Ballymena United were defeated 3-2 by rivals Coleraine in a North West derby. The result leaves United ninth in the Premiership table with four points from their opening five matches.
Will Patching gave Ballymena a dream start, finding the net after just three minutes. Coleraine responded through David Jarvis on 34 minutes, but Matthew Shevlin restored the home side's lead eight minutes before the interval. Shevlin then doubled his tally five minutes into the second half to make it 3-1, seemingly putting Ballymena in command.
Coleraine mounted a fierce comeback. Jamie McMurray pulled a goal back just three minutes after Shevlin's second, and then Niall Stewart scored twice in the final quarter of an hour. His 75th-minute strike set up a tense finale before he completed his brace deep into added time to secure victory for the visitors.
The defeat extends a patchy run of results for Ballymena United, whose recent form reads one win, one draw and three losses. They sit 12 points behind league leaders Coleraine.
The club has not provided a specific update on absentees following this derby clash. Fans can check the latest availability for the upcoming fixtures on our dedicated injuries page.
Attention now turns to the next Premiership fixture, an away trip to face high-flying Dungannon Swifts on 19 December. Dungannon currently occupy fourth place, presenting another significant challenge. The full schedule for the remainder of the campaign is available on our fixtures list. Manager Jim Ervin will be demanding more defensive resilience from his squad after letting a two-goal lead slip in this encounter.
