A Taylor-made hero for United fans on ‘derby’ day

Johnny Taylor is congratulated by team-mate Michael Ruddy after scoring the first of his two goals against Coleraine. Picture: Press Eye.

Still, a couple of goals in a ‘derby’ game against Coleraine isn’t going to do his standing any harm, eh?

It’s fitting that it was Taylor who hauled United out of the depths of more misery at the hands of the Sky Blues fiercest rivals.

He has been by far and away Ballymena’s best player this season - a defensive colossus who also has the handy knack of causing mayhem in opposing teams’ penalty areas from set-pieces.

The fact he is now United’s joint top goalscorer with three goals is merely another string to his bow.

Taylor was one of Glenn Ferguson’s first signings when he took over and over the course of nearly two years since then, it’s hard to argue against the assertion that he has been the manager’s best capture.

I’ve said before in this column that it’s over-simplifying the case to suggest that Taylor’s absence through injury for virtually the second half of last season was directly responsible for the tailspin which United’s season went into during the same period, but, by the same token, there must be some correlation between those two factors.

It will be interesting to see if United once again fall into the trap of losing one of their key asset by dallying over offering Taylor a new contract before the vultures begin to circle, as he enters the final six months of his present deal.

While there are others on the Showgrounds playing staff for whom next summer - if at all - would be time enough to starting talking terms, getting Taylor’s signature on a new contract must surely be fairly high on Ferguson’s ‘to do’ list.

You have to draw the positives from Saturday’s result, most notably the comeback from two goals down.

How many times have we seen this United side in a similar position going on to lose by the sort of margins where you have to call in the fingers of a second hand.

A League Cup win during the week and a battling ‘derby’ draw will keep the critics off Ferguson’s back for a short time but United desperately need to use those results as a bedrock to stitch together a sustained spell of positive results in order to rise away from the lower reaches of the Danske Bank Premiership table.

This Saturday’s trip to Dungannon Swifts - who continue to punch above their weight in the top flight - is the type of fixture capable of catapulting United right back to square one again.

* Follow Ballymena Times Sports Editor Stephen Alexander on Twitter (@Stephen_Bmena).