Match Centre

Premiership
Saturday 9 September 2023 (kick off: 3.00 PM)

Venue: Taylors Avenue

Attendance: 613

Referee: Raymond Crangle

Carrick Rangers home-team
0 FT 1
away-team Ballymena United
  •   Isaac Westendorf 26' (pen)
football
Isaac Westendorf celebrates scoring from the spot ©Stephen Hamilton/INPHO

SKY BLUES UP AND RUNNING

Ballymena United picked up their first points of the season with victory over Carrick Rangers at the Loughview Leisure Arena.

The sides traded chances during the opening quarter-of-an-hour with Ben Tilney and Nedas Maciulaitis threatening for the home side while Scot Whiteside offered up a couple of headers at the other end.

The deadlock was broken on 26 minutes. Albert Watson conceded the spot-kick after bringing down Isaac Westendorf with the loan signing from Larne stepping up to squeeze the penalty under the body of keeper Ross Glendinning.

Carrick looked to find a way back into the game with Maciulaitis seeing an effort from outside the area punched away by Sean O'Neill, with the United keeper also denying Kyle Cherry and Danny Purkis before the break.

Jim Ervin's side might have extended their lead early in the second half when, from a Donal Rocks free-kick, Kym Nelson could only power a header over from close range.

But, as the game progressed, Rangers continued to search for the equaliser. Cherry saw an inswinging corner beaten away at the near post following quickly by a Curtis Allen snapshot which O'Neill did well to get down low to keep out.

Then, in stoppage time, Watson could only head wide from a Tilney throw-in but despite throwing everything at the defence nothing was going to deny the Sky Blues their first win of the season.

Carrick Rangers: Ross Glendinning, Forsythe, Watson, Cushley, Allen, Maciulaitis, Andrews, Cherry, Reece Glendinning, Purkis, Tilney subs McCauley, Surgenor, Mitchell, McGuckin, Buchanan-Rolleston, Withers, O'Prey

Ballymena United: O'Neill, Nelson, Burns, Rocks, Whiteside, Coates, Gawne, Waide, McCullough, Taylor, Westendorf subs Johnston, Friel, O'Boyle, McGrory, Murray, Tennant, McMurray

  • FULL TIME
    Carrick Rangers   0 - 1 Ballymena United
  •  Yellow Card

    Nedas Maciulaitis

    Carrick Rangers

    90+8'
  •  Yellow Card

    Sean O'Neill

    Ballymena United

    90+3'
  •  Yellow Card

    David Cushley

    Carrick Rangers

    77'
  •  Yellow Card

    Cathair Friel

    Portadown

    77'
  • red subsititutions  Substitution

    Ryan Waide

    Loughgall

    73'
  • green subsititutions  Substitution

    Cathair Friel

    Portadown

    73'
  • red subsititutions  Substitution

    Alex Gawne

    Ballymena United

    68'
  • green subsititutions  Substitution

    Fiontan O'Boyle

    Newington

    68'
  • red subsititutions  Substitution

    Reece Glendinning

    Carrick Rangers

    63'
  • green subsititutions  Substitution

    Emmett McGuckin

    Carrick Rangers

    63'
  •  Yellow Card

    Colin Coates

    Ballymena United

    63'
  • red subsititutions  Substitution

    Kym Nelson

    Ballymena United

    57'
  • green subsititutions  Substitution

    Lewis Tennant

    Ballyclare Comrades

    57'
  •  Yellow Card

    Reece Glendinning

    Carrick Rangers

    52'
  • red subsititutions  Substitution

    Joshua Andrews

    Carrick Rangers

    46'
  • green subsititutions  Substitution

    Mark Surgenor

    Carrick Rangers

    46'
  •  Yellow Card

    Fraser Taylor

    Players

    32'
  • PENALTY SCORED

    Isaac Westendorf

    Players

    26'
  •  Yellow Card

    Albert Watson

    Carrick Rangers

    25'
  •  Yellow Card

    Donal Rocks

    Ballymena United

    14'

Carrick Rangers

  • Ross Glendinning
  • Kurtis Forsythe
  • Albert Watson 25'
  • David Cushley 77'
  • Curtis Allen
  • Nedas Maciulaitis 90+8'
  • Joshua Andrews red substitution 46'
  • Kyle Cherry
  • Reece Glendinning 52' red substitution 63'
  • Daniel Gibson
  • Ben Tilney

Substitutes

  • Ben McCauley
  • Mark Surgenor green substitution 46'
  • Andy Mitchell
  • Emmett McGuckin green substitution 63'
  • Benjamin Buchanan-Rolleston
  • Jaydyn Withers
  • Pearse O'Prey

Ballymena United

  • Sean O'Neill 90+3'
  • Kym Nelson red substitution 57'
  • Corrie Burns
  • Donal Rocks 14'
  • Scot Whiteside
  • Colin Coates 63'
  • Alex Gawne red substitution 68'
  • Ryan Waide red substitution 73'
  • Steven McCullough
  • Fraser Taylor 32'
  • Isaac Westendorf 26'

Substitutes

  • Sam Johnston
  • Cathair Friel 77' green substitution 73'
  • Fiontan O'Boyle green substitution 68'
  • Andrew McGrory
  • TJ Murray
  • Lewis Tennant green substitution 57'
  • Jonathan McMurray
© Andrew McCarroll/Pacemaker Press

Carrick Rangers

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Ballymena United

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