Ballymena United0–1Coleraine

Ballymena United's eight game league winning streak ended at a sold out Showgrounds as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Coleraine on Saturday afternoon.

Following three games of naming the same starting line-up, Jim Ervin made two changes for the first home derby day of the season, as Johnny McMurray came in for Joe Moore, while Sean Brown replaced an injured Daniel Lafferty at left back.

Whilst United and Coleraine have played out hugely contrasting runs of form in recent weeks, there was always likely to be little in this one and so it proved in what was a low quality and cagey affair from the off. The Bannsiders started slightly the better and ten minutes in had the game's first chances as Brown produced a huge block to deny Jamie Glackin, with Dylan Boyle catching the rebound too well as he fired over.

On twenty-two minutes Jamie McGonigle fired a free kick from a fair way out straight at Sean O'Neill, but it was at least a shot on target in a game that continued to trundle along at a laboured pace. Come thirty-four minutes, the home side finally produced an effort to threaten Max Little. After some head tennis from a United corner, Aaron Jarvis headed the ball into the six yard box and in a crowd of shirts Calvin McCurry looked to have flicked it goalwards, but Little was able to grab the header on the line. It marked the start of a slightly improved period from the Braidmen until half time, or at least a period that they were able to create in. A few minutes later Kym Nelson went even closer as McCurry turned provider to find the centre half, whose header was tipped round the post by Little. In first half added time, a wide free kick from Josh Carson almost caught Little out as he was forced to get across his goal to bat it away well, but it brought to an end a half that never got going, with some nice weather just about all a sold out home end and sizeable away end were treated to.

The opening gambits of the second half were in keeping with the first as again it just wasn't happening for either team. Ballymena probably started just the better, but the only chance of note fell to Coleraine's Rhyss Campbell after a lay off from Matthew Shevlin set him up for a rasping volley, which didn't fly too far wide.

By the fifty-sixth minute, Jim Ervin looked to his bench to try and get something going as Moore replaced McMurray, who had been lacking service most of the afternoon. Just three minutes after his introduction, Moore pounced on a slack back pass to try and get in on goal, but when he was given a slight pull on his shirt by the recovering Kyle McClelland, it was deemed not enough for a foul by the officials.

With twenty-six minutes left, a game that had felt destined to finish scoreless for some time finally yielded a goal and whilst it would be wrong to say it had been coming, Coleraine looked more likely to score and they did. Having played around Ballymena's box for a bit, a cross from Glackin found Shevlin at the back post who headed across the six yard box to Ciaron Harkin, and when he played it back across goal, it was headed home by Rhyss Campbell as United failed to intervene.

The opener didn't bring much of a response from the home side who still could just not find the quality to threaten. It was Coleraine who pressed on, with Glackin sending a free kick just over and a thumping shot from McGonigle calling O'Neill into action. However, on seventy-six minutes, Ballymena could not have come closer to drawing level as Jarvis smacked the crossbar. A nice move saw Andy Scott find McCurry who flicked the ball neatly onto Jarvis in the box, who absolutely rattled the underside of the bar with his effort, before putting the rebound over.

Late on Oisin Devlin and Ethan Devine came on but couldn't help United salvage anything as Coleraine saw the game out well by limiting Ballymena, who simply had one of those days that started flat and never recovered itself, to bring an end to their sensational winning run.