
| Oldest Player: | David Munster (34 years 270 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 27 years 300 days |
| Domestic Players: | 10 (90.91 % of starting eleven) |
Matchday Squad
| Youngest Player: | Michael Ruddy (20 years 104 days) |
| Oldest Player: | David Munster (34 years 270 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 26 years 280 days |
| Domestic Players: | 14 (87.50 % of matchday squad) |
BALLYMENA United saw off the threat of Portadown in style on Tuesday night, running out convincing 4-0 winners at the Showgrounds thanks to goals from David Cushley, Mark Surgenor, Gary Thompson and a penalty from Alan Teggart.
United had the lead with only seven minutes on the clock, a scuffed 30 yard free kick from David Cushley somehow wrong footed David Miskelly in the Portadown goal to give United the lead. Allan Jenkins should have doubled his side's advantage on 21 minutes but Miskelly atoned for his earlier error with a superb save after Tony Kane's pinpoint through ball.
As the first half wore on, visiting striker Gary Twigg has a couple of half chances for Portadown but Stuart Addis in the United goal remained untroubled. Soon after the restart, Tony Kane was unfortunate not to make it 2-0 when his powerful shot was turned behind for a corner by the under pressure David Miskelly. The elusive second finally arrived on 58 minutes, Allan Jenkins set Tony Kane on a sprinting run down the right flank before he full back unselfishly squared for Mark Surgenor to finish with aplomb.
Darren Murray's looping header failed to trouble Stuart Addis in the United goal before Gary Thompson finally put the game beyond Portadown. The tenacious midfielder ran almost the length of the pitch before firing past David Miskelly to effectively wrap up proceedings. There was still time to add further gloss to the scoreline when Milskelly's miserable night was compounded when he upended David Cushley in the penalty area, allowing Alan Teggart to step up and fire United into the next round.
The Sky Blues will find out their semi final opponents on Saturday, when they also face a crucial Danske Bank Premiership clash at home to Ards.
Match report written by Jordan Miller