Sky Blues mourn death of former manager

Ballymena United officials and supporters have been saddened to learn of the death of former player manager Dave Hickson.
Former Ballymena United player/manager Dave Hickson.Former Ballymena United player/manager Dave Hickson.
Former Ballymena United player/manager Dave Hickson.

The Englishman had spent a year in charge at the Showgrounds in the 1960s, after an illustrious playing career which included spells with both Everton and Liverpool.

An iconic figure at Everton, Hickson had taken over at Ballymena in the 1964-65 season, in an era where United attracted high-quality cross-channel talent such as Alex McCrae and Geoff Twentyman.

A Tweet in the official Ballymena United Twitter said the club had been “saddened” to learn of his passing.

Ballymena-based UTV journalist Ken Reid, a lifelong Everton supporter, said: “A few years ago at Goodison, I asked him about his time at Ballymena.

“He loved it.”

Meanwhile, United continue their pre-season preparations tonight (Tuesday) with a match against Ballyclare Comrades at Broughshane Community Centre.

Ballymena will travel to Championship One side Dundela this Saturday.

The Sky Blues lost their first pre-season game when they went down 2-1 to Dublin-based junior side Ballymun United at the weekend.

Shane Dolan was on target for United.

Another Ballymena striker, Neil Lowry, will hope to hear this week whether he has secured a contract with Scottish Premier League side ST Johnstone after spending last week on trial at the Perth club.