Second-placed Ballymena United will hope to get back to winning ways when they make the journey to Seaview to play Crusaders in Saturday’s Sports Direct Irish Premiership tie.
Jim Ervin watched last Saturday as his team’s eight-game league winning run came to an abrupt end as they lost 1-0 to derby rivals Coleraine at the Showgrounds.
The Crues, on the other hand managed a 1-1 draw last weekend against Larne at Inver Park, and were only denied all three points in the final 10 minutes when Benji Magee cancelled out Kieran Offord’s opener. They currently occupy sixth spot in the standings.
The Sky Blues will be out for revenge following the Hatchetmen’s smash and grab 1-0 win at Warden Street back in August. It was that man Offord with the only goal of the game back then and he will be hoping to repeat the trick on Saturday afternoon.
One player who may be particularly hoping for a slice of revenge will be the league’s top scorer and United danger-man Ben Kennedy.
Kennedy has been a revelation since making the surprise move to the Showgrounds from Seaview in the summer, scoring an impressive 11 goals so far.
Despite being a key member of the Crues’ squad in their double Irish Cup winning side, the attacking midfielder appeared to fall out of favour at the north Belfast outfit last season, struggling to nail down a starting berth.
Rumblings of difficulties between Kennedy and the management were denied by both sides but an early exit always appeared likely.
After struggling with a relegation threat for the entirety of last season Kennedy has now spearheaded a run of form that has Ballymena fans dreaming of lifting the Premiership title, rather than playing in the lower leagues.
If United do mange to get all three points on Saturday, they could return to the summit, if Linfield slip up against Cliftonville at Windsor Park.
Crusaders have struggled with inconsistency this season, the first campaign for new manager Declan Caddell.
After going down to three consecutive defeats in September, the Crues defeated Loughgall and Coleraine before going down to Linfield.
In Offord they seem to have unearthed a hard-working goalscorer. The Scot has bagged five goals already this season, but a lack of depth in the squad is often the downfall of the Belfast team and they may be tested once more this year.
If Caddell’s men can score a victory against the Braidmen they could jump a place to fifth, but at present it is hard to predict what Crusaders are likely to turn up.
