Match photos to follow: Graeme Bolton Photography

Saturday 21st November 2009 - Ladbrokes.com Championship 1

Ballyclare Comrades team

Subs: 12.Keith Armstrong  14.Johnny Gowdy  15.Andy Simms  16.Ronnie Burns  17.Sam McWilliams

Comrades substitutions

Ricky Moore (67')

Ronnie Burns (67')

Goals

Simon McGowan (78')

Comrades cards

Andy Forsythe (40')

Andy Long (45+1')

David Officer (50')

Comrades man of the match

Simon McGowan

Comrades continued their good run of form, making it four games unbeaten in the league and five in all competitions, with an excellent win at Banbridge Town.

Gordon Chambers reverted to a more usual 4-4-2 formation for this game, with experienced Stuart Galbraith coming in to bolster the midfield and Mark McClelland and Ricky Moore the preferred strikers.

After heavy overnight and morning rain, it was a pleasant surprise that the game went ahead and conditions at Crystal Park, although heavy, were better than had been expected.

Comrades started well, playing confident ‘pass and move’ football, although they could not turn this into chances, in a first half where the keepers had few saves to make.

They looked the better side up to around the half hour mark, when their superiority began to fade and the home side came more into it. Indeed Town were the first to come close to opening the scoring, on 31 minutes, when Grant got his head to a free-kick played into the box from the right, but his glancing effort fell narrowly wide of the post.

Comrades first real chance came on 31 minutes, when David Officer tricked his way past the Town right-back and played the ball low to the near post, where Ricky Moore got a toe to it, only to see his effort from inside the 6-yard box blocked by keeper Wilton.

The home side had the better of the latter stages of the half, but Comrades’ defence coped fairly comfortably with their attacking threat, keeping them from creating any real chances.

The Town manager, obviously unhappy at his side’s toothless first half showing, introduced two attacking substitutes at half time, and in the early stages of the second half this seemed to be paying off as Comrades were pressed back for a period. However, again the Comrades defending was solid and Allen Huxley was not tested.

This brief spell of dominance for the home side soon faded as Comrades got to grips with the second half.  On 54 minutes they really ought to have taken the lead, when a corner from the right, played in by Andy Forsythe, found the head of the unmarked Mark McClelland at the back post, but he headed over from 5 yards, when an effort on target would surely have produced a goal.

Comrades were now back on the front foot and two minutes later a good move cut through the home defence, with Andy Long setting Scott Irvine free on the right edge of the box. Irvine then tried to cut the ball back to Mark McClelland, in space in a central position 15 yards out, but the ball went just behind him and the chance was gone.

Comrades had been fairly untroubled defensively, but on 65 minutes they had a scare when a corner from the right was met by a header from Robb 7 yards out and his effort had to be headed off the line by the impressive Andy Long. Then, from the resulting corner, Copeland headed just over at the near post.

Despite the endeavour of both teams and some entertaining play, chances were still few and far between, but Comrades looked the more likely side, producing some committed attacking play. They got their reward with what turned out to be the winner on 78 minutes. Stuart Galbraith, producing a dynamic display in midfield, was brought down a couple of yards outside the box to win a free-kick. Comrades had previously had a couple of free-kick chances which had come to nothing, but this time Simon McGowan stepped up and curled an unstoppable effort over the wall and into the top corner of the net, with the keeper stranded.

This goal was enough for a confident looking Comrades side, and they survived the remaining minutes with relative ease, to gain another three points from a deserved win.

This was a committed and industrious performance from a Comrades team that looked solid in defence, had drive and skill in midfield and worked hard up front. After a slow start, which was only to be expected with so many new players settling in, the season is now beginning to take off for Gordon Chambers’ team.