NIFL Premiership
BALLYMENA United boss Jim Ervin was scathing on his players’ attitude after their 5-0 trouncing by Glentoran on Saturday.
The Braid men travelled to the Oval stuck at the wrong end of the Irish League table and their position was compounded by a horrible display which saw them leak four goals in 13 first-half minutes.
Defender Aidan Wilson headed home a Cammy Palmer corner to open the scoring before substitute Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe fired home a second three minutes later. Ogedi-Uzokwe was on hand to slide home a third on 29 minutes and a fourth goal followed on 36 minutes as James Singleton steered a first-time volley into the top corner. David Fisher rounded off the scoring five minutes into the second-half.
Things got worse for Ballymena when midfielder Donal Rocks was sent-off on 66 minutes after picking up two yellow cards in the space of six minutes. The only cloud on the horizon for Glentoran was the early withdrawal of Jay Donnelly through injury.
“The boys gave up, simple as that,” Erwin told the BBC on the final whistle.
“The first 20 minutes, there’s nothing in the game, we lose the first goal and, for the remainder of the half, the boys threw the towel in. If I’m standing here and saying anything different, anybody that was at the game today will be calling me a liar, and it’s one thing I’m not.
“Fair play to Glentoran, they’ve been clinical. I seen their manager was complaining beforehand about them not being ruthless enough and they were certainly ruthless today, but our boys didn’t half make it easy for them.
“At the end of the day, the buck stops with me. It’s me that picks the players, it’s me that picks the formation and tactics and stuff so the buck stops with me. It’s up to me now to pick a team, go away and reflect on what I’ve seen today. I now know, come January, what I need to replace.”
Elsewhere on Saturday, Dungannon Swifts leapfrogged both Ballymena and Newry City at the bottom of the table thanks to a big win over the south Down club at Stangmore Park. Tomás Galvin bagged a double in the 4-1 victory.
Glenavon’s recent resurgence continued with a north Armagh derby win over Loughgall at Mourneview Park. Isaac Bird and Jack Malone got the goals for the Lurgan Blues in a 2-0 win.
