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Match Photos: Graeme Bolton Photography

Match Highlights: Graeme Bolton & Ryan Tweedie

Saturday 20th March 2010 - Ladbrokes.com Championship 1

Ballyclare Comrades team

Subs: 12.David Officer  14.Ronnie Burns  15.Andy Simms  16.Matt Boyd  17.Neil McGrath

Ballymoney United: Martin, Richie, Wilkinson, McQuitty, Gage, M.Gillan, McLaughlin, Clelland, G.Gillan, McLernon, NIcholl. Subs - O'Boyle, McKenna, Keane.

Comrades substitutions

Marty McAvoy (64')

David Officer (64')

Steve Bainbridge (64')

Ronnie Burns (64')

Sam McWilliams (88')

Andy Simms (88'

Goals

Gerard Gillan (29')

Comrades cards

Simon McGowan (56')

Sam McWilliams (79')

Simon McGowan (88)

Darren Munster (90+5')

Comrades man of the match

Allen Huxley

Comrades slumped to a narrow, but probably deserved defeat to Ballymoney United in a poor affair at Dixon Park. However, the home side were aggrieved by the controversial nature of the winning goal.

Gordon Chambers shuffled his pack after last week’s drubbing by Ards. With right-back Lee Rushe suspended, Sam McWilliams came into replace him. Two other changes were also made, with David Officer and Andy Simms dropping to the bench to be replaced by Steve Bainbridge and Marty McAvoy.

The visitors almost took the lead 14 seconds after the start, when they were allowed to advance to the Comrades box straight from the kick-off and the ball was slipped to McLaughlin, He shot from 13 yards, but the alert Allen Huxley made a fine block.

Ballymoney continued to look the more incisive side early on and in the 11th minute a neat move ended with the ball finding Nicholl on the right side of the 6-yard box. He then slid the ball wide of the keeper towards the goal, but Sam McWilliams was well placed to clear off the line. From the resulting corner the ball was played back into the box and found the head of Gerard Gillan, whose effort from 7 yards was met by a smart save from Huxley.

Although Comrades were working hard, they were finding it difficult to get behind a tough Ballymoney defence, which stood up well to the physical presence of Mark McClelland in the Comrades attack.

With Comrades struggling to create anything of note, the visitors had another half chance in the 22nd minute; a corner from the left finding McLaughlin 10 yards out, but his first-time shot was saved by Allen Huxley.

Comrades’ first sight of goal came in the 25th minute, when good work by Simon McGowan saw him set Scott Irvine free down the left edge of the box and his cross then found Mark McClelland at the far post. The big striker met the ball with a fierce volley, but it flew back across goal and wide of the post from a very difficult angle.

The 29th minute saw Ballymoney take the lead with a goal shrouded in some controversy. A corner from the right, played to the far post, was headed back across goal were Gerard Gillen met it with a header 4 yards out. The ball appeared to be clawed off  the line by Allen Huxley and cleared, but the referee, after a significant delay, signalled for a goal, much to the anger of the Comrades players and supporters.

Comrades looked to have reacted fairly well to this set-back. On 32 minutes Scott Irvine flashed a shot from 27 yards not far wide of goal. Then, in the 37th minute, with the home side pressing forward in numbers, Andy Long saw a hooked effort from just inside the box well saved by Martin, just under the angle of bar and post.

Ballymoney had a decent effort in the 39th minute, when Mark Gillan struck a low shot just wide from 16 yards, but Comrades had most of the attacking play in the latter stages of the half, as they desperately tried to go in on level terms.

In the 43rd minute they had a great opportunity to equalise when Mark McClelland latched onto an Andy Forsythe through ball, which broke the visitors’ offside trap, but with only the keeper to beat, he was foiled by a good block from Martin, who rushed out to deny the shot from the edge of the box.

There was still time for another half chance in the 45th minute, when Mark McClelland held the ball up well in the box from a throw-in and laid it back to Scott Irvine, who dragged a shot wide from 15 yards.

Comrades fans might have thought that their side had shown enough in the latter stages of the first half to give real hope that they could salvage something from the game, but the second half was to be a disappointment.

The first chance fell to Ballymoney, on 51 minutes, when a good move ended with Mark Gillan turning neatly and striking from 6 yards, only to be denied by another fine Allen Huxley block.

After that the second half fell into scrappy a war of attrition with goalmouth action almost no-existent until a flurry late in the game. Ballymoney, with the lead, were content to soak up pressure, which they did with rather too much ease, and try to attack on the break. Comrades, on the other hand, pressed forward looking for the equaliser but not being able to create much of consequence.

It was not until ten minutes from the end of normal time that the game sparked into life. On 80 minutes, a well struck Darren Munster shot from 27 yards was almost deflected in off the boot of Mark McClelland, and Martin had to a make a decent save low, just inside his post. Then, a minute later, Comrades had a three versus one situation when the ball was played through to Scott Irvine, but he could not manage to find either David Officer or Mark McClelland who were completely free to his left, the ball being cut out by the lone defender.

Although Comrades were building up some pressure, Ballymoney still had the better chances. On 82 minutes, the ball was headed on to Mark Gillan and Allen Huxley had to produce another fine block to deny his effort from 12 yards.

The action, untypical of the earlier play in the second half, continued with Mark McClelland hitting a well struck effort from the edge of the box on 84 minutes, which Martin saved just under his bar.

A minute later and Allen Huxley produced the save of the match, his excellent reactions denying a diving header from Nicholl from 6 yards, after he had got on the end of a cross whipped in from the right.

A bad day got worse for Comrades in the 88th minute when an incident involving Simon McGowan saw him get sent off for a head-butt reaction to a foul on him by a Ballymoney player.

Despite a significant period of injury-time, Comrades could not fashion another chance and they fell to a disappointing defeat.

Gordon Chambers’ side is going through a mini dip in form at present and didn’t really create enough chances on the day to deserve anything from the game. Ballymoney, built their success on a very solid defence in a poor quality match, however, Allen Huxley was the busier keeper and but for him the margin of defeat could have been more.