Ballymena United were beaten 2-0 by Glentoran on Friday night, but manager Oran Kearney insists the club is moving in the right direction. The Sky Blues lost consecutive matches to Crusaders and Glens, but Kearney highlighted the positives from the recent fixtures and the new summer signings.
What happened at Glentoran?
The defeat came at The Showgrounds, where Glentoran struck late to secure the win. Ballymena had a 15-minute spell in the first half that Kearney described as disappointing, but the team showed real character in the second half, pushing for an equaliser. Kearney said, "Goals change games and that’s a fact," when speaking to the club’s media channel. He added, "Three tough games and it was nice to be back at home," after the match.
How do the new signings fit in?
Five of the club’s summer signings started on Friday, including Finley Thorndike who made his debut off the bench after a move from Crusaders earlier that week. Marcus Kane celebrated his 500th Irish League outing, and Aaron McEneff scored a late penalty to give the Sky Blues a 3-0 win at Linfield earlier in the season. These players are part of a broader strategy to strengthen the squad, with Kearney noting that there has been a lot of change and many players in.
What does the current form mean?
Ballymena United sit 8th in the Premiership, 3 points from the top with a record of 1 win, 0 draws and 2 losses from three games. They have scored 4 goals and conceded 4, keeping a goal difference of zero. The club is four points behind leaders Coleraine FC. Despite the recent defeats, Kearney stresses that the team is in a results business and that if they do not score by the 80th minute the game will stay the same as the first 80 minutes.
Looking ahead to Bangor
The Sky Blues will travel to Bangor on 5 September for their next match. Ahead of a run of games, fans can check the club’s fixtures page for details. The next fixture after that will be a home game against Limavady United on 12 December, when the club will be 11th in the table.
Ballymena United’s current standing can be viewed on the standings page, and the squad list is available on the club’s squad page. The club’s performance this season will be closely watched as they aim to climb out of the bottom half of the table.
The club’s manager remains optimistic that the signs are there for progress, and that the bedding-in period will pay off as the season continues.
