A bumper holiday crowd was in attendance in East Belfast for arguably one of the most entertaining games of the season so far between the two in-form sides.

The visiting Braidmen started brightly with some great passing movement and went close when Stuart King's cross from the left was met by Mark Picking at the far post who headed just wide.

Picking was one of two changes to the side as he made his first start since November in place of Stephen Lowry, also Lee Patrick was sacrificed for the returning Craig McClean.

For all the early pressure, it was the Glens who took an early lead in the game. On 13 minutes Jason Hill’s cross was met by Michael Halliday who seen his fierce effort palmed away by Paul Murphy at point blank range. The ball only reached Gary Hamilton – whose shot again was saved superbly by the Dundalk goalkeeper.

It was third time lucky though for the Northern Ireland international as he composed himself from the second rebound to slot the ball into the bottom corner for his 19th goal of the season.

Hamilton, the league’s leading scorer, had further chances to double Glentoran’s advantage as they threw everything at United, but the plucky visitors held on and grabbed a first half equaliser with the interval looming.

Stuart King's weighted pass down the left channel found the onrushing Garth Scates who outpaced Colin Nixon to place his shot out of the reach of Elliott Morris on 42 minutes.

After the break it only took the home side five minutes to regain their advantage when Kyle Neill’s shot from the edge of the penalty area took a wicked deflection and wrong footed Paul Murphy.

However, just when Glentoran thought they could get comfortable again, United hit back yet again on 64 minutes.

Former Ballymena United forward Rory Hamill gave away a free-kick for a needless handball 25-yards from goal. Gary Haveron stood over the ball and exquisitely stroked a magnificent free-kick into the top corner with Morris dumbfounded.

The Sky Blues weren’t finished yet and ten minutes later former Glentoran midfielder Gavin Melaugh put Ballymena into the lead for the first time in the game.

Stuart King's cross-come-shot deflected off Sean Ward only into the path of Gavin Melaugh (pictured) who rifled the ball into the back of the net from close range to send the travelling support wild.

Glentoran went on the attack with nothing to lose now, but they couldn’t find a breakthrough as Michael Halliday twice headed against the frame of the goal as United fans were beginning to believe it was their day.

Then five minutes into injury time; from a counter-attack, substitute Stephen Lowry played the ball to Kevin Kelbie who beat the offside trap and rounded Morris before slotting into the empty net.

A stunning victory for the Sky Blues which blows the Carnegie Premier League right open not only for the top three teams but moves fourth place Ballymena within three points of third spot.

"I thought we were excellent. The character the lads showed going 1-0 and then 2-1 down, against a side that beat Linfield and Portadown, was tremendous. That pleased me every bit as much as the good football we played,” he said.

"Some people may think good football and Ballymena don’t go together, but I think we proved them wrong with that today.

"We also got criticised in some quarters for playing only one striker, but we are averaging over two goals a game, so we are delighted with how we are going. But performance-wise, I don't think anyone could argue with our win today.

"I think people are starting to take more notice of us, but that doesn't concern us. I concentrate on our own performances. I am the players' greatest critic but also their greatest fan."

Teams:

GLENTORAN	BALLYMENA UNITED
1: MORRIS, Elliott	1: MURPHY, Paul
2: NIXON, Colin	2: WRAY, Thomas
3: NEILL, Kyle	3: McCLEAN, Craig
4: HILL, Jason	4: HAVERON, Gary
5: LEEMAN, Paul (c)	5: WATSON, Albert (c)
7: WARD, Sean	6: FLYNN, Johnny
9: HALLIDAY, Michael	7: PICKING, Mark
10: HAMILTON, Gary	8: SCATES, Garth
11: SCULLION, David	9: MELAUGH, Gavin
16: BERRY, Ryan	10: KELBIE, Kevin
19: CARSON, Philip	11: KING, Stuart
Substitutes	-
18: DOUGHERTY, Michael	12: LOWRY, Stephen
Not Used	Replaced Mark Picking (81 mins)
8: HAMILL, Rory	14: PATRICK, Lee
Replaced Ryan Berry (63 mins)	Replaced Garth Scates (71 mins)
14: FITZGERALD, Dean	15: CUSHLEY, David
Replaced Philip Carson (20 mins)	Replaced Stuart King (90 mins)
15: WARD, Michael	16: FITZGERALD, Darren
Not Used	Not Used
23: McGOVERN, Jamie	17: WALSH, Davitt
Not Used	Not Used
Yellow Cards:	-
None	Unknown
Red Cards:	-
None	None