'I knew right away it was serious' - Irish League match abandoned after head injury with Paul Heatley transported to hospital
Carrick Rangers manager Stephen Baxter backed referee Christopher Morrison’s decision to abandon Saturday’s Sports Direct Premiership game against Bangor at Taylors Avenue after striker Paul Heatley sustained a serious head injury.
The visitors were leading, thanks to a 14th-minute header from Ben Arthurs.
But the second half was only eight minutes old when Heatley tried to get past a defender to get a shot off at goal but couldn’t stop himself from crashing into the perimeter wall.
Medical teams from both clubs attended the 38-year-old, along with staff from a nearby ambulance.
After over half-an-hour – and having been stabilised - Heatley was taken to hospital. The game was duly abandoned.
“It’s something in football you don’t expect to see,” said Baxter. “We had a great game of football in the first half, but straight after half-time Paul unfortunately collided with the wall behind the goal.
“He banged his head quite seriously. Thank goodness there was a wooden board covering the wall.
“But I heard the thud of it from where I was in the dugout.
“I knew right away it was serious. He had a very bad split in the back of his head.
“The medical people worked with Paul for some time. The ambulance people got the neck brace on and looked after him.
“Thankfully, they got him off to hospital, and we’ll now await the outcome.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the medical people.
“It was understandable the game was called off because the game was stopped for over half an hour to allow Paul to be treated.”