Penalty frustration for Ballymena's Oran Kearney as Glentoran new boy bags decisive goal double
Ballymena United manager Oran Kearney was again left scratching his head after another game that got away from his boys at the BetMcLean Oval on Saturday.
The Sky Blues now find themselves marooned at the foot of the Sports Direct Premiership table, just above 11th-placed Crusaders on goal difference.
Even though they had to soak up pressure for the opening half hour, the visitors found themselves in front on 33 minutes when striker Igor Rutkowski swivelled to shoot into the bottom corner.
But the game turned on its head when referee Ian McNabb awarded the Glens a spot-kick seconds before the interval. Aaron McEneff’s corner-kick appeared to strike a hand - although it looked to be that of Glens defender MJ Kamson-Kamara rather than Ballymena’s Fuad Sule, the latter deemed the guilty party.
McEneff stepped up to send goalkeeper Brad Wade the wrong way from the spot.
If that was fortunate, McEneff’s second was a super effort. Having picked up a pass from Cammy Palmer, he sent in a dipping, curling drive from 25 yards that left Wade rooted to the spot.
“There was a melee in the box,” said Kearney on the penalty call in the 2-1 loss. “By all accounts, it was Kamson-Kamara's hand the ball hit, not Sule.
“We were seconds away from getting in at half-time with a one-goal lead.
“It obviously changed the half-time team talk. In the blink of an eye, in a six-minute turnaround in both halves, we find ourselves trailing.
“I thought we had a stonewall penalty denied after 30 seconds when (Kian) Corbally was fouled inside the box."
Kearney, however, reckons there were many positives to take from the game.
“I’m obviously disappointed to come out with a defeat, it’s been a tough run of fixtures over the past couple of weeks,” he said. “I told the players, I believe we are getting stronger and stronger.
"We got a lot of work done on the training pitch in recent weeks, due to having so many games cancelled.
“We have made improvements. In games against the big sides (full-time) we are being beaten by a one-goal margin, and it been down to moments.”
Assistant boss Paddy McCourt insists the Glentoran fans are about to see the best of McEneff.
“He is a top player,” said former Northern Ireland international midfielder McCourt. “We’ve known him for a long, long time.
“He was at Spurs as a young player and then he came back to play for Derry City before moving to Shamrock Rovers.
"When the opportunity arose in terms of him coming to the club, we tried our best to make it happen.
“Aaron is a little bit behind in his fitness, but 90 minutes will be crucial for him. Hopefully, we will see a lot more of that.
“He never looks flustered in possession, and he moves really well with the ball.
"He has a really good strike with his right foot, as we’ve seen with his goal.
“I’ve no doubt, there is more to come from Aaron when he really gets up and going."