IRISH CUP: Ten-man Sky Blues get the better of City to set up Crues clash
Newry City AFC 0 Ballymena United 1
Last updated 26th Apr 2022
Ballymena United will meet Crusaders in the final of the Samuel Gelston's Irish Cup on May 7th after they eventually saw off Newry City at Mourneview Park.
Steven McCullough's wonderful free-kick shortly after the restart proved to be the difference for Ballymena, who had Kym Nelson sent off for his part in a melee midway through the second half.
In what was a scrappy start to proceedings, the ball spent plenty of time in the air – and when it was on the ground, neither side were able to create anything of note, partly due to the bumpy playing surface.
Newry appeared relatively happy to sit back and allow Ballymena to come onto them, with the hope of hitting the Premiership side on the counter-attack.
However, their only effort of note in the first quarter of an hour was a speculative Daniel Hughes shot from 30 yards that was comfortably held by Sky Blues keeper Jordan Williamson.
At the other end, David Jeffrey's side gradually began to impose themselves on the game. And after Steven McCullough had volleyed wildly over when well-placed 18 yards out, they went much closer on 21 minutes.
A break down the left saw City fail to clear the ball inside their own box and that allowed Leroy Millar to get in a close-range shot. But, the Ballymena captain's effort was bobbly and Newry keeper Steven Maguire had an easy task to gather it.
Maguire had to be much more alert shortly after the half-hour mark as the best chance of the game up until that stage arrived for Ballymena.
Millar did well to force his way through a couple of tackles before feeding the ball to McCullough on the left and with just the keeper between him and the goal. But his fierce drive was well beaten away by Maguire for a corner.
City then had a decent opportunity of their own shortly before the break.
Northern Ireland Under-21 international John McGovern showed his strength to beat Mal Smith on the left before squaring to Philip Donnelly. But the midfielder's attempted shot screwed off his right boot and well wide as the sides went in at the break scoreless.
However, it took just 8 minutes of the second period for the top-flight side to break the deadlock - and what a stunning strike it was.
City conceded a free-kick on the right-hand side about 22 yards out, and McCullough produce a stunning effort to curl the ball over the wall and leave Maguire rooted to his spot.
The Sky Blues nearly doubled their lead just a few minutes past the hour mark.
Ryan Waide showed a clean pair of heels to City captain Darren King to crack in a low effort from the left, but Maguire got down to push it away from danger.
The tie then exploded on 72 minutes when Brendan Barr cynically tripped Newry's John McGovern as he broke into the United half. That led to a melee with most of the players getting involved in the centre circle.
When it eventually calmed down, the officials deemed Kym Nelson to be the aggressor and he was shown a straight red card by Referee Steven Gregg.
But, despite their numerical advantage and them piling on the pressure, Darren Mullen's side couldn't muster any clear-cut chances on the Ballymena goal. Sub Brian Healy, John Boyle and McGovern saw goalbound shots blocked in a crowded penalty area, while the Ballymena defence - led by the imperious Conor Keeley - stood firm.
It was plucky display from a Newry side that will ply their trade in the top-flight next season - in the end, it was that one bit of class from Ballymena that won the Sky Blues the tie.
MATCH STATS
Newry City AFC: Maguire, Moan, N Healy, King (C), Boyle, Montgomery (Carville 77), Lockhart (Teelan 67), Donnelly, Forde (Kelly 77), Hughes (B Healy 85), McGovern
Subs not used: Brady (GK), Brennan, Smyth
Ballymena United: Williamson, Smith, McCullough, Keeley, Nelson, Henderson, Barr (Kelly 74), Millar (C), Parkhouse (McElroy 85), Waide (Redman 74), Graham
Subs not used: O'Neill (GK), Loughran, Place
Referee: Steven Gregg