Ballymena Rams!

United make the journey to Donegal Celtic situated In Suffolk, deep in west Belfast tomorrow night, for the 2nd round of the County Antrim Shield. The first division club, who lost narrowly to Dungannon Swifts in a league play-off will be no pushover and that's for sure. United must do without the services of central defender Albert Watson who has a fractured jaw, thanks to the non-protection of referee Adrian McCourt who aided and abetted Linfield in their quest to injure the United defender on Saturday, by his reluctance to caution players. We expect United to put out a fairly strong team tomorrow night, but there may be a recall for 1st choice keeper Sean O'Neill as Nelson appears to be carrying an injury. The good news is that top scorer Kevin Kelbie is available for selection and Phillip Carson should return after serving a one-match suspension in centre midfield. Noel Anderson may retain his starting role as Ormo failed to impress at Windsor and the manager will require either Anderson or Aiden Watson to stomp their authority on the match. One things sure, whoever plays will know they've been in a game, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Suffolk sheep!

Flash Bash!

United manager Roy Walker must make at least two changes to his starting line-up of last Saturday. Out goes midfield dynamo Phillip Carson, who serves an automatic one game ban, while winger wee Geordie Stewart is sidelined with a knee injury. Manager Walker may even be so bold as to drop stand-in striker, Nathan McConnell, in favour of top scorer Kevin 'the king' Kelbie. This in our opinion (which counts for nothing we must add), would be a bit harsh on the minister's son who has led the line perfectly in Kelbie's absence, but Kelbie is a potential match-winner after all's said and done and this may influence the manager's thinking. Paul Muir, who hasn't figured in first team action for about 6 weeks, may warrant a place on the Windsor bench, which would be a timely boost. The players attitude will have to be 100% commitment from the start if United are to continue their recent good form. We, if you recall, won the corresponding game last season and with the right attitude can cruise to another victory tomorrow. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Donegal Road villagers!

Downa Port!

Apologies for messing with tomorrows opponents name, but put quite simply, United need desperately to 'down' tomorrow's opponents, Portadown and in the process notch only our second home win of this season so far. If United are to succeed tomorrow, they must triumph over last season's first division winners, the afore-mentioned Portadown.United will be without the injured Kevin Kelbie, but he will travel over for intensive treatment from United physio, George McNeilly. United manager Roy Walker must decide whether to include first choice keeper Sean O'Neill, now clear of suspension, or maybe stick with former player Dwayne Nelson in nets, your guess as the saying goes is as good as ours. United will need to step up a gear as tomorrow's opponents have a fairly good record against our wee Skys and it's one we need to rectify, a.s.a.p. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those big soft downies!

Stop Press!

Just got a message from an undisclosed source telling us that goal king, Kevin Kelbie is injured and will miss tonight's game at Ballyskeagh. This should mean a starting role for Nathan McConnell, giving him a chance to add to his goalscoring feats in a Sky Blue shirt, come on big Nath, we know you can do it!

White Night!

After throwing away 3 crucial points last Saturday, United travel to Ballyskeagh to play Lisburn Distillery and a win is yet again vital. United manager Roy Walker has included goal king, Kevin Kelbie, in his plans for tomorrow night's game, yet another 'must win' situation for the Sky Blues. United generally do better against the Whites at Ballyskeagh, but they are generally close encounters and we expect nothing less at the Lambeg ground, kick-off 07-45 pm. As for injuries, we have no idea, but definitely unavailable are keeper Sean O' Neill, still with a one-game ban to serve and long term injury victim, club Captain Gary Haveron. Nathan McConnell, came on with a very few moments left on Saturday, scoring as well, which must have given manager Roy Walker something to think about before naming his team for the Whites game. So it's all systems go for the Walker bunch, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Lambegians!

Walker's Woes!

United manager Roy Walker doesn't have his woes to seek when it comes to naming his team for Saturdays match away to Institute, situated on the edge of Londonderry. United invariably find points hard to come by at the Drumahoe ground and we expect Saturday to be no exception. Hopefully the United manager will have learned from his mistake in United's last game and start with the versatile Cushley and keep the inconsistent Ormo on the bench. He also needs to find a way to motivate the remainder of his team as they looked like a team with no heart in their last game and at the end of the day all we as fans ask is that they at least keep on trying until the final whistle. The home team have signed the much travelled Stephen Parkhurst and he'll no doubt be out to make an impression at our expense. A big decision for the United manager will be who he selects in goal. As O'Neill is away on under-21 duty, it's a choice between Nelson and Kerr, for the last line of defence. No matter what team Roy finally selects, they will have a mammoth task on their hands, but we did kick-start our season with a hard fought point in the corresponding fixture last season. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Foylesiders! P.S. Alas and alack Sky Blue Sport won't have a presence at the game as Bruce Balmer is in Poland and Omar and me [Sammy P], are gonna be building up to the match by getting slowly tanked at a local hostelry!