The game was brought forward 24-hours due to the proposed live coverage of Saturday's CIS Insurance League Cup final between Linfield and Crusaders at Windsor Park.

The first half was a lack-lustre occasion with few clear chances as both teams valiantly tried to battle the elements at the wet and windswept Warden Street.

It took until 20 minutes from the end of the game for the match to spark into life. A late tackle from Larne's Paul Hamilton left on-loan striker Davitt Walsh wrything in agony.

Referee Alan Black saw fit to see that Hamilton was only awarded a yellow card, as Davitt Walsh eventually left the Showgrounds in the back of an ambulance with a suspected broken leg.

Four minutes later, the home side broken down the resolute Larne defence, as goalkeeper Chris Keenan rushed out off his line and hacked down Darren Fitzgerald on the right flank, earning himself only a yellow card.

From the resulting free-kick Kevin Kelbie (pictured) headed home for his fourth goal of the campaign. Although the downward header was tame in power, it sneaked under the red-faced Larne goalkeeper.

The visitor's heads dropped and to confound Larne boss Paul Curran's misery the Braidmen struck again on 85 minutes when a cheeky backheeled attempt from Darren Fitzgerald sealed the win.

A goal reminisent of Paul Hardy's winner in the Irish Cup final between the two sides back in 1989, scored by Walsh's replacement.

Larne defender Hamilton, booked for an earlier horror tackle on Walsh, seen red for another poorly timed challenge on the edge of the penalty area. A night the former Linfield and Notthingham Forest player will want to forget.

Wright's other substition paid dividends a minute from time as David Cushley curled a superb left-footed free-kick around the wall, leaving Keenan flat-footed, for the Shankill winger's first senior goal.

As referee Alan Black signalled the end of the game, it's 13 points out a possible 15 for the Sky Blues as they are now only four points off fourth place in the league with a game in hand.

"We didn't play particularly well in the first-half and they bombarded us but we had 11 shots in the second-half, ten on target, so I've got to be happy with that," United boss Tommy Wright told the Sunday Life.

"It's the first time in a long time that I had to go ballistic at them at half-time and I think they responded in the right way."

He was less than impressed, though, with Hamilton's tackle that led to Walsh's departure by stretcher.

"Those sorts of tackles are cowards' tackles. The ball's there to be won but it's the old wrap around the leg one and there's no place for it in the game."

Teams:

BALLYMENA UNITED	LARNE
1: MURPHY, Paul	1: KEENAN, Chris
2: CALLAGHAN, Aaron	2: CLEARY, Andrew
3: McCLEAN, Craig	3: BLACK, Ross
4: HAVERON, Gary	4: ROBINSON, Aaron
5: WATSON, Albert (c)	5: HAMILTON, Paul
6: FLYNN, Johnny	6: MORAN, Kyle
7: LOWRY, Stephen	7: LAGAN, Anto
8: SCATES, Garth	8: CORRIGAN, Noel
10: KELBIE, Kevin	9: HUNTER, Marty
11: MELAUGH, Gavin	10: VERNER, Marty
17: WALSH, Davitt	11: FULTON, Bertie
Substitutes	-
9: FITZGERALD, Darren	12: McLAUGHLIN, Damien
Replaced Davitt Walsh (71 mins)	Replaced Kyle Moran (87 mins)
12: PICKING, Mark	14: DICKSON, Andrew
Not Used	Not Used
14: PATRICK, Lee	15: RAFFERTY, Gary
Not Used	Not Used
15: CUSHLEY, David	16: BLACK, Aaron
Replaced Craig McClean (67 mins)	Replaced Marty Hunter (81 mins)
16: WRAY, Thomas	17: LYNCH, Johnny
Not Used	Not Used
Yellow Cards:	-
Unknown	Unknown
Red Cards:	-
None	HAMILTON, Paul (85 mins)