Crusaders 5-0 Ballinamallard

Reigning Champions Crusaders secured their first win of the season with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Ballinamallard.

The Mallards made 4 changes to the side that drew with Dungannon on Wednesday past, with Steve Feeney replacing the ineligible Emmet Friars at centre half and Chris Crilly coming in at right back, with Liam McMenamin moving into midfield. There were also starts for Liam Martin and Aaron Patterson, with both James McKenna and Shane McCabe missing out through injury.

In truth, the damage was done in the first half with the Champions clinically punishing the Mallards for poor defensive mistakes. Diarmuid O'Carroll opened the scoring after 2 minutes with a fine strike whilst Ulster Player of the Year Paul Heatley added two more on 14 and 21 minutes. Jordan Owens added a fourth of the stroke of half time and a final fifth goal on 81 minutes, heading in at the back post.

Goalkeeper Alvin Rouse pulled off a number of fantastic saves to keep the score down, whilst Ryan Campbell seen his first half penalty and rebound shot saved by O'Neill. Adam Lecky made a second half appearance for his Premier League debut.