Glen Warning!

If you are at a loose end tomorrow night and want something to entertain you, Ballymena Showgrounds is the place for you. If you suffer from stress or any related symptoms including angina better bring your inhalers and/or spray with you. United and the unbeaten Glens go into battle for 3 league points and it'll not be a place for the faint-hearted. If you crave blood and guts being on the line, this is the place for you. Referee Hetherington will certainly have his work cut out for him while the two sides struggle for supremacy and the two crafty managers try to gain the upper hand. Glens manager Eddie Patterson, who was interviewed for the United job, is starting to make his presence felt at the Oval, despite the financial restraints he has inflicted on him.

The same could be said for own boss, Glenn 'Spike' Ferguson, he got off to a flyer with a 17 game unbeaten run, although we have stuttered in recent weeks culminating in a bad loss to the Coleraine scum last Saturday. Spike has decided to give youth a chance and he had four teenagers in his panel and subsequently on the pitch on Tuesday night where they dumped County Antrim Shield holders Chickenville out of this years competition. It has to said maybe Chickenville and their manager Tommy Breslin underestimating the hunger in the Sky Blues camp, for they were a lot of unknown names in their line-up, but if United had converted half of their gilt edged chances the Reds would have been on the end of an embarrassing scoreline.

We expect the Glens to be at full strength tomorrow night and while United have triumphed pretty regularly at the Oval in the past few seasons, they have struggled at home against the men from the East. That said we're so far unbeaten at home this season and we won't want to surrender that proud record without a fight. So it promises to be a real ding dong battle with no quarter asked or given, but sporting and it deserves to be watched by a good crowd, but the fickle fans of both clubs might find it hard to drag themselves away from other pursuits. The stage is set for a good contest, hopefully controversies will be few and far between, so come on United, let's shag those townies from Ballymacarat!

Die Dog!

A friend of us used to say when he came to some difficulty or hardship, 'it's time to die dog or shite the licence', United have come to that impasse! Tomorrow night's match with the County Antrim Shield holders, Chickenville, has taken on mammoth proportions. Not only to see if United can advance to the semi-finals, but more importantly to see if they can bounce back from the mauling they suffered at the hands of the Coleraine scum. We urged all the players to be at the top of their game on Saturday, but it fell on deaf ears, but tomorrow night we need everybody giving 110%. Maybe that won't be good enough against a good Chickenville side that dented our unbeaten run of games, but if is not, we would surely have the satisfaction of knowing we went down fighting.

Saturday's abysmal performance was hard to take, not only were we beaten, but we didn't put up any fight, in short we just didn't turn up. The omission of Jordan Baker from the panel on Saturday is hard to fathom, when we are crying out for strikers. Is Spike saving him for tomorrow night's match, we at 'Sport and all Sky Blue fans really hope so. In the continued absence of Costello, not expected to fit for a couple of weeks yet and Alan D, Baker is our only recognised goalscorer and should be encouraged to shoot on sight. Cush who had to come off on Saturday hopefully will be fit to play and needs to get back to what he does best, beating his man and getting telling crosses in and cutting out these back heels and silly flicks.

There's speculation about team changes but we believe that barring injuries the personnel will not change much. Spike is a great believer in continuity, but surely a wee tweak here and there wouldn't go amiss. Tony Kane is struggling for form at the moment and we have a ready made replacement on our bench in local man Chris Rodgers who performed in this role with distinction last season. Archie is the only Sky Blue player who stuck his head above the parapet and apologised to the fans. We at 'Sport feel Archie has shown he cares and he should retain his place, he may not of played well on Saturday, but he was as gutted as any of us, we need players like him in our squad. It's going to be tough, we expect no quarter to asked or given, we're looking for a gutsy display and the right result, so come on United, let's shag those Chickens Livers!

Worried Man!

There's an old song that goes, 'it takes a worried man to sing a worried song, I'm worried now, but I won't be worried long'. At 'Sport we think Spike is a 'worried man', if he isn't worried, why does he say the derby game against the Coleraine scum, is just another game. We have news for you Spike, it's not just another game, it's the most important game United have played since you assumed control and if you don't realise that, you have every right to be worried. You knew from you took over that you needed a striker and you didn't find one and they were one or two to be found, but you, for some reason or another, didn't want them or couldn't get them. But you've been saying all along that your midfielders will have to weigh in with goals, but that doesn't look likely giving some of the glaring misses in the last three matches by your chosen midfielders.

But even more worrying than that, in the last 3 matches we have started to ship goals again like we did before you took control. Does this mean we haven't eradicated the problem, but just made it go away on a temporary basis? We hope not, but it's looking ominous and you can be sure the Bannsiders will be anxious to test our defence tomorrow. We at 'Sport sincerely hope the last three games have been a glitch, but confidence is bound to be affected and defensive leader Johnny Taylor needs to be inspiring to see if we can get our confidence back. Does Archie have some clause in his contract that says if he is fit, he has got to play? Don't get us wrong, we think the world of Archie, but his best position is at sweeper, he can fill in other places, but if you have a leftback fit ( Black, Vaulsey or Ruddy), either would be preferable to Archie. Any chance of having a corner-kick taking elimination to see if any of our guys can actually deliver a corner that we 'might' score from?

The Sky Blue Sport crew can't remember a derby that ever been as 'low key' as this one, maybe it's a sign of times we live in, but we got to shake this lethargy and get a bit of passion for the game. Admittedly there's not the same atmosphere at the Scum refuse heap, since the majority of our supporters have to stand behind the goals (how this ground hasn't been condemned beggars belief), but it's still the same rivalries and it should generate the same passion. Maybe it would help if the two manager's said things like ' this is a life or death situation' instead of the 'claptrap' we heard in the media so far. We all know our manager and Oran 'the diving bird' Kearney are friends, but when the match gets under way we sincerely hope there are the best of enemies. We were talking this week and we think we missed 5 derby's over the last 20 years or so between us, for one reason or another, but it's getting tough to remain optimistic enough to make the journey. But we got to be positive, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Coleraine scum!

Swift Response!

United are home to Dungannon Swifts tomorrow exactly a week after they performed one of the great escapes we have witnessed in all our years following the Sky Blues. Forty two minutes was on the match clock and we were 3-0 down, but we dug in and were worthy of a point if not all three. We cannot afford a repeat of that benevolence tomorrow, there's no way we will get back if we go three down in the first half tomorrow, not with that referee, Carrickfergus native Ross Dunlop. Manager Ferguson surely has to change things at the back and if Ruddy is fit he should start, if not Vaulsey and Archie should be dropped. Tony Kane is another who is looking vulnerable and Spike has two men he can turn to, Rodgers and Sparky. The midfield is not working as a unit, Jenks and Thompson are two alike and we feel he can't play the two together.

It would be a big decision to droop either of them, but for the good of the team that's what has to happen. If Ally's not fit, we have to find a wide player on our panel and by an ironic twist of fate, Tony Kane could be that man, not good enough to play rightback, but good enough to give us some width on the right midfield. There's rumours doing the rounds that Baker could be fit, but we've heard those rumours before and nothing materialises. But and we emphasis the 'but', if he is fit he should go straight into the starting line-up, for we need a presence up front. James McCabe and Peter Duffin are scoring goals for fun in the reserves, but they're not going to strike fear into the hearts of the Swift's defence, but a fit Baker could be our 'ace in the hole', maybe.

Cookie Munster has to be treading on thin ice and the only thing that's saving him was that Archie, his obvious replacement, is struggling for form. Cush, who remarkably hasn't scored a goal for us 450 mins, is due to break his duck and where better to do it than at Warden Street. He's come close it has to be said and his old Distillery team-mate Thompson should been thanking him for an assist last week but for a glaring miss, when it looked easier to score. Jamie D, who got back to goal-scoring form last week, following his brace in the first match against Linfield, needs to concentrate in doing the simple things well. We all know he's a brilliant footballer, but he needs to concentrate on his ball holding skills and passing, where he leaves much to be desired. But he's still the best we got, he's an exciting player to watch and he grows in confidence with every game.

There's three points up for grabs tomorrow and we can get them, it's true to say we lost our way somewhat in our last two matches, but with application we can get it back. We need to strong in the tackle, cut out those dangerous crosses and above all start taking our chances. If we concentrate in doing these few simple things, the 'Sports team believe we will be a match for anybody and tomorrow's game will go a long way to prove that. It's going to be tough, there are no easy games in this league, but with the right attitude we can get back on track, come on United, let's shag those Chicken lovers!

Home Comforts!

United, after the first defeat in 17 matches, a club record we think, return to relative safety of the Showgrounds where their opponents are Donegal Celtic (DC). The Sky Blue Sport crew were not at the Chickenville match as they were continuing their policy of boycotting grounds where we are forced to watch proceedings from behind the goals. This will only work if the majority visiting fans will take a stand and boycott clubs offering only this jaundiced view of things, we have a case of the 'tail wagging the dog' and until the dog (fans) make a stand it will continue to be so. That said we were down let by our part-time reporter, Rusty Ray, who has said he was so disgusted by United's display that he couldn't bring himself to write about it, we know how he feels.

But it had to happen sooner or later and better to lose to a good team than a poor one and United have a chance to set off on another winning run tomorrow. There's a rumour circulating about Mike Ruddy being ruled out by injury, but hopefully Ross Black is fit to resume having come through a reserve fixture last week. Jordan Baker and Elvis might make the panel also and Spike could be left with a headache of who to leave out. Sparky and Rodgers have not started any first team games this term and so they could make way for our two strikers, if fit. Will Spike be brave enough to drop Ally, who's not giving his best and let Neil Lowry in from the start. If we were to try and second guess him, we think not, but he'll have his own ideas no doubt.

Watching the highlights on the net, United looked sloppy in defence and they need to get back to defending with vigour. The enigma that is Tony Kane, seemed to get caught out of position for the first goal and hopefully he won't let that happen again tomorrow. But United can take heart from their display in holding the Reds to a 2-1 scoreline, bearing in mind what they done to the Coleraine scum last Saturday. Team Captain Jenks continues to struggle and we think he better get his act together sooner rather than later, especially as Alan D is only two weeks away from full fitness. It's not going to be easy tomorrow, but we should have too much firepower for the DC, so come on United, let's shag those Suffolk ewes!

Mega Match!

This fixture tomorrow night throws together the two best teams thus far in this season's campaign, Chickenville and United. On the one hand there's the free flowing goal-scoring Reds and on the other Ballymena United, with a so far impregnable defence. That defence hasn't really been tested yet this season, but Chickenville haven't came up against our hit on break style of play either, it promises to be a fascinating encounter either way. It's too early to say what a defeat for either team will mean in the scheme of things, but as they're scheduled to meet in the County Antrim Shield in 3 weeks time, it will be interesting to see who gets the bragging rights come 21-40 tomorrow night.

We don't expect much change from Friday night's team, but if Vaulsey's fit, we wonder would Spike be willing to risk him on that 3G surface. Better maybe to stick with the volatile Tony Kane, but would he be of a mind (as Ally was not impressive last match), might Spike be tempted to start with Neil Lowry, who made a such impact when he came on as a sub in Friday night's encounter at Warden Street. Lowry is our joint leading goalscorer with 2 goals and his budding partnership with Jamie D, also on 2 goals, looks promising. We at 'Sport can't remember United having two such young and exciting players for many years. If they both continue to improve as they have so far, it's only a matter of time before the scouts from England will be knocking on the Warden Street door.

James McCabe, who scored 2 goals for the reserves in a 7-0 trouncing of the wee Whites on Saturday, looks like a definite for the bench along with, Gavin, Sparky and Chris (Rodgers). If Ross Black is fit he might get the nod for the other place, if not Corey Price or Peter Duffin could be on the bench. Some of this United team are bound to be still smarting from the reverse at the Showgrounds last year where the Reds won 7-3 and will no doubt want to take some revenge. But it's going to tough, we need everybody playing at the top of their game, especially in midfield where we were overrun in that 7-3 reverse. So a lot depends on Jenks and Gary T, if they stamp their authority on the game, the points will be ours for the taking, if not, we think Dwayne and his defenders will have a busy night. So come Sky Blues, lets shag those Chickens!