Lucky Blues!

This may seem like a strange headline, seeing as United lost their first league match at the Showgrounds this season and were reduced to 12th place in the league after this one nil defeat at home to Lisburn Distillery. If truth be told, the home team, who lost the toss should’ve have been at least 4 goals down at halftime. The Whites missed two blatant sitters in the first ten minutes and United fans began to fear the worst. It seemed only a matter of time before the visitors scored and so it proved. After 17 minutes, United won a corner at the far end, but when it came to nothing (as it invariable does), the Whites mounted a swift counter attack. Boydie, so often a hero in recent weeks, failed to close down Darren Armour wide on the right and when his cross came in the unmarked Francis Murphy, powered a header past his namesake Paul Murphy, to give the Whites the goal that ultimately took all three points. United keeper Murphy had earlier denied Armour with a point blank save, but was helpless on this occasion, as his defenders were cruelly exposed. United were given a lifeline, when Fitzy got to the by-line and set up Kevin Kelbie, but the striker’s feeble shot was pushed onto the crossbar by keeper Phillip Matthews, and the follow up from Scatesy was blocked by defender Paul Muir. I realised then that it was not going to be our day, as we had just missed an open goal, so I wasn’t entirely surprised by what followed. The Whites missed two more glorious chances to increase their lead, when Boydie inadvertently headed the ball to Armour but he headed it back to Boydie. Boydie then missed an easy header and the ball fell to winger Martin, who blasted wide when it looked easier to score. Miraculously United survived to halftime without conceding any more goals and I even felt slightly optimistic.

My optimism was completely unfounded as I witnessed one of the most inept displays I have seen for many a day in the second half. United manager Tommy Wright, when he took over the managerial reins at the Showgrounds, made Gary Haveron his first signing. The big Larne man has had a ‘love hate’ relationship with United fans during his 18 months at the club. Today he should’ve been the hero, but he missed three glorious chances and he remains a villain. Firstly when United won a free kick about 25 yards from goal, he took it but failed to find the target. Then he missed with a free header from a rare, ‘decent’, Stuart King free kick, screwing his header wide. Then in a rare spell of United pressure, four corners in succession, he had a shot blocked from point blank range. But Gary wasn’t the only villain in a Sky Blue shirt, top scorer Kevin Kelbie drew the wrath of Sky Blue fans when he ‘chickened out’ in a race for the ball with Whites keeper Phillip Matthews. Kelbie was later withdrawn with Randal Reid taking his place after 75 minutes, but as I’ve said many times before, why wasn’t Kelbie kept on and another player sacrificed instead. The answer of course is that our management team can’t (to term a modern phrase), think outside the box. Randal may be a United player of the future, but in my opinion he needs a bit more nurturing and he was fairly ineffective. Then in the 80^th minute Tommy played his last cards, taking off Boydie and Picking and bringing on Lee Patrick and David Cushley. I can honestly say I can’t remember a clear cut chance for United in the closing stages and how fourth official Robert Penney only found 3 minutes stoppage time, just beggars belief. Having said that, the end couldn’t come soon enough for me and most Sky Blue supporters. Something has to be done and done bloody quickly, as at the minute we’re in a ‘right’ (or is it Wright), bloody mess!

Murphy 7 Aid Watson 6 MoM: P. Murphy

Callaghan 6 Fitzy 6

Boydie 6 Kelbie 5

Scatesy 5 King 5

Haveron 6 1^st Sub: Reid 5 Referee: B. Turkington 4

Alb Watson 6 2^nd Sub Patrick 5

Picking 5 3^rd Sub: Cushley 5

No Logic!

It gets harder every week to try and write something positive about United’s attempts to play the game we call football. Admittedly they got off to the worst possible start today, losing Darren Murphy after barely two minutes to a serious head injury, by some strange quirk not mentioned in any of the two reports on radio Ulster’s Sports Sound show, nor on the Teletext report on B.B.C. T V either. One has to assume that players being carried off are no longer thought newsworthy enough to gain a mention. Kevin Kelbie was restored to the United front line alongside young Randal Reid, at the expense of Austen Friel, who didn’t even get a place on the bench. Sky Blue Sport’s worst fears were confirmed when that misfit, Stuarty King, got a place on the bench and in fact came on for the injured Darren Murphy two minutes into the game. The United defence were unable to clear their lines and kept playing themselves into trouble, with short passes which went astray and were indebted on several occasions to Boydie for rescuing them with last minute clearances. Referee Burns did them no favours by ignoring a couple of blatant fouls, which was just the start of his inept refereeing display. In a rare United attack Scatesy, who otherwise had a ‘stinker’, managed to get the ball through to Randal Reid, but the young striker went for the obvious shot and former United keeper Dwayne Nelson made a good save low down to his left. At the other end another former United player, Rory Hamill, jinked his way past our hesitant defence and set up their young striker McAllister, luckily for the United defence he completely miskicked and the ball was cleared. At the other end United’s best forward, Mark Picking, forced Nelson to make a good save. United won a free kick when home defender Fitzpatrick ‘cleaned’ Picking, but the cross was easily gathered by Nelson. Dungannon were guilty of casual play at the back and Reid came within an inch of intercepting one cross-field ball. The young striker missed a glorious chance to give his team the lead, when he got his head to a Picking cross, but headed wide when at worst he should’ve at least been on target. United were coming more into the game at this stage and I was hopeful for a better second half.

Five minutes after the break we almost snatched the lead when Picking burst through but his shot clipped the top of the crossbar, with Nelson well beaten. The home team put the United defence under more pressure and we had a let off when the ball was driven against the post with Murphy well beaten. Murphy then spilled a simple shot but managed to recover the ball, with the home forwards closing in. As Dungannon lived dangerously once more playing the ball across their back four, Picking nipped between the last two defenders and as he sped goalwards he was ‘cleaned’ by central defender Fitzpatrick. With a direct run on goal this offence carries a mandatory sending off, but referee Burns merely flourished a yellow card. Stuarty King took the resultant free kick, but shot it over the bar. Why our manager allows this man to take free kicks is a mystery to me, because I can’t remember us scoring from one during his time at the Showgrounds. Dungannon snatched a dramatic goal in the 81^st minute and its one which will haunt United midfielder Aiden Watson for a day or two. There seemed little danger as the young midfielder was shepherding the ball over the goal-line, but he was dispossessed and the ball screwed in from a tight angle by home forward McCabe. Two minutes later Randal Reid was viciously scythed down by Fitzpatrick, but referee Burns took no action against him. United manager Tommy Wright took Randal off and brought on Darren Fitzgerald, but why did he have to sacrifice a striker in order to bring one on, could he not have taken off the ineffective Scatesy or King, but then again that would be too logical. A minute later Picking and Callaghan combined up the right flank and as the United fullback went flying through, defender Fitzpatrick, given ‘carte blanche’ by the referee, maliciously scythed the fullback to the ground. The referee flourished a second yellow card to the Dungannon Captain, but it was too little too late, in my opinion. Callaghan had to be helped off the pitch, replaced by Gareth McConaghie. United attempted to mount a last ditch attack, even pushing Captain Albert Watson into a forward role, but they even got this wrong. Albert was left wide on the right, with Kelbie in the middle and Fitzy on the left. Surely it would have been wiser to have pushed Albert up front with Kelbie on the left and Fitzy on the right, but then again I’m thinking logically. In any case play was mainly at the other end of the pitch as the home team used their heads and endeavoured to keep the ball down there for most of the remaining normal time and the surprisingly short injury time of 4 minutes. Still as I’ve said many times before, I don’t think we could’ve scored if we’d have played all night, it’s sure going to be a long hard old winter, unless there’s a massive turnaround, but it better be quick!

Murphy 6 Aid Watson 6 MoM: Boydie

Callaghan 5 Reid 6

Boydie 7 Kelbie 6

Scatesy 5 Murphy 7 Referee: B. Burns 2

Alb Watson 6 1^st Sub: King 5

Haveron 6 2^nd Sub: Fitzy 6

Picking 7 3^rd Sub: McConaghie 6

Cold Comfort!

Tommy Wright took his Ballymena team back to the scene of his former glories, the Showgrounds Limavady, but it was not a triumphant return. The Ballyclare man, as predicted in Sky Blue Sport gave a starting slot to reserve striker Randal Reid, with Kevin Kelbie serving an automatic one game suspension. That wasn’t the only change as Gordon Simms was replaced by Gary Haveron, while Gareth McConaghie got a seat on the bench, with Darren Fitzgerald and Stuarty King being the other two substitutes. Limavady must have one of the poorest grounds in the Premier league, with only one small stand and seemingly no ball boys. I say seemingly as this was perfectly illustrated after two minutes when United keeper Paul Murphy had to vault over the wall behind his goal in order to retrieve the ball to take a goalkick. Never mind the time being wasted by this manoeuvre, what if the keeper had slipped and injured himself, we would then have been in a tricky situation. Austen Friel was given his second successive start against his former club, but failed to grasp the opportunity, as his touch and control let him down time and again. His strike partner Reid on the other hand had an excellent game and showed some nice touches. Former United player Vinny Sweeney came in for some ‘playful’ banter from the Sky Blue supporters while he showed his immaturity by incitingly crossing himself. He then should’ve been cautioned for a two-footed tackle on United’s Randal Reid, but referee Adrian McCourt merely gave him a talking to. United took a deserved lead after 34 minutes when winger Mark Picking outpaced home fullback Cutmore and then turning inside another defender found Reid’s head with a delightful cross. The young striker headed forcefully into the net to put United one up and open his senior goalscoring account for the season. United strove to increase their lead but the final pass seemed to go astray and despite forcing several corners and free kicks never looked like increasing their lead. Restarting is an area where the Sky Blues are failing miserably, throw-ins invariably got to the opposition, while free kicks and corners are fairly one-dimensional, a long ball to the far side which brings little or no reward. But bad enough that these plays are, they are brilliant compared to kick-offs, which seem to consist of an aimless punt downfield, either out of play or straight to the opposition.

As if to prove my point United began the second-half with an aimless punt straight to the opposition, allowing the home team time to settle. Would it not be better to try something a wee bit different, like holding possession and trying to catch the opponents out or is that not in the United coaching manua. The home team levelled the scores 7 minutes into the second-half and the United defence were caught flatfooted by the move. Fullback Cutmore was allowed to encroach deep into the United half and his deep cross was headed powerfully past the stranded Paul Murphy by the unmarked Steven Parkhorse. Where was the marking I wondered as the Limavady striker was in acres of space and even though some fans thought the keeper at fault, I think he was let down by his fellow defenders. United to their credit kept their heads up and they should’ve went back in front when ‘man of the match’ Picking dribbled through the centre of the home defence before releasing Austen Friel. The tiny striker with the goal at his mercy blasted the ball over the bar, a horrendous miss. Then Picking took a long pass from Haveron and his shot from 25 yards clipped the top of the crossbar with the keeper beaten all ends up. Friel was given yet another chance to redeem himself but he shot too close to the keeper who pushed his shot for a corner. Albert Watson almost scored from the resultant corner but his left foot shot was scrambled for another corner. Friel was then pushed in the box but Adrian McCourt ignored United protests and waved play on. Tommy Wright then took Friel off but to the consternation of United fans it wasn’t Fitzy who replaced him, but Stuarty King. Even though this released Picking to play up front, I saw this as a negative move and I thought that the manager was happy with the draw. Stuarty King had his usual non-effective game and this player has been yet another massive disappointment since his arrival at Ballymena. A draw was what we got in the end, but it should and could have been much more and Tommy is now treading on dangerous ground. The United board have been patient, they have acceded to most of the manager’s requests, but so far they’ve got nothing to show for it. But in my opinion, anything less than four points from the next two games and I think, a new manager will be required for the Sky Blues!

P. Murphy 7 Picking 7 MoM: Picking

Callaghan 6 Aid Watson 6

Boydie 6 Friel 5

Scates 6 Reid 7 Referee: A. McCourt 3

Alb Watson 5 D. Murphy 6

Haveron 5 1^st Sub: King 5

United Chokers!

Ballymena got off to the worst possible start against Armagh City at the Showgrounds yesterday, conceding a goal after barely 6 minutes had elapsed. There were so many mistakes made by the United players for this goal, but mainly allowing Armagh too much space and what was keeper Paul Murphy doing so far off his goal-line, that he was so easily chipped by O’Connor. After this Armagh, luckily for United, went back into their shell and United carved out three or four good chances, two of which were missed by top goalscorer Kevin Kelbie. After 25 minutes a Picking free kick from the left was only partially cleared and when the ball was driven back in, Picking rushed in at the far post to bring the teams level with a close range header. The United fans cheers died in their throats as the linesman flagged for offside, but the referee over-ruled him and the goal stood. The Armagh players surrounded the referee, Ken Ginnett, but he was adamant and then flourished a red card to their goalscorer O’Connor, presumably for dissent. With Armagh down to ten men the home team battered the visiting defence, but were unable to create a good enough opening. United old boy, Shea Campbell picked up a booking for a high tackle on Darren Murphy and then United’s Kevin Kelbie was cautioned for a late tackle on the visiting right-back. Austen Friel missed a good opening for the home team, but halftime was reached with the score at 1-1.

United began the second-half by peppering the visitors goal, but kept missing with their final pass and the chances went begging. From a corner nodded goalwards by Albert Watson, his defensive partner Gordon Simms screwed his shot wide with the goal at his mercy. After Kevin Kelbie, had been fouled in the box, ignored by the referee, he committed suicide by late tackling once more and the referee had little choice but to caution him and as it was his second booking he was subsequently sent off. With the teams equal there was always the danger that the visitors might sneak a second goal and that’s what eventually happened. In the 65^th minute the United manager took off Darren Murphy and brought on Stuarty King. King almost instantly showed his forwards how to score, but his header from a Picking cross just flashed past the post. Then in the 75^th minute, Gordon Simms, under no real pressure, completely miskicked and presented the ball to Armagh’s Slater and he raced through to fire his team into the lead. Five minutes later United drew level once more, when Picking got on the end of a Callaghan pass and fired United’s and his second goal of the game. Boydie was then substituted with Fitzy taking his place and soon after this Scatesy ballooned the ball wildly over the bar form close range. Then Friel somehow failed to get his head to a cross from King and Fitzy wanted too much time with the rebound and the ball was cleared. Five minutes from time, Scatesy was substituted, with Gary Haveron taking his place. Mark Picking almost stole the points at the end, when after a neat dribble, he tried for a spectacular shot rather than picking his spot and the ball flashed past the post. For the second week running the referee added on just a minute of stoppage time, despite Armagh’s blatant time-wasting tactics and the fact that five substitutions had been made in the second half. But United shouldn’t have needed stoppage time, as they’d had ample chances to wrap the points up and hadn’t taken them.

P. Murphy 5 Aid Watson 7 MoM: Picking

Callaghan 6 Friel 5

Boydie 6 Kelbie 5

Scatesy 5 D. Murphy 5

Simms 5 1^st Sub: King 6 Referee: K. Ginnett 4

Alb Watson 6 2^nd Sub: Fitzy 5

Picking 8 3^rd Sub: Haveron 5