GLENAVON REVIVAL CONTINUES AT EXPENSE OF NINE-MAN SKY BLUES
Glenavon continued their recent good form with a two-goal defeat of Ballymena United at The Showgrounds.
The Sky Blues created the first effort of note with just over five minutes on the clock when an Andy Scott strong run and cross saw the ball reach Alex Gawne at the back post but his shot was well kept out by keeper Mark Byrne.
At the other end James Doona threatened for the home side with a curling left-foot shot that just went the wrong side of the far post while, later in the first half, Michael O'Connor fired a 30-yard volley narrowly over the top.
The visitors moved in front ten minutes after the break through Peter Campbell after Stephen O'Donnell failed to cut out Len O'Sullivan's through ball with O'Connor knocking it on for Campbell to find the net via a deflection off the home keeper.
Andy Scott might have levelled midway through the second half after spotting Byrne off his line only for the ball to drift just wide of the target.
However Glenavon added to their lead soon after. Awarded a penalty following a foul on O'Connor, David McDaid saw his effort saved by O'Neill with the ball falling for O'Connor to knock back into the path of McDaid to nod home.
United's hopes of salvaging something from the game when they were reduced to ten men following Sean Brown's dismissal for a sliding challenge on O'Sullivan … and it got even worse a few minutes after that when Kym Nelson also received his marching order for a tackle on David Toure, his second caution of the season.
Ballymena United: O’Neill, Rocks, Gawne, Jarvis, Kennedy, Scott, O’Donnell, Brown, McCallion, Devlin, Carson subs Johnston, Nelson, Moore, O’Mahony, Loughran, Hawe, Hood
Glenavon: Byrne, Toure, O’Sullivan, Marshall, Snoddy, McDaid, Campbell, Quinn, Doona, McKeown, O’Connor subs Deane, Birney, Lynch, Ward, Doran, McGovern, Heaney
Substitution 
Substitution 
