Jim Ervin avoids age-old trap on way to final 'reward' of Ballymena points at Loughgall

A blistering start at Lakeview Park left Ballymena clear by two goals with just five minutes on the clock thanks to Fraser Taylor and Alex Gawne.

Ballymena, however, came close to falling victim to the game’s old adage of a 2-0 scoreline as the most dangerous lead given the importance of the next goal – with Ryan Waide and Nathaniel Ferris firing back for the hosts to level the match.

But a final boost for Ballymena arrived when Steven McCullough displayed composure to steer home from the penalty spot, restore the visitors’ advantage and put Ervin’s squad five points clear of basement-based Newry in the Sports Direct Premiership standings with four fixtures left.

"We went out at the start of the warm-up and didn't know the direction the wind was going it was that bad, it just constantly changed,” said Ervin on BBC Radio Ulster’s Sportsound. "But we asked the boys to start really bright, the first 15 minutes was always going to be cagey, you would gauge where the wind was going and who was going to use it to their advantage.

"Fortunately for us we managed to get two in six or seven minutes...probably the brightest start we've had.

"I remember saying to Stefan (Seaton, assistant manager) this is the worst possible scoreline (then) we both looked at each other and went 'when's the last time we were in this position'?

"So it was mixed emotions because it's that old scoreline going in at half-time 2-0 up.

"Then they hit us with a sucker-punch at the start of the second half to bring it back to 2-1.

"Then when it went to two each, we're thinking 'here we go again'.

"But the boys dug in deep and we used the wind again to our advantage and just kept knocking it in behind Loughgall and we were fortunate enough to get the penalty.

"And thanks to Stevie (McCullough) for slotting it in and we managed to hang on to get the three points, which was vital for us."

Ervin opted to maximise the recent schedule blank to enhance preparations for Ballymena’s post-split challenge.

"We used last week having no game to our advantage,” he said. "We brought the boys in...we sat down and went through footage from Boxing Day onwards and where things that have been really disappointing in how we have defended, our positional sense and some of goals we have conceded have been really poor.

"We wanted to highlight it to the boys and have it in their heads so when they faced that situation again coming into the split they'll maybe know how to deal with better than they have previously.

"We spent a lot of time also on the training pitch."

However, he was left to accept the impact of conditions at Lakeview Park under strong winds.

"When you come down and the conditions are as bad as they are it (the gameplan) kind of goes out the window a wee bit,” said Ervin. "It's just managing conditions and the thing we've struggled with all season is probably game management.

"At 2-0 we were really good with the game management (but) we'd said to them at half-time the first 15 minutes is crucial and we find ourselves at two each.

"Thankfully we got our reward on the day."