Nose Blow!

Ballymena United manager Tommy Wright, told Sky Blue Sport that he would love to say same again when it comes to picking his team for tomorrow’s game at home to Loughgall. Unfortunately the big Ballyclare man thinks he may be without one of his defensive heroes, Albert Watson. The Whitehead youngster picked up a nasty injury to his nose during the closing stages of Wednesday night’s victory against Larne and he may have to sit out tomorrow’s match. If he does the manager envisages Gary Haveron dropping into defence and the fit again Phil Charnock slotting into midfield alongside Aiden Watson. The rest of the team according to the manager virtually picks itself, which means no place for new signing Paul Brown or Rory Hamill. In fact the United team could have a subs bench the envy of every other Irish league manager, namely, Brown, Hamill and new signing Gerald Rowe. With Stuart King starting to repay the United supremo’s faith over the last few games and Scatesy settling into his wing berth also, it’s hard to see where Rowe is going to get a game. No doubt his chance will come as United after the next two home games face the possibility of four games on the trot away from the Showgrounds. The next scheduled league game after next Saturday 4th February at home to Armagh City, is on Saturday 11th March at home to Ards. Maybe one or two of United’s ‘homers’ will have to consider attending an away game if they want to see their heroes in action before then. But tomorrow the United manager will try to instil in his team the need for consistency and the need to get back to winning ways in the league, after two successive draws. So three points in the bag tomorrow is a must and if we play with 100% commitment surely it’s a banker bet. Come on United, let’s ‘shag’ those apple pickers!  

Shiel(d)s Shagging!

By a huge quirk of fate, the man who promised United fans that he was here for the long term when he got the managers job and would be setting his stall out to win trophies, now stands between the Sky Blues and their first final since their Irish cup win way back in 1989. Yes ‘King’ Kenny Shiels, who held the reins at the Showgrounds for five long barren years, is now the manager of Larne, who once again stand between United and a trophy final. Who can forget the bitter disappointment of last seasons Irish cup semi-final defeat, in a match dominated by the Sky Blues, when Larne won thanks to a dubious penalty given by Larne referee Adrian McCourt and converted by Mark Dickson? United fans will shout their heads off tomorrow night, of that we can be sure, so hopefully the United team will play their hearts out. Linfield the ‘unbeatable’, await the winners of this County Antrim derby and hopefully United can qualify to lower the mighty Blues in the Shield final. United manager Tommy Wright has intimated that Willie McFrederick, despite a couple of ‘gaffes’ on Saturday, will retain the keepers jersey. Rory Hamill made a successful comeback with the reserves last Saturday and looks set to claim at least a place on the bench, at the expense of Gerald Rowe who won’t travel up for this game. The rest of the team are expected to be on the usual lines, but the manager is undecided about giving new signing Paul Brown at least a place on the bench, it would be a bold move in our opinion, but could also be a real coup. No matter what Big Tam does tomorrow night, let’s hope he gets it right, the alternative, is unthinkable!

Rowed Ashore!

So big Tam has signed yet another striker, in former Shelbourne player Gerald Rowe, who had a spell with the Crues a few years ago. The 21 year-old striker/winger we understand, has joined United until the end of the season, but it’s not evident if he will go straight into tomorrow’s panel, or if he’ll need a few reserve games first. The United manager is faced with the happy dilemma of who to leave out of tomorrow’s starting eleven, with a clean bill of health for almost everyone. A rumour is circulating that Rory Hamill has been told he either plays or moves to another club, but a United spokesman would not confirm this statement. If the ex-Coleraine player is still absent, then this will we feel be Kevin Kelbie’s last chance to cement a first team place. The Scottish striker’s goals have dried up after his two in two matches against the two Glens, of Glentoran and Glenavon. In fact he missed a couple of chances last week that looked easier to score than miss. United make the trip to Solitude tomorrow full of confidence, with a five match unbeaten run, playing a Reds team who have faltered badly of late. This is a real ‘six pointer’ for the Sky Blues, as a win would see us open up a five point gap on our opponents and give us a wee confidence boost for our trip to Inver next Wednesday. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here, tomorrow is the most important game, let’s go pick up the three points and then and only then, we can think about our next match!

Paul Brown!

Ballymena United have signed former Limavady United striker Paul Brown, on a two and a half year contract. Sky Blue Sport have found out that a transfer fee was involved, but it’s not clear if this was financed by the club’s own fund, ‘Sky Blue Direct’ or if the money came from another source. Things have got to a serious situation to make the club break its golden rule, ‘no transfer fees’, which has been in place for a number of years now. But anybody who follows United knows they have been crying out for a striker/target-man for the last couple of seasons and finally, hopefully, they’ve acquired one. United manager Tommy Wright admitted that he had inquired about Glentoran and ex-Institute striker, Stephen Parkhouse, but was unable to agree terms with Glentoran. So having missed out on Parkhouse, who has now moved to Limavady, the manager says he’s delighted to have signed his former player, Paul Brown. Alas this will probably mean the end of the road for back-up central defender Gordon Simms and reserve striker Paul McDowell, as the wage bill needs to be trimmed. Striker Rory Hamill who, let’s face it, has ‘flattered’ to deceive since his signing, may also be adjudged surplus to requirements, especially as he is rumoured to be suffering from a ‘mystery’ injury. United can ill afford to have a man receiving the wages Hamill is purported to be getting, £300 plus a week, kicking his heels in the stand. It’s not that long ago that another United man, Jamie Marks, was carrying a ‘mystery’ injury, he was transferred to mid-Ulster club Portadown, and suddenly his injury cleared up, could that’ll be the cure for Rory too? Sky Blue Sport, the number ‘one’ United web site, will endeavour to keep United fans up to date with any future developments, remember the old ‘adage’, East or West, ‘Sport is the Best!

First Blood!

This could be the start of something big, or on the other hand it could be a catastrophe, both sides of the coin are possible. But we still must be the favourites for tomorrow’s game at home to Kilmore Rec. For a start the current United manager has no delusions about always trying to play attractive football. His attitude is get the ball up the field, get stuck in and get the ball into the opponents net, after it’s over we can look back and say we played some nice football, if we did (which is highly unlikely), but more importantly we can look back and say we did a professional job. The only thing that matters is being in the draw tomorrow night on Saturday Sportsound at 17-05. With that in mind we at ‘Sport expect the United manager to start with what in his opinion, is his best eleven players. That means no place for Boydie or Gordon Simms in defence, Gary Smyth and Craig McClean will start alongside the two regulars, Albert Watson and Kieran Donaghy, with Willie McFrederick keeping the goalkeepers jersey. Midfield will be Scatesy, Aiden Watson, Phil Charnock and Tommy’s favourite son, Stuarty King. Up front we expect to see Vinny Sweeney and Rory Hamill, if the latter is fully fit and if not, then we think Kevin Kelbie will get the nod alongside Sweeney. That only leaves the bench and we think it’ll be perm any three from, Paul McDowell, Andy Rosbotham, Gary Haveron, Boydie and Simmsy. Sky Blue fans can play their part tomorrow by creating an atmosphere, sadly lacking recently. Last Saturday it was depressing to find our fans out-sung by 45 Newry city fans, let’s not have a repeat tomorrow, as Kilmore will bring quite a few ‘vociferous’ fans with them. We also hope their players don’t resort to their disgraceful behaviour as they did on their last visit. Let’s hope for a good clean game, a good home result and hopefully a home draw in the next round!  

Marsh Mallowed!

As the old saying goes, ‘no news is good news’ and despite putting out a few ‘feelers’, we have no news concerning the make-up of United’s possible starting eleven tomorrow. We wouldn’t be totally surprised to hear it’s a case of same again, as the manager may feel that Rory Hamill needs at least another week off, to try and shake off his hamstring injury. As for Gary Smyth we cannot even ascertain if he is injured or if he and big Tam have just had a disagreement and he is being rested. We at ‘Sport are of the opinion that Paul McDowell deserves another start, as he was fairly impressive last week at Larne and the more games he gets, the more his confidence will grow. Dominic Melly, in our opinion should also get the nod over Scatesy for the wide right position, as he is more of a winger and can score goals as well. It was hard to see where United were going to conjure up the winner from last Monday, until Melly popped up in the right place at the right time. Maybe in fact big Tam will start with Melly and Kelbie, instead of McDowell and Scates, but we can only guess. Whoever gets the ‘nod’ for tomorrow had better realise one thing, this is probably our most crucial game of the season so far. It’s all most the proverbial ‘six pointer’, as a win would see us open up a bit of a cushion between Newry and ourselves and consolidate fourth place for us, with our next league game being the visit to Cliftonville in two weeks time. Sandwiched in between is the potential ‘banana skin’, the Irish cup game with Kilmore Rec and we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now it’s over to you United, let’s continue with our wee run tomorrow, let’s make it four wins out of four, ‘let’s shag those men from the marshes’, it is, well within your grasp!

Inver Rumble!

It’s not known at the moment how many fit players United have for tomorrow afternoon’s game against our dear neighbours Larne at Inver Park, kick-off 3pm. Rory Hamill must be considered a major doubt as he ‘tweaked’ his hamstring against Institute on Friday night. Manager Wright may just give the nod to Paul McDowell, who gave a good account of himself when he replaced Hamill for the second half last week. Kevin Kelbie will hopefully be fit enough to be named as a sub, while Captain Gary Smyth should return in central defence. Aiden Watson however will surely only get a place on the bench, with Haveron and Scates retaining the central midfield slots. Stuarty King will definitely play on one wing and the United supremo must decide whether Dominic Melly or Andrew Rosbotham, gets the other wide berth. The rest of the team should be on the usual lines, with Kieran Donaghy notching up his one hundredth and first appearance (101), for the Sky Blues. This is going to be a hard fought game tomorrow, with former United manager Kenny Shiels coming up against us for the first time, since his sacking in the summer. There will even be a bit of added spice, as this is the first of two visits by United in the next three weeks, the other game being the County Antrim Shield semi-final on Wednesday January 23rd. So a win tomorrow is vital, not only for league points, but to act as a confidence booster for the return visit. Let’s hope for a sizable turnout of Sky Blue supporters, similar to that which made the trek to Coleraine, come on United, ‘let’s shag those Harbour rats!’