Ballinamallard 5-1 PSNI

Five second half goals sent the Mallards into Round 6 of the Tennents Irish Cup where they will play Carrick Rangers on Saturday 2nd February.

It was most certainly a game of two halves, with the home side making the most of their numerical advantage after the break.

The Police took the lead on 31 minutes when Tony Tumulty nicked the ball off Richard Clarke in the penalty area and fired past John Connolly from close range.

The home side were struggling to break through a well organised away side and it remained scoreless until the break. The turning point in the game perhaps came before half time when defender Philip Simpson was shown a straight red card for a foul on Ryan Campbell, who had spun his marker to get through on goal.

The equaliser eventually came just before the 60 minute mark; a smart short corner routine involving Arkinson and McCartney was headed into the net by Nathan Cashel to spark a purple patch for the Mallards.

The second arrived almost immediately; Robbie Hume's fine free kick was tipped onto the bar and out for a corner, which the PSNI failed to clear and Ryan O'Reilly poked in from close range.

Then on 68 an Arkinson cross from the right was diverted into the net by a Police defender for 3-1 before Nathan Cashel won a penalty on 75 minutes, which was converted by Richard Clarke.

The fifth arrived with substitute Sam Robb playing a neat through ball for Robbie Hume to score on his return to the club, and on 89 Hume tried to return the favour by winning another penalty. Robb stepped up, but his effort was saved by McCauley.

We take a break next Saturday, before welcoming Ballyclare Comrades to Ferney Park for our final pre-split match on the 19th.