Friendlies Clubs· Season 2026
Loughgall beat Ballymena United 2-1 in a pre-season friendly at Ballymena Showgrounds on 4 July 2026, with goals from James Duffy and Trialist A.
Match Analysis
AI SummaryHow it unfolded
Loughgall opened the scoring through James Duffy and doubled their lead via a trialist (listed as Trialist A) in a first half that saw the visitors take control. Ballymena United pulled one back after the interval but could not find an equaliser as Loughgall held on for the win.
The result came just hours after Ballymena had faced Strabane Athletic in an earlier 11:30 kick-off — their first friendly of the day — making this a demanding pre-season workload for Oran Kearney's squad.
Lineups
Loughgall starting XI: Glendinning; Carson, Jordan, Wilson (c), Kerr; McCann, Murphy, Kelly, McLaughlin; McElroy, Stewart.
Loughgall named their full XI across their social media channels (via Loughgall FC Instagram/Facebook, 4 July 2026). Ballymena United's starting lineup was not published at the time of writing.
What it means
Pre-season friendlies are about fitness and minutes ahead of the 2026/27 Northern Ireland Premiership campaign. Ballymena United kick off their league season against Linfield on 8 August 2026. Loughgall face Glenavon on the opening weekend.
The fixture history between these two sides now stands at six wins for Ballymena, four for Loughgall, with 41 goals scored across 10 meetings — an average of 4.1 per game.
Verdict
A productive afternoon for Loughgall, who got goals from a senior player (Duffy) and a trialist — precisely what pre-season is designed to deliver. Ballymena's split-squad approach across two games on the same day makes it difficult to read much into the result, but Loughgall will take confidence from the win.
Rivalry since 2022
Ballymena United vs Loughgall Head to Head Results· 10
Ballymena United and Loughgall have met 10 times — Ballymena United won 6, Loughgall won 4, with 0 draws. Their rivalry dates back to 2022. Ballymena United leads the head-to-head with 6 victories from 10 meetings. A combined 41 goals have been scored across these fixtures, averaging 4.10 per match (23 for the home side, 18 for the visitors). Both teams scored in 7 matches (70%). Over 2.5 goals landed in 7 games (70%), making it a fixture that tends to produce goals. The highest-scoring encounter finished 5–2 in 2025.
Statistics are for informational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
API data: 5 Jul 2026