Ballymena United 3
Newington 0
League Cup (Round 2)

Match Report

A second half blitz helped Ballymena United ease their way into the BetMcLean League Cup quarter-finals after a 3-0 victory over Newington at the Showgrounds on Tuesday night.

After United's recent league woes continued at the weekend in a limp defeat to Larne, Jim Ervin made four changes in a no doubt welcome return to cup action, with Ali Gould, Stephen O'Donnell, Joel Thompson and Daniel Lafferty all returning to the starting line up.

On a really misty evening on Warden Street, Ballymena had a chance inside a minute when a cross was parried out by goalkeeper Dean Smyth into the path of Kian Corbally, but he lifted his shot over the crossbar and after that, it was the Championship side who made a lot of the early running. In a trio of chances before the ten minute mark, Rory Donnelly saw a header fly wide and a strike held by Sean O'Neill, before Seamus Duffy rattled the crossbar with a free kick.

The home side eventually got themselves going around halfway through the opening half and by half time all that was really missing was a goal. The 'Ton headed off the line when O'Donnell appeared to be the man in sky blue to send a header goalwards in a packed box following a corner, before Success Edogun began to cause some real problems. The forward embarked on a purposeful run that ended with his cut back finding Corbally, but his weak shot trundled just wide. Seconds later the same man decided to go it alone after another good run, only to fire one well over.

Towards the end of the half another Edogun strike, this time from distance, curled high and wide as the Irishman stayed in search of a goal, but in the end a reasonably tight half with not a great deal in it overall, ended goalless.

The second half saw the Braidmen really step things up as they looked to advance to the final eight and just three minutes after the restart, Daniel Lafferty fired the hosts ahead. Edogun was involved again when he was brought down just outside the Newington box and after Lafferty had hit the wall from a little further out in the first half, second time round a peach of a free kick saw the full back turned midfielder rifle an unstoppable strike into the back of the net.

Newington's attacking threat had rather dried up beyond that early spell of danger, but they showed three weeks back they were more than capable of posing questions and just shy of the hour mark a fabulous ball into the box was turned goalwards by Peter McKiernan and whilst O'Neill looked to have it covered, it flew just wide.

On sixty-eight minutes, Lafferty must've been left wondering how he hadn't added to his and United's tally when a Corbally corner picked him out free as could be six yards out, only for Lafferty to get his header all wrong, but four minutes later, there was no mistake as Edogun made it 2-0. Whilst Edogun got a deserved goal, it was all about substitute James Hood who did tremendously well on his own down the left to create space to deliver a tasty low ball across the goal, where Edogun was awaiting its arrival to tap home.

Hood almost went from provider to scorer a minute later when a driven shot was kept out by Smyth, but five minutes after Edogun made it two, Calvin McCurry added icing to the cake with a third. O'Neill's long ball was poorly dealt with by the away side, but from McCurry it was brilliant tenacity to chase the ball and outmuscle a defender, leaving him only the 'keeper to beat and despite being clattered by Smyth, McCurry did fantastically well again to lift the ball over Smyth and in before the contact for a fine solo goal.

More chances came to add further gloss to the scoreline. As United broke three on two, Edogun went it alone, only to see his shot have the pace taken out of it by Smyth, allowing Tony McIlhone to somehow clear off the line acrobatically, with Aaron Jarvis' rebound smacking the bar. In added time, substitutes David Taylor and Jack O'Reilly combined well and when Taylor slid it across to the latter, he somehow skewed wide a shot into an empty net, but it mattered not for United who put in a much needed improved performance and result, to book a spot in last eight of the BetMcLean Cup.

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