ON Sunday, Ballymena United's Supporters Team were victorious in the Irish League Forums tournament in Jordanstown, beating Donegal Celtic 2-0 in the final.

Run through Irish League supporters website - www.irishleaguesupporters.com - this is the fifth year of the 5-a-side competition, and the first time a Ballymena United side has been victorious.

Previously the closest the Braid supporters had come was the final in 2003, however they went one step further this time - after struggling badly in recent competitions.

The Sky Blues remained undefeated all day, and qualified from their group with ease before defeating Cliftonville in the semi-final before goals from Iain Black and Neil Coleman sealed a 2-0 win in the final against Donegal Celtic.

Co-managed by Neil Coleman and Darren Archer the Ballymena team included Iain Black, Andy Nelson, Andy Graham, Nigel McKeown, Gary McKeown, Rodney McLaughlin and Ricky Russell.

Iain 'Hightower' Black proved to be in lethal goalscoring form, scoring 11 goals to finish top goalscorer. A great day out was had by all as the money raised from the competition will be given to BBC Children in Need.

Match by Match Report...

Group Stage 1: v. FM NORTHERN IRELAND - Won 5-0 [Iain Black 3, Neil Coleman, Ricky Russell]

The Sky Blues, playing in the yellow away kit from two years ago, made a blistering start to their campaign with a convincing win against the Football Manager Northern Ireland side, which contained fans from a number of Irish League sides. Iain Black opened the scoring early on, and proceeded to score twice again to claim his hat-trick. Neil Coleman came on and scored number four, whilst Ricky Russell fired home number five late on to seal an impressive start for Ballymena United.

Group Stage 2: v. INSTITUTE - Won 5-0 [Iain Black 3, Neil Coleman, Gary McKeown]

A much tougher task was expected against reigning champions, Institute - who incidentally went onto the semi-finals of this competition. However it was the Londonderry side who were put to the sword by the shooting boots of Iain 'Hightower' Black. An early goal from Black settled the nervous and he added number two before Neil Coleman fired in the third. Iain Black notched up another hat-trick after that with his third before defensive stalwart, Gary McKeown, added number five with the last kick of the game.

Group Stage 3: v. DONEGAL CELTIC SC - Won 2-1 [Nigel McKeown, Iain Black]

The United supporters faced a real scare when the second of two Donegal Celtic sides won a penalty early on, after a mistake from Nigel McKeown. They converted to leave Ballymena chasing the game for the first time. However, Nigel McKeown made amends for his mistake by striking United's equaliser soon after, before late in the game Iain Black scored yet again to keep up the Braidmen's 100% record as qualification was virtually assured with this battling victory.

Group Stage 4: v. GLENTORAN - Drew 2-2 [Iain Black, Andy Graham]

The Braidmen sealed qualification to the semi-final stage with a draw against Glentoran. Iain Black had opened the scoring before Andy Graham latched onto a long ball with a deft touch with the outside of his foot to beat the goalkeeper, and sent Ballymena into an early lead. The Glens pulled a goal back after some bad defending by United, but play was stopped for five minutes when the ball got stuck in the roof. After the break Ballymena lost their rhythm and conceded a second goal, and eventually had to settle for a point, in what was a less than impressive performance.

Group Stage 5: v. PORTADOWN - Won 3-0 [Iain Black 2, Andy Graham]

With Ballymena already qualified, Portadown needed a win against United to keep their hopes of a semi-final berth alive. The Sky Blues were relentless though and raced into a two goal lead when firstly, Iain Black struck followed by Andy Graham showing no mercy in front of goal. Black scored his second of the game to wrap the tie up and leave Ballymena unbeaten in the group stage going into the knockout rounds.

Semi-Final v. CLIFTONVILLE - Drew 2-2 (Won 2-1 on penalties) [Iain Black, Ricky Russell]

There was a tense finish to what was arguably the game of the tournament. The pressure was there from the start as a defensive lapse allowed Cliftonville to open the scoring very early in the game. Ballymena equalised through Iain Black, but again went behind again with time running out. However, Ricky Russell made an immediate impact from the bench, as he collected a flick on to drill the ball past the Cliftonville keeper with his weaker left foot. The drama was no-where near over, as Ballymena were awarded a penalty in the last minute due to an infringement in the Cliftonville penalty area. Iain Black stepped up to see his penalty saved, and ironically send the game to penalties.

Cliftonville won the toss and decided to take first, and they scored with their first of three penalties. Andy Graham took Ballymena’s first but seen his shot well saved. Andy Nelson came to his team’s rescue, saving Cliftonville’s second kick, as Iain Black fired home to make it 1-1. The Reds missed their final penalty meaning that Rodney McLaughlin was left with the duty of taking the decisive spot kick. He coolly dispatched the kick to fire Sky Blues into the final for the first time in five years.

Final v. DONEGAL CELTIC - Won 2-0 [Iain Black, Neil Coleman]

With injuries and fatigue having stacked up over the day for United, the odds were against Ballymena in the final against the main Donegal Celtic team. A tense game seen both sides attack at pace but were both very assured defensively. The deadlock was broken by who else but Black, who twisted and turned around his marker before firing past the DC keeper. United had a number of chances with Andy Graham coming close. In goals Andy Nelson had a fantastic game, making a number of very important saves. In the closing minutes Ballymena sealed the win when Neil Coleman forced a defensive error and proceeded to fire home to make it 2-0.