Oran Kearney reveals new Ballymena United goalkeeper came highly-recommended by Irish League star

The Sky Blues had been on the hunt for a new goalkeeper after O’Neill called time on his career to take a first step into senior coaching with old club Crusaders earlier this week.

O’Neill made the last of his 574 Irish League appearances in Tuesday’s Premiership draw against Cliftonville with Wade and Declan Breen now battling it out for number one duties at The Showgrounds.

Englishman Wade began his career at Rochdale and enjoyed a number of loan spells before joining Hereford in 2022.

The 25-year-old has spent the past two seasons playing in the League of Ireland, making 34 First Division appearances for Cork City and helped them seal promotion during the 2024 campaign before joining Waterford.

It was during his time at Cork where Wade played alongside former Glentoran midfielder Murray, who arrived at Ballymena earlier this month.

"When we knew Sean (O’Neill) was going, we knew we had to bring someone in,” said Kearney. “Brad came onto our radar and has been training with Derry City and he has a good number of games behind him.

"We got a good insight into him from Sean Murray, who he played with at Cork. He speaks highly of Brad and we're really looking forward to welcoming him."

Former Cliftonville goalkeeper Breen made two Premiership appearances earlier this season as O’Neill assisted interim manager Ciaran Caldwell and deputised throughout the current campaign.

Wade is excited for the chance to get back on the pitch with Saturday’s trip to Dungannon Swifts providing an opportunity for a potential debut.

"After speaking to the manager and those around the club, I'm really excited to be here and excited to get playing again until the end of the season,” he said. “There's massive games coming up that I'm looking forward to being a part of and trying to help bring success.

"I'm good with my feet and a good shot stopper. I like to communicate with everyone else and make their job easier."