The match kicked off in a slight drizzle but on a calm day on a fairly heavy pitch.
The visitors were clearly up for the game and relishing the chance of taking a scalp from the division above. They started well and the home side struggled to keep possession. The Saints for their part are struggling for league points and knew they would need to be at their best to progress.
However there were few chances for either team. The Saints took the lead after 20 minutes when a King corner caused confusion in the Ballyhalbert defence and the ball eventually trickled into the net.
The rest of the half was very even.
The second half started with Ballyhalbert on the attack and quickly they equalised. A corner cheaply given away was defended poorly and when a shot came back off keeper Young the rebound was hammered home.
With 20 minutes left the visitors were awarded a penalty but Young produced a superb save.
That proved to be a turning point. Subs Boyle and McKnight were introduced and the Saints were on top. The visitors keeper made 2 superb saves but eventually was beaten by Boyle. A superb run and tidy finish proved to be the winning goal.
To be honest it was a poor game in terms of quality but had lots of endeavour and played in the right spirit.