A freak own goal in the 90th minute ensured Linfield defeated Ballymena United by two goals to one at Windsor Park this afternoon.
It was something of a rematch, given that the two teams had locked horns just 65 hours prior in the semi-final of the Bet McLean Cup when the Blues won 1-0. The difference was that it was a League fixture this time.
The match was cast into some doubt this morning, but the struggling Windsor Park surface was deemed playable by the referee following a 10am pitch inspection. Both teams made changes after Wednesday’s cup tie. Linfield manager David Healy made two changes – one being enforced due to injury to Dane McCullough – with Sean Brown coming into the team, along with Adam Frizzell who made his first Linfield start. Charlie Allen dropped to the bench.
Ballymena United boss Oran Kearney had Igor Rutkowski available again. The striker was cup tied on Wednesday as he’d represented Armagh City in a previous round of the Bet McLean Cup, and he came into the starting eleven, as did debuttant Shane McEleney, along with Aaron Jarvis and Daire O’Connor. James Hood, Joel Thompson and Dean Ebbe all dropped to the bench, whilst Zach Nolan was out of the squad completely. United’s new midfielder Sean Murray was named in the starting eleven, but he pulled up in the warm-up, so Patrick McEleney started in a late change.
The match started at a pace as the visitors threatened inside 30 seconds as Igor Rutkowski did well to earn rime to get a dangerous cross in, but it flashed across the goal with no Sky Blue able to capitalise. The Blues then went up the other end and Matthew Fitzpatrick drew a good save from the goalkeeper.
The visitors soon threatened again with a quick break as Igor Rutkowski played it to Edogun Success to his left. The powerful forward reached the edge of Linfield’s box before hitting a fierce strike which was well saved by Chris Johns who pushed the effort over the crossbar.
The Blues then took the lead after 11 minutes with a neat move as Ethan McGee played the ball into the feet of Matt Yates inside the box. The Scotsman had time to turn – he was around 15 yards from goal, and although his first effort was saved, he made no mistake on the rebound with a crisp left-footed volley – his sixth goal of the season.
Four minutes later, the Blues broke at pace and Ballymena were stretched. Baird played it to Yates in a dangerous area on the left of the box, but Toure defender well to put the ball behind for a corner. It was delivered by McClean and glanced just wide by Fitzpatrick at the front post.
The Blues continued to look for a second goal and were unlucky not to find one on the half-hour mark, when a lovely move saw McClean and McGee combine down the left before McClean played a one-two with Fitzpatrick then saw a wonderful curling effort from 20 yards come back off the crossbar.
Linfield midfielder Isaac Baird – who got the winning goal in Wednesday’s semi-final – almost scored against United again. He couldn’t have done much more with his header when he met a cross stood up to the back post by Adam Frizzell, but with the ‘keeper beaten, Shame McEleney got back to head off the line.
There was also another chance on the break for Ballymena United late in the half as Daire O’Connor sent Success Edogun away down the left. The striker had options in the middle but he attempted to catch Chris Johns out by whipping the ball across the ‘keeper in search of the far corner, however it flashed wide.
Much like Wednesday, and indeed last weekend at Seaview, the Blues will have entered the dressing room at half-time feeling happy to be ahead but also somewhat frustrated that they weren’t further ahead.
HT: LINFIELD 1-0 BALLYMENA UNITED
With the Blues looking comfortable, a Sky Blue arrived out of the blue, eight minutes into the second half. A hopeful cross into the Linfield box from full-back David Toure didn’t appear troubling at first, but central defender Darragh Leahy and goalkeeper Chris Johns appeared to have a misunderstanding which allowed Ballymena’s new signing Igor Rutkowski to nip in and score.
The champions responded well to the setback. Fitzpatrick’s piledriver rippled the side-netting from 20 yards, then a neat combination of passes ended with Kyle McClean putting Isaac Baird through in the box, but he also hit the side-netting.
New signing Adam Frizzell impressed and almost had a goal to show for it on 65 minutes. Ethan McGee overlapped Fitzpatrick on the left, and after receiving the ball, McGee pulled the ball back to Frizzell in a central area, but his strike was deflected by a defender and then struck the goalkeeper in the jaw. Bradley Wade may have known little about it, but it was a great stop.
A big moment in the match then came in the 69th minute as Ballymena United were reduced to ten men, with former Linfield stalwart Matthew Clarke sent off. The left-back was initially booked after 17 minutes for a pull-back, then his second booking came for a foul on Isaac Baird who got the ball first and was caught. Already facing mounting Linfield pressure, it made United’s task even more difficult.
A few minutes later, the Blues had the ball in the net as Ethan McGee’s sweet strike from the edge of the box was well saved before Kyle McClean headed in the rebound, but the midfielder was adjudged to have been offside.
Sam Taylor replaced Sean Brown in a Linfield change that signalled attacking intent, and the Englishman made a positive impact from the bench. On another day he’d have walked away with a couple of assists. One such example was when his corner was headed just over by Isaac Baird, and later, when his deep cross put one on a plate for Kirk Millar whose volley was crucially and brilliantly blocked by former Burnley defender Daniel Lafferty.
It looked like it wasn’t going to be the Blues’ day despite their dominance, then came an extraordinary own goal in the 90th minute which ultimately decided the match. A pinpoint deep cross from Kirk Millar picked out Kyle McClean whose header was cleared off the line by Diaithi McCallion, only for his clearance to strike defensive partner Shane McEleney. Not an ideal debut for the central defender who signed from Glentoran last week.
The unfortunate Kyle McClean will also wonder how he didn’t score in this match, hitting the crossbar, having one cleared off the line and another disallowed for offside! In the end, he’ll ultimately be relieved that the Blues picked up a deserved win, even if it came in a fortuitous manner.
There was a relief around the home support at full-time because, whilst the own goal was an euphoric moment, the game didn’t end there. Six edgy minutes of additional time ensued, and Ballymena carved out two huge opportunities. Firstly, on 94 minutes, the ball fell kindly for Success Edogun, but he pulled a shot wide from inside the box. Then, right at the death, Aaron Jarvis swept a shot over the bar from a good position after hesitant defending.
A hard-fought but deserved three points for Linfield. The one concern was that Chris Johns appeared to pick up an injury and hobbled for the last quarter of the match.
The Blues remain fourth, with the three teams above them also winning, whilst Ballymena United remain tenth.
Next up for David Healy’s men is Friday’s Irish Cup sixth round tie against Limavady United at Coleraine Showgrounds.
FT: LINFIELD 2-1 BALLYMENA UNITED
LINFIELD: Chris Johns (GK), Sean Brown (Sam Taylor 72’), Ben Hall, Darragh Leahy, Ethan McGee, Josh Archer, Isaac Baird (Charlie Allen 85’), Kyle McClean (c), Adam Frizzell (Kirk Millar 68’), Matt Yates, Matthew Fitzpatrick
Unused subs: David Walsh (GK), Scot Whiteside, Cameron Ballantyne, Jon Graham
BALLYMENA UNITED: Bradley Wade (GK), David Toure, Shane McEleney, Daithi McCallion, Matthew Clarke ©, Patrick McEleney (Daniel Lafferty 75’), Aaron Jarvis, Kian Corbally, Daire O’Connor (Joel Thompson 68’), Success Edogun, Igor Rutkowski (James Hood 79’)
Unused subs: Declan Breen (GK), Stephen O’Donnell, Dean Ebbe
REFEREE: Steven Gregg (Ballyclare)
Yellow cards: Ethan McGee & Charlie Allen (Linfield), Aaron Jarvis, Matthew Clarke (2), Kian Corbally, Barry Johnston (Ballymena United)
Red cards: Matthew Clarke (Ballymena United) 69’