Ballymena 4
Derry City 1
League (Irish League)

Match Report

A simple but impressive tribute was paid to the R101 disaster victims at the Ballymena-Derry City match at the Showgrounds on Saturday. Headed by the referee, the teams walked shoulder to shoulder to the centre of the field, where they drew up facing each other.

The sounding of the 'Last Post' by Mr. W. Ross, of the Ballymena Silver Band, was the signal for observance of two minutes' silence, during which the large crowd in the reserved and unreserved sides of the ground stood bareheaded. Then the shrill, clear notes of the 'Reveille' rang out, thus ended a tribute which was both respectful and solemn.

As regards the match itself, it was good and bad in patches; still, the interest was sustained to a considerable degree. Ballymena started off like a team that meant business and had the satisfaction of scoring at the end of seventeen minutes.

In the play which led up this goal, scored by Murphy, Palmer, the Derry goalkeeper, collided with Shiels, and was unfortunate enough to injure his right leg, the injury being caused, it is thought, by is leg twisting under him. He was removed to the Waveney Hospital, where it was ascertained he had fractured his shin-bone. Hilley took Palmer's place between the sicks, and a very able substitute he made. Ballymena, however, scored again per Murphy before the interval.

In the second half Derry got a very soft goal, scored by Castle, at which period Nelson was on the line having an injury attended to. Eventually Nelson had to be assisted to the pavilion, so that each side finished with ten men. Cassidy added a third goal for Ballymena, and Murphy scored his third and Ballymena's fourth.

Derry won the toss and set Ballymena to face a stiff breeze, which made accurate passing a mater of some difficulty, and also worked havoc with shots of any length, as Cassidy found in the first minute when a shot from his foot went sailing over the bar, the wind tending to lift it.

Cassidy was prominent in organising the next attack, but his well placed pass was misused by Dalrymple, who sent behind. Derry's first attack was cut short when Castle fouled McNinch, but they were back in the next minute, and Curran shot wide when well placed. Then Hilley hit the cross-bar with a terrific drive that had the force of the wind behind it.

When Shearer was becoming dangerous McCandless made a good tackle and cleared well, but the City soon got to close quarters again and forced a couple of corners in succession, from the second of which McNinch got the ball away in characteristic style, allowing the ball away up the middle, but the Ballymena leader fell when tackled by Dubious, and from the ultimate clearance the visitors' right wing got moring, and Galllagher shot across goal.

Dalrymple ended a good run on the right wing by lifting the ball into the centre, where Shiels hustled Dubois so effectively as to force a corner, which brought no material result. From a free kick McNinch dropped the ball in front of goal, where O'Reilly had a shot which had the misfortune to be blocked, and again Cassidy had a quick shot, but like his previous one it was too high.

Next, the Derry goalkeeper was in action, and a free was given against Shiels for too robust play. In the course of a Derry attack Nelson, in attempting to clear, swerving the ball back towards his own goal, but Black was on the alert.

Then Ballymena, in a nice open movement in which Dalrymple, Cassidy and Shiels participated, transferred play to the opposite end, and when Shiels collided with Palmer, who had advanced to meet him, the ball rolled towards John Murphy, who crowned a glorious opportunity by opening the scoring, this goal coming at the end of seventeen minute's play.

As above stated, Palmer had to retire from the match owing to the injury to his shin, and Hilley was called on to don the goalie's jersey.

Ballymena, who had previously been shaping well, had a larger share of the play from this point, and gave the opposing defence a busy time. Shiels especially causing the backs a good deal of worry. From his pass Dalrymple forced a corner, and it was Shiels again who, getting possession from a bye-kick from McNinch, raced up the centre and lashed the ball out to John Murphy, who made rings round several opponents, as is typical of him, and ended by piloting the ball into the net for the second goal, at the end of twenty-three minutes later.

This second reverse had the effect of rousing the Derry men, who, through a fine movement on the right wing, brought play near the home goal, where from Harrison's cross Shearer got possession, but he was foiled by McNinch, who, however, had to concede a corner.

Ballymena were soon on the offensive again, and from Shiels' pass Dalrymple lobbed in a swerving shot which Hilley stopped with one hand outstretched, a save for which he was heartily applauded.

A free kick to Derry brought Black into action. At the opposite end Stewart volleyed in another great shot, which just grazed the bar. Later O'Reilly had a try, and then when Shiels was right through he raced in and shot, but Hilley stopped the ball and Mason cleared. Just before the interval Dalrymple forced a corner from Murphy's pass, but it left the score unchanged.

Early in the second half Castle fouled Nelson badly and came under the censure of the referee. McNInch took the resultant free kick and drove the ball narrowly past goal. Then Hilley stopped a fast shot from Cassidy, and for some time after this Ballymena hemmed their opponents in their own end of the field, and in the course of these exchanges they forced two corners, from the latter of which O'Reilly handled the ball into goal, but offside was given.

Hilley continued to do good work in the Derry goal, one particularly good save being from a free kick taken by Reid. Later he stopped a snorter from Murphy. Again Nelson was injured, and to such an extent that despite a considerable period of treatment on the line he was obliged to retire for good.

Fred Castle scored a soft goal for Derry in the course of a melee in front of goal caused by McNinch miskicking, and when Black had stopped the ball but had failed to get it away. Some twenty-seven minutes of the second half were now gone.

With ten men each the teams continued to fight determinedly for the points. Ballymena still had the major share of the play and were well worth their third goal, which came at the end of thirty five minutes, Joe Cassidy scoring with a great first-timer.

Murphy brightened the play with spells of clever work on the left wing and compelled the attention of a bevy of opponents, who could scarcely do anything with him. Cassidy engineered another fine forward movement, drawing the defence and passing to Shiels, who headed across to John Murphy to dash in and score Ballymena's fourth goal, the ball being well well over the line before Hilley stopped it.

In the closing stages Derry received a corner, this being followed by Ballymena forcing a couple, but when the final whistle blew the score still stood.

Match report written by Ballymena Observer (17 October 1930)