SKY BLUES THROWN A LIFELINE
Ballymena United gave their hopes of avoiding the automatic drop a huge shot in the arm with victory over Loughgall at Lakeview Park.
The Sky Blues got off to a storming start with two goals inside the opening four minutes.
Fraser Taylor opened the scoring on three minutes with a cool finish beyond Berraat Turker into the bottom left corner after receiving the ball from Johnny McMurray.
Then, sixty seconds after that, Alex Gawne doubled up at the end of a 30-yard run down the left before beating Turker again.
Ex-United man Ryan Waide pulled one back for Loughgall early in the second half with a thumping volley from the left corner of the box into the opposite corner of Sean O'Neill's net.
And the Villagers levelled just after the hour when skipper Nathaniel Ferris found the net via a deflection past the United keeper.
But the visitors claimed the points with 18 minutes remaining courtesy of a Steven McCullough spot-kick, awarded after Turker upended Calvin McCurry as he burst into the area.
Loughgall: Turker, Rea, Andrade, Ferris, Hoey, Norton, Gibson, Cartwright, Magee, Loughran, Waide subs Devine, Carson, Murdock, Brogan, Kelly, Teggart, Balde
Ballymena United: O’Neill, Nelson, Whiteside, Gawne, McCullough, F. Taylor, McMurray, Boyle, Brown, Barr, McCurry subs Johnston, McGrory, Tennant, D. Taylor, Robinson, Stewart, McCallion
Substitution 
Substitution 
