Irish Premiership: Ballinamallard Utd 1-0 Ballymena Utd

A second-half goal from Ryan Campbell proved enough to secure the win at Ferney Park as Ballinamallard moved three points ahead of Ballymena in the bottom half of the Premiership table.

Campbell volleyed into the top corner on the hour mark after the visitors failed to defend a corner properly.

It was a game of few chances but Dwayne Nelson made some fine saves and David Cushley and Tony Kane went close.

The teams meet again in the League Cup third round at Ballymena on Tuesday.

Nelson denied Stevie Feeney in the first half while Campbell shot over the bar.

The visiting goalkeeper then tipped a long-range Jason McCartney effort round the post and after Campbell scored the winning goal, Alvin Rouse denied Gary Thompson a possible equaliser with a fine stop.

Ahead of Saturday's fixtures, Ballinamallard move up to seventh on 13 points while Ballymena languish in 10th with 10 points.

Both sides went into the game with poor recent records and the Sky Blues have now picked up just four points from a possible 18 in their last six league fixtures.