White Knight!

United for the 2nd time this season come up against former manager Tommy Wright and his Lisburn Distillery side. A vast improvement on our last meeting is called for against the rejuvenated Whites, where Tommy has actually turned them around of late. Hard as this is to believe for United fans who watched the Ballyclare man splutter, while we drifted down the table, the facts nevertheless speak for themselves. A win for the Ballyskeagh team would almost certainly make them the team of the month and we wonder how the hell we can stop them.

A vast improvement on our last showing on Thursday past at Seaview is called for, where we were jammy to escape with a point. Hopefully Roy will have learned from his selective fiddling that it's not a good idea to play your top scorer on the wing and restore Kelbie to the main striking role. It's also to be hoped that he'll give Gary Muir his head and allow him to play his own game and maybe he can start to deliver some decent crosses. What the make-up of our team will be is anybody's guess, will Locky get the chance to play himself back to full fitness with a starting role. What about Gazza we wonder, will he return in midfield or replace Archie at the centre of defence, as he, 'Archie', looks too light to tackle Spike 'Mr Elbows' Ferguson & Co.

One thing's for sure whoever gets the nod will need to be up for the fight as they can expect no quarter from the home team, who are battling for their Premiership survival. Tommy will have them fired up, never mind it being his former team, he'll want to lower our colours as we're in the cup semi-final and leave us with that horrible 'what if' scenario to think about. It's time for the Sky Blues to step up to the mark, roll up their shirtsleeves and get knuckled down to some serious football. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those lily Whites!

Chop Hatchets!

The time has come, nay we digress, the time has been long overdue, United need to put their Irish cup semi-final game on the back burner and get back to winning ways. We are the only team with two games to play before the split and our opponents in those two games, Crusaders and Lisburn Distillery, will be desperate to beat us for two very different reasons. Crusaders, whom we play tomorrow night at Seaview, require the 3 points to bring them level with 3rd placed Cliftonville and put them right in the hunt for the Gibson cup, while Lisburn, our opponents next Tuesday at Ballyskeagh, require the 3 points to consolidate their rise from the bottom of the league.

Back to tomorrow night's game and the bad news from the Showgrounds is that the ever present Mike Smith, may miss his first game since signing for the Sky Blues, his chances are rated 50/50 at the moment. Smith is a vital cog in the United machine and despite what the B.B.C. commentators say, did score the goal of the season at Mournview Park in our drawn Irish cup game with Glenavon. But on the plus side, United's best player in that game and the subsequent replay, Aiden Watson, is fit again after missing the 2nd half of the Portadown game and our pointless trip to Windsor Park on Saturday. Aiden's all action enthusiasm could be the fulcrum that tips the match in our favour tomorrow night.

If Smith is not available the versatile Sparky could get the nod at rightback, where he has played in the past, but then again where has Sparky not played this season? Left-back is one that springs to mind, as he has at times been tried in most other positions, including the keeper's jersey in United's game against tomorrow night's opponents at the Showgrounds way back in August. If United manager Roy Walker wants to 'gee' his side up for tomorrow night, maybe a reference to that game on August 22 would just do the trick. We cannot afford to be drawn into the relegation dogfight that now looks set to be fought between Institute, Lisburn and Newry. Six points in our next two games would go a long way to ensuring we're not involved. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag, those paper Tigers!

Windsor Knots!

United go into what should,ve be their final league game with six players just one booking away from a one game suspension. The players should in fact be alright for the cup semi-final, as United have a game pencilled in for decision on Easter Tuesday and any suspension should run from the previous day, Easter Monday, but can we trust the I.F.A. not to alter things. The answer is quite probably no, as we have fell foul of local legislators on more than one occasion this season and probably will again. As for tomorrow's game the make-up of the team is anybody's guess, as it will be a question of who the manager feels needs a game. This could mean a recall for local boy Albert Watson (still to sign a new contract), which should in turn release Gary Haveron into midfield, where his presence has been badly missed.

The rest of the midfield is a bit of a minefield at the moment and Gary Muir will need to improve if he's to win an extension to his contract, which expires at the end of this season. Nathan McConnell has slipped badly down the striking 'pecking' order, but might warrant a rare starting role tomorrow, as Walker endeavours to rest key players, as the season draws to a close.Ogers appears to be completely out of the picture at present, but could also earn a recall in place of present custodian, Dwayne Nelson. United really need to get something out of this game as our next two games are anything but easy. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those village people!

Bad Timing!

Greetings from sunny Spain, well if truth be known not so sunny Spain, but somewhere a little warmer than Norn Iron. But enough about us as we prepare to fly home to attend the 'theatre of dreams', the old Showgrounds, for the ill-timed meeting with Portadown. Both managers are no doubt insisting that tomorrow's game has no bearing on the cup semi-final meeting in 4 weeks time and depending on where the Ports finish in the league at 'splitting' time, there could be another meeting at Shamrock Park before the 'big' game anyway. Such is the 'organised confusion' that is the Irish league, that the only thing we can depend on is, that we can depend on nothing!

But enough chit-chat, onto the game itself, vital league points are at stake for both clubs tomorrow and for entirely different reasons. United have four games including tomorrow's encounter to play before the 'split' and the other three are away from home, so tomorrow is their last chance for home advantage before the meaningless games after the 'split'. We say meaningless as it would take a 'herculean effort' from the Whites if they were to climb clear of the relegation trap-door, but the 'Stute are a little too close to us for comfort and we need to be mindful of them. The Ports meanwhile are chasing a possible top six position at the expense of our dear friends from Ballycastle Road. Much as we'd like to help them we don't think we can, so we' need to be looking for all three points tomorrow.

How we go about getting them is anybody's guess, supposedly all we can do, is as Roy says, believe! None of us on the 'Sports team believed last week when we saw the team sheet at Lurgan, but with 15 minutes left we were converted. It turned out to be a false dawn, but the same team did the 'business' in Tuesday's night's replay and there no reason to doubt that a similar team could'nt triumph tomorrow. Neither manager will want to show his hand too much, but both games will be entirely different scenarios and with that in mind all we can say is, come on United, let's shag those apple pickers!

Die Dog!

There's an old saying about when things are desperate, choices have to be made and United are at that point tomorrow. In such a situation it has been known for desperate people to utter the immortal words, 'die dog or shite the licence'. United desperately need to win tomorrow in order to reap the financial awards of a semi-final, which is the stepping stone to the final. With an almost fully fit squad to select from, minus the two ineligible players, Muir and Mackers, manager Walker will need to be bold in his team selection. Surely this will mean a start for the mercurial Cushley, not a place on the bench as United need to go for the jugular early on.

Glenavon's last two results have been poor, but tomorrow is a different 'ball game' and Marty will have them fired up for this one. Tony Grant is rated as doubtful for the home side, but United will do well to ignore this bit of information as injuries have a habit of disappearing when there is a cup game to be contested. Former Sky Blue, Stuarty King, will be hoping to get a start, but United have the players to nullify anything Stuarty has to offer. King's shortcomings are well known to us, as he spent four years at the Showgrounds most of which were non-productive. Albert Watson, after his horrific injury sustained at the hands of Timmy Adamson (who freely admits to hate Ballymena), is fit and raring to go and will surely come into the reckoning for a defensive place.

If Albert plays as looks likely, this would in return release Mike Smith into a more attacking right-midfield role. This would leave five players vying for the central midfield role, while up front only Kelbie is assured of his place and Andy Smith may lose out to Sparky as Kevin's strike partner. As we said earlier the manager must be bold in his team selection for tomorrow's game as we don't want to be falling behind and must take the game to the home team. If we can get among them and our midfield can limit the supply to Molloy and Costello, we can frustrate them a wee bit. If we fail in this task then we're afraid this will prove to be be our undoing. So come on United, let's shag those Armagh boys!