We travel to Blanchflower Park tomorrow evening to take on Harland & Wolff Welders in our next Lough 41 Championship fixture.

Match Info

When: Friday 11^th February – Kick-Off 7:45pm

Where: Blanchflower Park

What: Lough 41 Championship

Entry: Pay at the gate – £8 (Adult) / £5 (Concession)

The Opponents

The Welders currently occupy 5^th position in the Lough 41 Championship, just 1 point from second spot. Last week, HW Welders came from behind to defeat Knockbreda at Breda Park. Former Comrades forward, Ciaran Heggarty, fired the home side in front with just under a quarter-of-an-hour on the clock with a half volley from just inside the area after the Welders defence failed to clear a corner. However, the visitors levelled not long after that when Jake Corbett swivelled and turned outside the box to send a great effort into the roof of the net. Then, just before the break, Michael McLellan knocked home what proved to be the winner with a low driven free-kick into the bottom corner of the net.

The Comrades

With no game last week, the Comrades remain in 8^th position in the Lough 41 Championship on 32 points. Our last game saw us share the spoils with Ballinamallard United at Dixon Park in a game which saw the lead change twice. After a number of half chances at either end it fell to the home side to move in front on 37 minutes when Jason Johnston headed home after Kyle Beggs had delivered the ball into the box. It was an advantage the Comrades held until a couple of minutes into the second half when Callum Moorehead nodded past Richard Purcell to level matters. Then, on 64 minutes, Sean McEvoy edged the visitors into the lead with a well executed free-kick from around 30 yards low into the bottom corner. However, it again proved to be a short lived period on top after Andrew Mooney equalised for the Comrades with a left-foot strike from just inside the box after Caiolan Brennan had slipped him through on the left.

Last Time Out

The last time these two sides met, The Comrades staged a late comeback to recover a two-goal deficit and salvage a point from HW Welders at Blanchflower Park. The Welders moved in front on 38 minutes through Alan McMurtry who smashed the ball home from eight yards after receiving a low cross from the left. Josh Boyd doubled the home advantage on 67 minutes with a back post finish when the ball was played across the box into his path. But Ballyclare pulled a goal back just five minutes after that through Liam Hassin with a 25-yard effort into the top corner after a set piece was only partially cleared. And the Comrades secured a point with four minutes left on the clock when Matthew Herron found the net from Tom Mathieson’s cross.