BLUES CRUISE BACK TO THE TOP
Linfield cruised to an untroubled four-goal defeat of Ballymena United at Windsor Park.
The Blues needed just ten minutes to open the scoring when, from a corner that wasn't cleared, Joel Cooper played the ball across the face of goal for Matthew Fitzpatrick to slot home his first of the afternoon.
Kirk Millar then doubled the home advantage midway through the first half with a clinical finish past Sean O'Neill after Darragh McBrien had go on the counter attack to create the opening.
Linfield's third arrived just after the hour through Kyle McClean with a strike into the bottom corner after he had collected a pass.
And Fitzpatrick completed the scoring with just under a quarter-of-an-hour to go with a stooping header at the back post from a Millar free-kick sent over from the right.
Linfield: Johns, Finlayson, East, Shields, Millar, McClean, Cooper, McBrien, Hall, Clarke, Fitzpatrick subs Walsh, Newberry, McKee, Mulgrew, McCullough, Doherty, O'Neill
Ballymena United: O'Neill, Whiteside, Gawne, McCullough, McGuigan, Taylor, McGrory, McMurray, Tennant, Boyle, Westendorf subs Johnston, Waide, Walsh, Crawford, Place, McAuley, Stewart
Substitution 
Substitution 
