FERRIS GOAL ENOUGH FOR GLENS
Glentoran limbered up for Sunday's BetMcLean Cup final with a home defeat of Ballymena United to move five points clear in second place.
Both sides had their chances in a scoreless first half, with the visitors coming close early on when Stephen O'Donnell produced a superb reaction save from Daniel Gyollai while at the other end Cameron Palmer curled the ball narrowly wide from 25 yards.
The Glens threatened again around the half-hour mark when Frankie Hvid's first time effort from Danny Amos' corner came back off an upright before, just ahead of the break, United's Caolan Loughran fired into the side netting from Patrick McEleney's free-kick.
But the deadlock was broken ten minutes into the second half when Nathaniel Ferris grabbed what turned out to be the only goal of the game when, from another Amos delivery, he sent a low strike past keeper Sean O'Neill.
Palmer had a chance to double the home advantage after that but O'Neill did well to turn his long range effort away to safety while, for the visitors, Success Edogun came closest to the equaliser only to be thwarted by Gyollai who had rushed off his line to narrow the angles.
Glentoran: Gyollai, Hvid, Sule, Connolly, Palmer, McEleney, Fisher, Amos, Wightman, Ferris, Thorndike subs Mills, Lindsay, Pattisson, Russell, Jenkins, Douglas, Johnson
Ballymena United: O’Neill, Lafferty, Jarvis, O’Donnell, McCurry, Edogun, Loughran, McCallion, McEleney, Corbally, Barr, Johnston, Moore, McMullan, Devine, Hawe, Hood, Idehen
Substitution 
Substitution 
