Ballymena United0–3Portadown

A late second half collapse led to a disappointing 3-0 defeat for a poor Ballymena United side at home to Portadown on Friday night.

After suspension ruled Josh Carson out of last Saturday's narrow 1-0 loss to Crusaders at Seaview, he returned to the starting XI for the visit of Portadown in place of Oisin Devlin, whilst Joe Moore came in for Calvin McCurry.

Following back-to-back defeats in the last two weeks to halt the United winning spree, Jim Ervin's men would've hoped to get back to winning ways under the lights in front of another sizeable crowd, but this was a puzzling and flat performance from the get go. Portadown started the better and inside seven minutes Ahu Obhakhan could've had the visitors in front, only for a body on the line block from Stephen O'Donnell to deny him. Around ten minutes later, a game that wasn't producing many early fireworks had its best chance yet when a corner was cleared only as far as Shay McCartan still inside the box, but he placed just over what was a decent opening.

Whilst chances weren't exactly flowing at either end, they looked more likely to develop for the Ports, because by the half hour mark all the Braidmen had managed to threaten Aaron McCarey with was a free kick from Ben Kennedy, but it drifted just wide of the post. Not long after that Kennedy effort, there was a bit of a let off down in the other end when Kym Nelson seemed to misjudge the flight of the ball to allow Eamon Fyfe in down the right. Fyfe's cutback ball into the box found Paul McElroy who had more time and space than he perhaps realised, as he dragged his shot wide from a great position.

The final ten minutes of the half were fairly eventless, in keeping with much of the opening half, with Steven McCullough unable to find the target from a free kick in a good position on his first game back on Warden Street all that had happened in terms of chances. There was, however, a late blow dealt to United when Johnny McMurray was left on the ground following a corner and with a fair bit of blood on his face and a sizeable cut under his eye, he had to make way for Ethan Devine, as an uninspiring half ended goalless.

The hopes for the second half were that there was plenty of room and time for improvement, but the signs were perhaps there from early on that it wouldn't materialise, as inside two minutes Lee Chapman waltzed his way unchallenged through the United half, before bending a shot wide by a matter of inches.

Beyond Chapman's chance, the home side did begin to start looking like a period of positivity wasn't too far away, but time and time again next to nothing in the final third thwarted any chance of the Sky Blues beginning to pressure Portadown's back line. At the other end a couple of lapses in concentration threaten to hurt United and it very nearly did when Josh Ukek got onto a through ball that hadn't much pace, but he was denied by Sean O'Neill. Ukek's chance came on fifty-five minutes and for the next twenty minutes, virtually nothing happened at all as the game looked to be sleep walking into a 0-0 finish.

However, if one team was to finally find a breakthrough, it still felt likely to be Portadown and with twelve minutes to go Niall Currie's men went ahead, seconds after Ballymena almost scored themselves. From well out, Carson had a crack with a free kick and thundered an effort off the crossbar, but in the blink of an eye Portadown went down the other end and scored. A long clearance up the pitch was poorly dealt with by Donal Rocks who missed the ball which allowed Josh Ukek to race clear, before calmly slotting past O'Neill.

Any thoughts the home crowd had of hoping falling behind would finally bring Ballymena to life were quickly dampened when Portadown grabbed a second three minutes after the first. Another clearance wasn't dealt with by United before McCartan brought it down and played in Ryan Mayse who had the freedom of the Borough to run into, and he flicked the ball up for himself before volleying home.

Five minutes later, the late collapse showed no signs of stopping as Fyfe netted a third to round off a dismal night. The ball was picked up in the middle of the pitch and fired out to Mayse down the right. Mayse looked to be offside but when no flag came his cross into the box was met first time by Eamon Fyfe whose shot squeezed under the body of O'Neill, to bring to an end a horror show of a game for Ballymena at Halloween, in what was a performance well below par and then some.