WHAT THE MANAGER SAID: Ballymena’s Jim Ervin clear ‘sometimes you have to grind results out’
Ballymena United boss Jim Ervin watched his players record a sixth successive win as Ethan Devine grabbed the only goal in victory over Portadown.
Here’s the post-match verdict of Ervin:
PERFORMANCE...
"Coming away from Shamrock Park with a clean sheet is a good platform to build on...we've seen so far this season how difficult a place it is to come to.
"Linfield got a point here, the Glens scored late on, Dungannon lost, Coleraine conceded late on and Portadown got a point.
"So we knew how difficult it was going to be and you've got to give credit to the boys, defensively they were outstanding.
"With the ball a lot of improvements are needed...but if you'd asked me before would I take a 1-0 win then of course.
"No-one's going to look at this game in the coming weeks and say 'Ballymena weren't great that day', the scoreline's 1-0 and we got the three points and that's all that matters.
"Being an ex-defender it's brilliant for me...if we're able to keep clean sheets we'll always win games as we've got the quality we have in the final third.
"You'll always get an opportunity then it's about punishing the opposition and we did that today.
"The one opportunity we did get we made sure of it and it got us the three points.
"As a manager I'm delighted...it wasn't pretty on the eye or good for the nerves but you'll take that all day long.
COLLECTIVE STRENGTH...
"Portadown had a lot of the ball and put us under pressure but, particularly in the second half, how many shots did we have to save?
“Very few, or from distance or tight angles.
"That's credit to the players...from Ethan (Devine) and the whole way back they've done their jobs today and that's all I can ask.
"If your goal's been peppered then at one stage one is going to fall but, thankfully, we prevented that.
"The run continues and long may it continue.
"Noah Stewart, to be fair to him, is in there hurting as he feels he should've scored.
"But he was in the right place, he created that opportunity and on another day maybe he doesn't go around the goalkeeper, maybe he smashes it and you win the game 2-0.
"As a manager we don't want to be defending in our own half for 45 minutes again but you have to win in different ways.
"Today we showed another way of grinding results out.
"When you're on the run we are (six straight wins) then you need a bit of luck, of course, but the confidence the boys have grown in each other you could see.
"They were fighting for one another and the atmosphere in there (the dressing room) is fantastic.
"Sometimes you have to grind results out the way we've done today.
"On the ball we were poor but off it I thought our shape was excellent, I thought our defending was excellent.
"As a manager, that's all I can ask.”
POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE...
"We've got really good leaders within the group...they take control of it once over the white line.
"Ultimately we can't do anything about it, we give them the tools and formation but they carry it out.
"To a man today, even the substitutes and guys that didn't get in but encouraging each other, all had a part to play.
"It's brilliant, I stand here at the minute and when you see the joy on faces coming off the pitch...
"I can't remember, even in my playing days, having the support come down to Portadown.
"The support has travelled in numbers too and that's off the back of the confidence we've given them from wins, so long may that continue.
"We need them, they dragged us through the game at different times and we'll need them again when the chips are down and you need some motivation.
"When you look behind the goal today you see the numbers and they're fantastic."