Ballymena United secured a vital 2-0 Premiership victory over Portadown at the Showgrounds on Saturday. Goals from Finley Thorndike and Igor Rutkowski in the second half delivered the club's second league win of the season and lifted them to ninth in the table.
Portadown created the better chances in a goalless first half. David Walsh was forced into action, saving a header from Baris Altintop and seeing a Sean O'Mahoney effort go wide. The home side grew into the game after the break. Finley Thorndike broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute, scoring his first league goal of the campaign. The points were sealed eight minutes from time when substitute Sean Murray set up Igor Rutkowski, who fired home for his fourth Premiership goal this term.
Oran Kearney expressed his satisfaction with the result. "We're delighted with the three points," the Ballymena United head coach said. "I don't think we've got our desserts over the past few weeks with results and I keep saying that our performances have been good." His Portadown counterpart, David Jeffrey, was left to rue missed opportunities. "We came in at half-time thinking we could have been two or three to the good as I thought the quality of our play in the first half was first class," he said.
The win ends a five-game winless run in the league and moves Ballymena onto six points from seven matches. They face a tough test next, travelling to face fifth-placed Cliftonville on 3 October.
