Ballymena 'improvement' demand before tackling 'really good' Dungannon Swifts side in deceptive Premiership start
Ballymena United boss Jim Ervin watched his side stand minutes away from victory last Saturday then raised a red flag over the need for improvement moving forward.
Fraser Bryden’s penalty kick on 89 minutes left Crusaders able to salvage a point at home after Ballymena enjoyed the upper hand on the scoresheet of Calvin McCurry’s goal.
In the aftermath of the late drama, Ervin turned his focus past the penalty pain towards the need for big-picture gains today at home to Dungannon Swifts.
After last season’s landmark Irish Cup triumph and summer European adventure, the Swifts have struggled over the initial stages of the domestic Sports Direct Premiership campaign – with last weekend’s win over Cliftonville a second from eight outings.
However, Ervin is aware of the threat offered by Dungannon despite the seven-point gap between the clubs in the standings.
”Dungannon’s a really good side,” said Ervin. “Just because they’ve had a bit of a blip (over the opening games this season)…they’re a very good team.
"They don’t achieve what they’ve achieved last season by not being a good team.
"We know it’s going to be an extremely difficult game – we’ll need a helluva an improvement,
"If we play the way we played (against Crusaders) we’ll get nothing from the game.
"I don't think we ever looked like we had it wrapped up, to be honest. I thought we were poor from start to finish.
"The boys need to be prepared, it’s going to be extremely difficult.
"We’ll make sure we have them properly drilled and that we’re ready for the challenge.”