Sky Blues making pleasing progress under Ferguson

IT was at Seaview back in January that the first green shoots of Ballymena United’s recovery under Glenn Ferguson’s regime started to take shape.

On that occasion, the Sky Blues battled back from two goals down to earn Ferguson’s first point as a manager, against a team who went on to win the All-Ireland Setanta Cup and reach the Irish Cup final.

Seven months later, United’s return to the Shore Road venue on Saturday showed that Ferguson’s work in progress is ticking over nicely.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ballymena’s record since then reads: played 17, won 11, drew four, lost two – notwithstanding the Irish Cup ‘defeat’ by Newry – and they are now unbeaten in their last 14 games, equalling a record set under Tommy Wright’s tenure.

Let’s set aside the obvious argument from detractors – that most of those games were against bottom-six teams at the tail end of last season – and suggest that to string together a sequence of that number of games unbeaten in the ultra-competitive Danske Bank Premiership isn’t simply a fluke.

Arguably the most impressive thing about United’s improvement under Ferguson is that it has been achieved with largely the same panel of players that Roy Walker signed, rather than wholesale changes. Tweaks in training, fitness and individual player roles have paid handsome dividends.

Much was made over the summer as to how United would replace the 34 goals of Gary McCutcheon?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The reality is that, with a lot of hard work in the defensive areas of the pitch, they might not have to. Not conceding goals is as big a part of winning games as scoring them.

If you consider that McCutcheon scored that huge number of goals and United STILL finished in the bottom six, then it was obvious that the entire set-up of the team wasn’t correct. Indeed, Cutchy’s goals in many ways papered over other cracks.

Ferguson’s first signing of centre-back Johnny Taylor – initially on loan but now, thankfully, on a permanent basis – has been a masterstroke and his partnership with David Munster has been a key factor in Ballymena’s revival.

It’s sometimes argued that two centre-backs of similar styles can’t play together but Taylor and Munster’s no frills, Row Z-style defending gives a lead to the rest of the team.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It should mean that United aren’t having to score bagfuls of goals – on EIGHT occasions in the league last season Ballymena scored two goals and still didn’t win the game – thereby taking pressure of the strikers’ shoulders.

Less goals in matches doesn’t sound an appealing thought at first – but just ask United fans how much they enjoyed the 5-1 home defeat by Coleraine or the 7-3 reverse at home to Cliftonville and all of a sudden scoreless draws and nicking 1-0 wins doesn’t sound so bad!

* Follow Ballymena Times Sports Editor Stephen Alexander on Twitter (@Stephen_Bmena)

Related topics: