Match Photos: Graeme Bolton Photography

Match Highlights: Graeme Bolton - Editor, Ryan Tweedie - Cameraman

Saturday 17th October 2009 - Ladbrokes.com Championship 1

Ballyclare Comrades team

Subs: 12.Anto Crawford  14.Ricky Lecky 15.Ricky Moore  16.Stuart McCullough  17.Keith Armstrong

Larne: Brown, Moore, Hogan, Marsh, Carland, Reid, Fulton, Lagan, Rafferty, Larmour, McMenamin. Subs: McLoughlin, McLaughlin, McQuoid, Thompson, Neeson

Comrades substitutons

Mark Drysdale (66')

Keith Armstrong (66')

Mark McClelland (82')

Anto Crawford (82')

Ronnie Burns (82')

Ricky Moore (82')

Goals

Davy Larmour (5')

BJ McMenamin (26')

Comrades cards

Stuart Galbraith (33')

Ronnie Burns (60')

Comrades man of the match

Being voted for on the Ballyclare Comrades forum on irishleaguesupporters.com

Comrades’ run of poor results continued with a 2-0 defeat at local rivals Larne, in a game where first half defensive frailty cost them dear.

Gordon Chambers made a number of changes from the side that played at Bangor the previous week; some forced and some tactical. With Captain Andy Forsythe still suspended, Darren Munster assumed the left-back role. In midfield, with neither Simon McGowan nor Scott Irvine available, Andy Simms and Johnny Gowdy came into the starting line-up.

The first chance of the game fell to Comrades. It took a superb save in the 3rd minute from the impressive Larne keeper Brown to keep out a great header from 13 yards by Johnny Gowdy, after he had been found by a cross from the left delivered by Mark McClelland.

Comrades fans would have been encouraged by their team’s start to the game, but this was to be short-lived as Larne took the lead in the 5th minute. Reid was able to advance too easily down the right and deliver a cross to the far post where Larmour was unmarked to head in from 6 yards.

Despite going behind, Comrades continued to have a good chunk of the attacking possession although defensively they looked anything but sound, with the home side getting too much freedom to attack the Comrades box.

In the 19th minute a beautifully delivered free-kick from the right by Andy Simms, whipped just past the far post, inches away from the outstretched leg of Mark McClelland, who surely would have scored if he had got a touch. However, Comrades were very fortunate not to concede a second goal three minute later, when Fulton smacked a shot off the underside of the bar from 7 yards out, with the goal at his mercy, after getting on the end of a headed flick on from Lagan, after a long throw-in into the box.

On 25 minutes Comrades came close to an equaliser when an Andy Simms ball into the box was met by the foot of Johnny Gowdy, 5 yards from goal, but he was again denied by Brown, who was in the right spot to make a fine reflex save.

A minute later, Comrades defensive problems were exposed again when, after Larmour had hit the bar from a move where Larne cut through Comrades like a knife through butter, the ball was only cleared to McMenamin at the edge of the box. He fired the ball back goalwards, but his effort was assisted by a large deflection which took the ball past the helpless Allen Huxley.

Larne proceeded to comfortably control the rest of the half and looked capable of increasing their lead. The best chance they had was on 42 minutes when Reid surged down the left and rather too easily found Rafferty in the left side of the box, who then shot on target from 12 yards, only to see his effort deflected wide of the goal.

Comrades fans may have feared a drubbing in the second half, but if anything it was their side which had the better of it in terms of possession, as Larne failed to press home their advantage further. Having said that, Comrades found the Larne defence a hard nut to crack and real chances were few until the later stages; with only a Ronnie Burns shot from the left corner of the six yard box into the side netting on 58 minutes, giving the home side any sort of scare.

With Comrades pressing forward, Larne did have some chances, but Comrades defending as a team was considerably more accomplished than it had been in the first half.

On 66 minutes Lagan volleyed just over from the edge of the box. Then, a minute later, McLaughlin got on the end of a low ball in from the right by Larmour, deflecting it inches wide of the near post.

Larne’s best spell of the second half ended on 69 minutes, with Carland getting on the end of a long throw into the box and flicking a header goalwards, producing a smart save from Allen Huxley.

The latter part of the half saw Comrades increasingly dominating attacking possession and as the game approached it dying stages they began to create some great chances.

On 79 minutes a great through ball from Keith Armstrong found the run of David Officer who advanced to the right edge of the 6 yard box before striking shot across the keeper, which went just wide of the far post, with Brown looking to have got a fingertip to it.

Officer was again denied twice late on. Firstly, on 86 minutes, he saw a shot from 10 yards cleared off the line, with the keeper for once beaten. Then, a minute later, he saw a well struck shot on the turn from 12 yards brilliantly saved by Brown.

Comrades ended up beaten by a combination of sloppy first half defending, a failure to convert chances and superb keeping from Brown. Manager Gordon Chamber and his coaching staff will no doubt be addressing issues with the squad, which is showing potential, but at the moment not converting that into results.