Jim Ervin admits it'll take summer signing 'a while to get up to speed' after making Ballymena United debut in BetMcLean Cup shootout success
Jim Ervin admits it’ll take summer signing John Herron “a while to get up to speed” after making his Ballymena United debut in their BetMcLean Cup penalty shootout victory over Rathfriland Rangers.
The former Celtic, Glentoran and Larne midfielder joined the Sky Blues on a one-year contract in July, marking his return to the Irish League following spells in Gibraltar and Australia, and came on as a substitute at Iveagh Park as Ervin’s men continued their winning run by sealing progression, ultimately winning 5-4 on penalties after scores were tied at 3-3.
At the start of his Ballymena career, Herron was initially serving a suspension handed down by the Irish Football Association after images of him at a concert wearing a T-shirt with a pro-IRA slogan appeared on social media in 2022 – an incident which resulted in his contract with Larne being "terminated by mutual agreement" – but he’s now available for selection.
The 30-year-old, who made 24 league appearances for Celtic before joining Blackpool, scored his spot-kick in the dramatic shootout – as did Ethan Devine, Josh Carson, Kym Nelson and Caolan Loughran in a flawless set.
Ervin received yet another boost with Colin Coates making his first senior appearance since October 2023 after suffering an injury against former club Crusaders by coming off the bench in extra-time.
"We say to our substitutes to make an impact and John did that with his first touch,” Ervin told the club’s media channel. “We thought it was him that scored it but it was Noah (Stewart) that tapped it in.
"We ask those guys to make an impact and he did that to be fair. It's going to take John a while to get up to speed and he knows that himself, but it's important when we get opportunities like tonight that we play him and try to get him up to speed.
"He's not the only one - Colin Coates came back in tonight as well. We wanted to get him more minutes than we did but the main thing is we got him on the pitch and he's on the road to recovery. Competition for places is there and the most pleasing thing is we're through to the next round."
The victory means Ballymena, who sit second in the Premiership table, have now won their last eight matches across competitions ahead of Saturday’s clash with Loughgall, but Ervin preferred to heap praise on opponents Rathfriland.
"We're very fortunate to be through to the next round,” he added. “I thought Rathfriland from the start were outstanding and they'll feel hard done by that they haven't progressed.
"We'll take it - the main thing in cup football is getting through to the next round and that's the positive we'll take. I don't want to take anything away from Rathfriland because to a man they were outstanding and it's more about them than us because they deserve so much credit."