Glentoran 1
Ballymena United 0
The semi final for the vase kicked off today with Glentoran facing Ballymena.
It was a cagey start to the game, with both teams struggling to create in the opening stages. The first chance fell to Glentoran, as the ball broke to Alfie Davidson at the edge of the box. He struck the ball sweetly with a left footed shot; however his shot clipped the bar and went over.
Ballymena struggled to create, with Glentoran dominating possession and looking the most threatening before the half. The Glens were solid at the back, looking dangerous going down the wings.
Glentoran came out of the traps flying, with the first chance of the half falling to Jack Hall. A ball over the top of the Ballymena defence put Jack Morrow through one on one with the goalkeeper. Having took it round the goalkeeper, he found himself at too tight of an angle to shoot. His subsequent cross went behind Jack Hall, who managed to get a shot off. It looked like he was going to give the Glens the lead, however a block on the line by two Ballymena defenders saw the ball fly over for a corner, keeping the score at 0-0.
It was only a matter of time before Glentoran got a goal. A great delivery from a corner taken by Jack Hall was met by Jack Morrow, who headed the ball across the goal for Junior Camara to tap in.
Although Ballymena were pushing for an equaliser, they struggled to create anything meaningful, with their only opportunities coming from set pieces, which the Glentoran ‘keeper claimed expertly.
As Ballymena pushed forward, Glentoran won the ball back and countered. Kai McCullough played in Jack Morrow, however the Ballymena ‘keeper made a great save to deny the Glens of a second.
After an impressive display from Glentoran today, they move onto the final tomorrow against IDA Burmuda, while Ballymena will play Ross County in a 3rd/4th place playoff.
Written by Ryan Hall