Swiftly Back!

United make a quick return to action tomorrow at home to Dungannon Swifts at the old Showgrounds, just three and a half days after battling out a draw away to Newry City. United manager Roy Walker could do worse than say same again, as in the continued absence of Gavin Melaugh, Tuesday night's starting (and finishing) eleven looked to be about his best combination. He may of course be tempted to play striker Kevin Kelbie, who was unavailable for Tuesday's fixture, but it would be hard luck if Davitt Walsh had to stand down in order to accommodate the Scotsman, as he was one of the stars at Newry. The rest of the team, barring injuries, should more or less pick itself and maybe Tommy Wray can advance his scoring credentials against his former club. United had a very poor return on Tuesday night with twelve corners and only one goal to show from them, no doubt manager Walker will want to address that situation and who better to show the way than Tommy Wray. Tommy has already scored twice for the Sky Blues and will always be a hero to most United fans, as it was against the Coleraine Scum so maybe he would be a good target man in these dead-ball situations. At any rate we can't go on squandering chances at the rate we have been doing and Saturday would be a good time to redress this situation. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Dungannoners!

This Time!

After two false starts hopefully the Irish league will kick-off tomorrow when Cliftonville pay a visit to the Showgrounds. There have been some very tight games between the Reds and the Sky Blues, in the last few seasons, unfortunately from our point of view the Belfast team have shaded most of the results. United manager Roy Walker will be out to reverse that trend no doubt and he will be boosted by the return of Kevin Kelbie and Stuarty King after both served a one match ban, eventually. King in fact could get an instant call-up to the first team, as Joe McDonnell should move inside to replace the injured Gavin Melaugh, alongside Peter Kennedy. The United manager will then have to decide whether to leave out a striker in order to accommodate Kelbie, or to tinker with the midfield in order to play all three. He also may play central defender Gavin McDonnell, at the expense of Gary Haveron, or opt for a 'safety first' approach and move big Gary into the left-midfield slot, where he has performed admirably in the past. Our own feeling is that King will get the nod and Gary will lose out to Gavin, while Kevin will start on the bench, but who are we to second guess the 'great' Roy Walker. The rest of the team, as far as we are aware, should more or less pick itself, but there are enough players in the 'panel' to allow for a bit of 'tweaking', if the manager so desires. So it's all systems go for three points, come on Sky Blues, let's shag those chickens!

Late Report!

United, as expected, progressed to the next round of the 'Shield' courtesy of a first half goal from Davitt Walsh and a second half brace from 'red hot' striker Neal Teggart, one of which was a cheeky back-heel, 'a la Paul Hardy' no doubt. Fit again defender Gavin McDonnell came on as a sub and looked impressive according to reports. United's reward for their victory is an away tie to 'Shield' holders Glentoran, that one should be a 'cracker', we can hardly wait!

Half Chance!

We suppose there's only a 50-50 chance that tonight's County Antrim shield match against Ballyclare Comrades will actually go ahead. Never mind the weather, there's the state of the Showgrounds pitch after the 'stock cars' have had their run over it. As for team selection we expect the United manager to play his strongest eleven and hopefully a victory will be the outcome, nothing less will do. Unfortunately none of the Sky Blue Sport team are going to make the game as we have a prior engagement, but we will endeavour to publish the result and the scorers, it's the least we can do. So it's all systems go for tonight's game, so come on United let's shag those comrades!

Merchant Bank!

Ballymena begin the long trek for the 'holy grail' of Irish league football, the Gibson cup, with probably the biggest first team panel in their history. Twenty five players will have their name emblazoned on a Sky Blue shirt, the latest recruit being former Wigan player Peter Kennedy. The 34 year-old Kennedy finally put pen to paper on Wednesday night and United manager Roy Walker acclaimed him as the final piece in the jig-saw. We at 'Sport expect the versatile Kennedy to line up in centre midfield alongside Gavin Melaugh tomorrow, while another new boy, Joe McDonnell seems destined to get the wide left berth, as Stuarty King sits out a one game ban. Right midfield appears to be a toss-up between Picking and the on-loan McGinley, with the latter expected to 'get the nod' from manager Walker. The United back four should be four stalwarts from last season, Wray, Watson, Haveron and McClean in front of new keeper Neal Blaney. Top scorer from the last 2 seasons, Kevin Kelbie, must sit out the game due to a one game ban also and in his absence Neal Teggart and Davitt Walsh will be asked to lead the line. Competition for places on the United bench is expected to be fierce with13 players vying for 5 vacancies. If we at 'Sport were selecting we'd go for, Cushley, Mullen, Picking, McNeil and Aiden Watson, manager Walker of course may have a completely different view. Judging by the size of United's squad one could be excused for thinking they had discovered an unexpected supply of cash or been taken over by an investment bank. This of course has nothing to do with our headline, 'Merchant Bank', it in fact is meant to be 'rhyming slang' for 'lamb shank', yes Paul Muir, 'we remember you'! So come on United, let's shag those Lambegians!