Boxing Day not a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination

If you cast your mind back to early September, Coleraine took champions Cliftonville apart in a Sky-televised game as they continued their unbeaten start to the season.

A couple of months later and the Bannsiders were scarcely even on Ballymena’s radar as the Sky Blues laboured in the lower reaches of the Danske Bank Premiership table.

Yet fast forward to here and now and it will be Ballymena who go into Thursday’s Boxing Day clash sitting above their rivals in the table - although, as I have pointed out previously in this column, the fact that both teams are in the lower half of the table means neither has little to crow about.

Coleraine’s dip in form and Ballymena’s steady if unspectacular improvement are a timely reminder of how fickle football’s fortunes can be.

Just the time then to throw in the ultimate ‘curve-ball’ of a Boxing Day ‘derby’ just to shake things up further.

I’ve witnessed Boxing Day games between the two sides over the years where virtually the length of the league table has separated them, yet, rarely would you ever be confident enough to say that one team or other will emerge victorious in a 90-minute two-horse race.

That has changed, of course, to an extent in recent years, during which Coleraine have held the upper hand.

Last year’s Boxing Day win for Oran Kearney’s side was as big a cakewalk for any team that I ever recall in the festive fixture and it looked as though United would be set for more years of misery at the hands of their fiercest rivals.

It hasn’t panned out that way, though, and Ballymena go into Thursday’s game with every chance of finally snapping that nauseating run of 14 ‘derby’ games without a win.

It’s staggering to think that nine points separate the sides at present after Saturday’s results, but would you feel confident predicting a Ballymena win in this fixture? No, me either.

If you’re not at Ballycastle Road, you can follow the action on Twitter where there will be match updates as well as the first match report on the Ballymena Times website just after the final whistle.

Merry Christmas to all readers of this column and here’s hoping for some Boxing Day cheers.

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