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Uploaded Saturday, 22nd Jul, 2023 at 17:47
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Date: Saturday, 22nd July, 2023; Competition: Friendly; Attendance: N/A;
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Ballyclare Comrades
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[1]
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[2]
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Ballymena United
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[1]
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[2]
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Venue: Dixon Park; Kick-Off: 14:00;
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Goals:
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[1-0] ROOHI, Darius (5 mins), [1-1] GRAHAM, Sean (45 mins), [2-1] BEVERLAND, Howard (61 mins), [2-2] WAIDE, Ryan (74 mins)
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BALLYMENA United maintained their unbeaten run in pre-season with a battling 2-2 draw at Dixon Park against Ballyclare on Saturday afternoon.
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Prior to the Braidmen's fourth outing of pre-season, a silence was held and United's players wore black armbands as a mark of respect after the death of Betty Taggart, mother of former Chairman John Taggart.
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With a bit of a more familiar starting XI on show, Ballymena went behind inside five minutes to a freak goal, as a Ballyclare tackle via Darius Roohi ended up sending the ball goalwards and over the line before the returning Sean O'Neill could get to it.
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Ballyclare maintained their lead until the stroke of half time, when the Sky Blues got themselves level going into the break, thanks for Sean Graham's curling effort into the top corner, to leave it even heading to the second half.
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The second period was almost all the hosts and they finally moved back in front with sixty-one minutes on the clock with a thoroughly deserved goal from Howard Beverland. A lovely team move ended with O'Neill making a stunning save, but after the ball was recycled by the hosts another tidy passage of play ended with a ball across goal being finished by Beverland.
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O'Neill made another string of fine saves to keep Ballymena just about in a game they perhaps should've been out of, and sixteen minutes from time the away side levelled against the run of play. It was a goal made by Graham, but it was finished by substitute Ryan Waide, who slotted the ball home.
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2-2 was how it would finish in Ballymena's toughest test to date under Jim Ervin, but that test may serve them well in the long run with less than two weeks to go until the season gets properly underway.
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Next up for United is a trip to Shamrock Park on Tuesday evening where they will face recently demoted Portadown at 7:30pm.
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Match Report by Phillip McPeake
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Ballymena United Team:
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Sean O'Neill, Jordan McMullan (  Trialist B 54), Caleb Crawford ( George Tipton 70), Scot Whiteside, Sean Graham ( Jordan Gibson 77), Kym Nelson, Trialist A ( Ryan Waide 67), Michael Place, Alex Gawne, Fiontan O'Boyle ( Trialist C 67), Johnny McMurray.
Subs not used: Trialist D.
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