Ballyclare Com.0–2Ballymena United

First half goals from Jack O'Reilly and Success Edogun helped Ballymena United to gain safe passage through the first round of the Co Antrim Shield as they beat Ballyclare Comrades 2-0 at Dixon Park on Tuesday night.

Despite seven changes from the weekend's defeat to Larne, with Ali Gould, Stephen O'Donnell, Aaron Jarvis and Kian Corbally the surviving four, United still lined up with a strong starting XI as they got the Shield underway against their Premier Intermediate League opponents.

The first half was one largely dominated by the Sky Blues, but it was also a half that took a while to get going. The first chance for either team came thirteen minutes in, but it was a good one as United struck the post. Kym Nelson's floating cross was met by Success Edogun, but he could only turn an effort onto the inside of the post, as Ballyclare cleared the remaining danger. The Comrades first real flurries forward of substance came around the twenty minute mark, as Jack Berry got himself into a shooting position twenty yards from goal, only to fire well wide, before the same man minutes later tried his luck with a free kick from well out, which forced Declan Breen to parry over on his competitive debut.

With thirty minutes on the clock, it was cometh the half hour cometh the man for the visitors as Jack O'Reilly headed United in front. Daniel Lafferty's cross from the left hand corner of the pitch found the winger, who produced a lovely looping header that cleared Luis Finlay in the home goal and dipped in under the crossbar.

Four minutes after the opener, Edogun had a glorious chance to make it two when a cross was cleared to him around the penalty spot in acres of space, only for the forward to blast miles over, but three minutes later he had his deserved goal. There was no fluffing of lines this time when the ball came to Success Edogunjust inside the box, as he guided the ball beautifully into the bottom left corner out of Finlay's reach.

At the end of the half Berry again was the trigger puller for Ballyclare, only for a tame shot to be easily held by Breen, before an over-hit, crossed free kick from O'Reilly at the other end almost sneaked into the corner, as a fiery at times half ended comfortably in Ballymena's favour.

The second half hadn't a great deal to get excited about as Ballyclare struggled to threaten, allowing the Braidmen to calmly see out the second period with little to no drama. Inside two minutes a driving run by O'Reilly was ended on the edge of the box when he was upended by a red shirt, but after the scorer of the opening goal hit the free kick himself, he couldn't quite keep it down.

That was it for chances until after the hour mark, but United were still well in control as they knocked the ball about. As Nelson and Lafferty found themselves in the Ballyclare box in open play, the former found the latter, but his shot across the box went wide by inches. A couple of changes swiftly followed, as Ryan McNickle was introduced for his first official minutes for the club, while there was a senior debut too for sixteen-year-old Conor Burns.

Entering the final ten minutes, as still Breen found himself relatively unworked in United's goal, Kian Corbally slid a perfectly weighted through ball into McNickle who then put it across goal for Daire O'Connor, but it was cut out just before reaching the Irishman. Late on Joel Thompson came on and he was joined by Alex Houston, the second sixteen-year-old to come off the bench on the night for their senior debut.

The final few minutes died out, but Ballymena's job had long since been done in the first half, as the Braidmen return to winning ways in a controlled and professional manner to book a last eight spot in the Shield.