Ballymena 1-0 Cliftonville

Substitute Emmet Friars scored the only goal as Ballymena beat Cliftonville 1-0 in a game largely devoid of chances.

The first half could be best described as feisty, but that's not entirely complimentary.

Yellow cards vastly outnumbered shots on target, and although both teams were uncompromisingly physical with each other, the goalkeepers spent the opening 45 minutes as spectators, occasionally launching the odd long ball upfield.

Reds debutant Rory Donnelly looked off the pace, and Joe Gormley was starved of service, kept under close guard by the home defence.

Ballymena were lively in spells as Joe McKinney linked with Matthew Shevlin, but a couple of half-hearted penalty appeals was as good as it got in the opening period.

The home side sparked into life around the hour mark when Conor McCloskey broke down the right and flashed a low cross across the 6-yard-line, but nobody was waiting for what would have been a tap-in.

One minute later, Cosgrove badly sliced a wild clearance, and it dropped kindly for Tony Kane whose looping header drew Brett Long into the first save of the game.

Cliftonville finally responded with an effort of their own in the 65th minute, with Gormley collecting Chris Curran's pass before smashing a left-footed shot right at Conor Brennan.

Emmet Friars was sent on to replace Kyle Owens in the Ballymena defence, but he ended up breaking the deadlock in the 76th minute scoring with maybe his second touch.

A ball was cleared after a corner and Kane was on hand to smash a volley back into the Cliftonville box which Friars, willingly or otherwise, managed to deflect beyond Long and give his side the lead.

The visitors rallied and had a half chance through a Gary Breen header which Steven McCullough deflected wide, and a late shot from Daniel Hughes which also took a touch and flew within a foot of the post - but as has been the case all afternoon, they failed to find a way past Brennan.