Wakehurst prepare for busy run-in after seventh straight win

Wakehurst's Ryan Gregg weaves his way through the Chimney Corner defence during Saturday's Championship Two victory at Mill Meadow. Picture: Damian McKee.

Wins against Killymoon Rangers in midweek (2-0) and Chimney Corner at the weekend (2-1) stretched the Ballymena side’s run of successive league wins to seven ahead of a finale which includes home and away games against Lurgan Celtic - the first of them tonight (Tuesday) at Wakehurst’s adopted home of Mill Meadow - as well as meetings with title-favourites Knockbreda and promotion-chasing Ballyclare Comrades.

If Wakehurst were to maintain their current good form, a top four finish - their best since their admission to the Irish League ranks a decade ago - isn’t out of the question.

“It’s fantastic to involved in meaningful games and to have something to aim for ourselves,” manager Gregg told Times Sport.

“If I have one regret, it’s that our current run didn’t come earlier in the season but nevertheless it has given everybody at the club a boost.

“The two games this week were fairly different in that against Killymoon, I was still worried until we scored our second goal in what was a hard-fought match.

“Against Chimney Corner at the weekend, I didn’t think the 2-1 scoreline truly illustrated our dominance.

“We had a litany of wasted chances and the whole tempo of the game and atmosphere was more like a training session than a competitive match,” added Gregg.

Against bottom-of-the-table Corner on Saturday, Wakehurst suffered the setback of conceding a goal inside the opening 30 seconds when Jamie Willighan’s shot beat keeper Marc Maybin at the near post.

Wakehurst’s equaliser on 11 minutes came from an unusual source with Lee McCaughern delivering an accurate ball from a free-kick and left-back Ricky Culbertson jumped highest in a crowded penalty box to direct a powerful header into the far corner of the net.

The former Ballymena United defender was also instrumental in what proved to be the winning goal when his header from a McCaughern corner flew across Paddy Rogan’s goal, with Jason Paul adding the finishing touch from right on the goal-line.

Wakehurst: M Maybin, S Mellon, R Culbertson, D Stevenson, P Alexander, A Laughlin, L McCaughern, J Lemon, C Gregg, J Paul, R Gregg. Subs: M Crawford, R Colville, D Parker, S McKinney, A Millar.