Ballymena 4
(Lisburn) Distillery 0
League (Irish League)

Match Report

Ballymena did doubly sure of the points when they entertained Distillery at the Showgrounds on Saturday.

Evidently they took heart from the lesson they learned on the previous Wednesday, when having a two goal lead over Cliftonville, they eased off rather much, with the result that the Amateurs made a magnicifcent rally and suprised everybody by defeating the Light Blues by four goals to three.

But Ballymena did not rest of their oars on Saturday. They forged ahead steadily, and were not content until they had chalked up four goals, the last of which came, only six minutes from the finish. While some sparking football was seen, chiefly from the Ballymena team, the match on the whole was quite an ordinary affair.

The teams got to grips right at he start. With a fine swinging movement the Distillery forwards bore down on the home goal and Mitchell was offered a chance, but he missed it badly.

Good work by the halves enabled the home front line to make progress, but a speedy return by one of the opposing backs was followed by the White's vanguard coming into the limelight again. McCandless, however, cleared the lines. Hot on the heels of a spell of midfield work came a free to Ballymena, and Reid's low shot sailed a couple of feet wide of the mark.

Murphy capped a piece of sparking work on the left wing by getting across a lovely ball, from which Cassidy headed in for Palmer to make a somewhat shaky save. Cassidy essayed another try a moment later, only to miss narrowly.

Still maintaining the pressure, the Ballymena forwards got through some slogging work, and once Kimlin was right on the mark, but there was not enough sting behind his kick. The same player later gave Palmer a hot handful, and following this the goalie must have given vent to a sigh of relief when a shot from Cassidy streaked across the goal-mouth.

Just to let Ballymena see that they were not going to have matters all their own way, Distillery got busy again and looked like scoring when McAdam got the ball away out of a scrimmage, but McCandless dispossessed him neatly. Offside spoiled the Whites' next movement, and in another attack Sinnamond struck the side-net when well positioned.

Then followed what looked like developing into a productive movement by the home forwards when Dalrymple sped up the centre of the field at a fast pace, but his subsequent drive ahead was too far hard for Murphy to catch.

Dashing up the field, Murphy caught another pass almost on the touchline, and he fired across a centre from which Cassidy headed against the face of the bar, and on the rebound William Kimlin piloted the ball into the net for the opening goal. The match was at this time about twenty-eight minutes old.

Disitllery pulled themselves together a bit and got dangerously close to the home goal, but McCandless spoiled their attack rather effectively when he nodded the ball back to Black, who sent it up the field with all speed.

From a free to Ballymena McCandless drove the ball into a ruck of players near goal, but it made no change to the score. Shortly before the interval Dalrymple sent the ball flying across the goal-mouth, but Kimlin was just the fraction of a second late.

The second half opened sensationally. At the end of a minute's play Kilpatrick got across a dandy centre, and Dalrymple just failing to gather it, John Murphy ran in with commendable promptitude and beat Palmer with a terrific drive with which the goalie had absolutely no chance.

McAdam looked like doing something on his own when he got away on a clear field, but again McCandless baulked him. However the Whites came back again and played to such purpose that they forced a corner, from which Rafferty offered the inside men the chance of a lifetime when he sent the ball flying across goal, but the effort was lost.

Eight minutes from the restart Johnny Dalrymple made a bee-line through the opposing defence and ended a fine individual effort by scoring Ballymena's third goal against his old club.

At this point thunder began to growl ominously and torrential rain fell for the next quarter of an hour or so. It must have soaked the players apparel right through, but the referee turned up his coat collar and went on with the game. In such a downpour the play was not expected to be very inspiring, nor was it, the players lobbing the ball about up and down the field.

A corner was given against the Light Blues when Black was unable to stop a back pass from Reid, but like previous flag kicks it was abortive. Play was tame for a time after this, nothing happening which was worth chronicling.

Distillery's best effort came from Patton, who drove in a beauty from long range, but Black was able to cope with the shot. Murphy entertained the crowd with a quick-step movement on the left in which he tricked a trio of opponents and then forced a corner. Again McAdam became dangerous at the other end, but for yet another time he came off second best against McCandless.

Another free to Ballymena was taken by Murphy, who sent in a shot which Palmer was obliged to turn around the post for a corner. This was fruitless, as was also one to Distillery a little later.

About six minutes from time John Murphy walked right through a bevy of opponents and scored his second and Ballymena's fourth goal with a well-placed shot. It was all over now bar the shouting.

Match report written by Ballymena Observer (29 August 1930)