Glentoran 2
Ballymena United 0
County Antrim Shield (Semi final)

Match Report

Ballymena United exited the ToalsBet County Antrim Shield at the semi-final stage after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Glentoran at The Oval on Tuesday night.

Having come away from the capital disappointed on Saturday from the loss to Linfield, United were back in Belfast for Shield action and made one enforced change from the weekend, as Stephen O'Donnell dropped out for Daniel Lafferty, back from a months lay off.

Thankfully the fog plaguing much of the country wasn't much of a factor in East Belfast and early on it was a fairly quiet, even affair. The first effort on goal came ten minutes in when Fuad Sule weaved his way forward from midfield but struck at Sean O'Neill and six minutes later at the other end came probably the best chance of the night for the visitors. A good move got the ball down the right where Andy Scott was waiting to whip it into the box and he found the unmarked Lafferty who had made his way forward, but his header went straight at Andrew Mills in the Glens goal.

After Lafferty had gone back to the day job and made a vital block to deny Jordan Jenkins after he'd rounded O'Neill, an action packed minute led to a disallowed goal at one end and the game's opener at the other on twenty-one minutes. First, the Braidmen thought they'd gone ahead when Josh Carson's free kick was met by Kym Nelson whose header was going in before Ben Kennedy tapped it in on the line, but he was in an offside position. Within thirty seconds and with Ballymena not switched back on, Glentoran went up the other end and scored. The hosts kept the ball alive up top and when Jenkins split United's defence with a header through for Dylan Connolly, he rifled a first time strike into the far bottom corner.

Following Connolly's opener, Jim Ervin's side asserted some control on the ball for a good fifteen minute spell, but turning possession into anything at all in the final third was proving difficult and five minutes before the break the task became harder after a second Glentoran goal. Connolly got on the end of Marcus Kane's ball forward before he clipped a ball over two United defenders to find Jay Donnelly. The striker then went round O'Neill and squared it for Jordan Jenkins who couldn't miss into an empty net, and whilst Ballymena were furious no flag had gone up when they felt Jenkins looked to be in an offside position and interfering with play for the ball that found Donnelly, their protests fell on deaf ears.

Just to compound the first half misery, Nelson hobbled off for the Sky Blues just before the break, as he was replaced by Colin Coates, and whilst 2-0 may have slightly flattered the hosts, Ballymena faced an uphill second half battle.

The second period proved to be a familar story for United from the first, as it was a half in which they saw plenty of the ball, but lacked any cutting edge at all. With a two goal deficit already enough to be trying to claw back, it could've been three five minutes into the half when a low ball found Daniel Amos at the back post, but he fired over. Eleven minutes in Ballymena's back line suffered another casualty when Sean Brown was unable to continue after trying to run off an issue and Donal Rocks came on to take his place at right back.

On the hour mark the away side were finally able to get a shot off when Johnny McMurray spread a ball out to Calvin McCurry, who cut inside and forced Mills to tip a shot over the bar, the first piece of work he'd done since the quarter hour mark. As Ballymena continued to at least see the ball in the final third, a free kick was parried out by Mills to Scott, who volleyed well over from the edge of the box, but it was by this stage feeling like United would be drawing blanks well into the night.

In the final twenty minutes Glentoran let a number of decent chances pass them by with Ballymena more open chasing the game. David Fisher headed over a great chance before the same man got in and laid the ball over to Jenkins, but his shot was partially saved by O'Neill and then fully saved by Lafferty who hammered off the line. Further chances for Jenkins and Wassim called O'Neill into good saves, whilst Cammy Palmer fired over by inches and Kodi Lyons-Foster rattled the bar with a header.

In the second of four added minutes United nearly made it a nervy enough final minute when a flick on from sub Ethan Devine put in Ben Kennedy, who'd gone beyond the forward on a rare occasion, but he got his finish all wrong to put it wide.

Not to be in the end for Ballymena who fall one short of the first final of the season, with the lack of not just goals, but decent chances at all, yet again contributing to a disappointing result.

Match report written by Philip McPeake (www.ballymenaunitedfc.com)