Saturday 14 September
Kick Off 3.pm
On Saturday we make our first visit to the Showgrounds since our 2-0 Sports Direct Premiership win there in August 2023.
After a disappointing start to the campaign - losing their first 4 games - Ballymena United have enjoyed a revival in fortunes; winning their last 2 league games and progressing in the County Antrim Shield. They come into this fixture on the back of a shock 1-0 win against Champions Larne at Inver Park, with the winning goal scored by summer signing Ben Kennedy. The former Crusaders midfielder has bagged 5 goals in the opening 6 games as he seeks to rediscover the kind of form that made him one of the league’s most coveted players only 2 years ago.
United came painfully close to relegation last season (just scraping through a play-off against Championship runners up Institute) and manager Jim Ervine has spent the summer overhauling his squad, with 12 departures and 13 new arrivals. United have taken advantage of the number of part time players who departed rivals Coleraine; defender Stephen O’Donnell, midfielders Josh Carson, Jack O’Mahoney and Aaron Jarvis and forward Andrew Scott signing up. Dungannon winger Joe Moore, ex Glentoran and Larne midfielder John Herron and former Northern Ireland defender Daniel Lafferty from Institute have also joined what looks a much stronger squad than Ervin had at his disposal last year
Herron is currently unavailable for selection but Ervine was able to hand a debut to on loan Linfield striker Ethan Devine as a substitute against Larne. Goalkeeper Sean O’Neill also returned to the side in place of Sam Johnston. Recent loan signing Oisin Devlin could be in line to feature for the first time, having been ineligible to face parent club Larne last time out.
Declan Devine: “Last Saturday in Dungannon I was disappointed at the result which we can largely put down to inability to finish off many of the chances we created, and to an uncharacteristic defensive lapse for their winner. We don’t find it hard to create chances but we need to see a greater proportion of them put away if we’re to achieve our goals.
I’m happy with the way the group is gelling despite so many personnel changes over the summer. The attitude, work ethic and commitment are outstanding and we’ve a lot of very positive things to keep building on. I’m clear in my mind that we’re a couple of players short in specific positions and we’re working very hard to bring them in as out of contract players. I’m pretty hopeful on that front.
We’ve another tough game on Saturday with Ballymena coming in after a good win at Larne last week. We should have a full squad to pick from with Singo and Jay likely to be fit. We just need to be careful with some players with a 3 games in 6 days run coming up for the second time in a month. We’ll manage that the right way and use players in the most effective way over the next week.”
URGENT SUPPORTER NOTICE
Ballymena United have asked for the following information to be shared in advance of our game at the Showgrounds on Saturday.
There will be checks conducted at all turnstiles to ensure the correct category of tickets has been purchased for Saturday’s home game against Glentoran and at all home games. Please be aware that tickets purchased from the incorrect category will be refused entry.
Additionally, there will be a VERY LIMITED number of tickets available for purchase at the stadium. To avoid queues and disappointment, supporters are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance from: https://ballymenaunitedfc.com/away-tickets
