Category: Fixtures

Match Report: Ballynahinch United 1 v 2 New Buildings [after extra time]

A packed Millbridge was treated to a real hum dinger of a cup tie at this 1st Round Intermediate Cup game.

In the early part of the match it was United who had the better of the exchanges however they were disrupted by the loss of midfielder David Kelly after only ten minutes with a dead leg sustained in the very first challenge. They should have been ahead too but Gareth McMullan and Greg Allison failed to capitalise on the openings created. As the first half progressed the visitors enjoyed a greater share of the possession and lone forward Matty Smith was proving hard to handle for defenders Boal, Hayes, Herron and Majury. It was Smith who opened the scoring for New Buildings when a misplaced pass was intercepted and a quick through ball saw the forward close in on Brian McMullan who made a valiant effort to save his shot but to no avail.

In the second half United had the strong wind in their backs and gradually as the half progressed they took control of the game creating quite a few openings. Dalton Tate who had been relatively quiet in the first half moved further forward and he got on the end of Gavin Crawford cross to volley a shot goal ward only to see the keeper get a fingertip to it and see it cannon off the crossbar. In the 60 minute United were level when an exchange of passes with JJ Carlisle saw Davy Boal venture forward and unleash an outstanding shot which whizzed into the net.

Minutes later United had a goal disallowed when the New Buildings keeper spilled a high cross from Stuart McMullan at the feet of Aaron McCaffrey who touched it over the line but the referee adjudged that the keeper had been fouled in the build-up. United pressed continually and Ross Hayes saw his downward header bounce of the crossbar to safety.

The game went into extra time with United again pressing however neither team created any clear cut chances and the game was settled minutes before the end of the first half of extra time when Wayne Glenn crossed a ball from the touchline some forty or fifty yards from goal and with Brian McMullan who had been a virtual spectator for the previous fifty odd minutes back pedalling furiously the ball dropped in under the crossbar.

The visitors put every man they could muster behind the ball to repel United’s vain attempt to equalise and they held out for a fortuitous win however they have to be congratulated for a good performance throughout for such a youthful team.

Match Report: Ballynahinch United 2nds 3 v 0 Ardglass Colts

The Swifts continued their unbeaten run with a victory over a hard working Ardglass side that never gave up but that failed to seriously threaten the home defence.

Matthew Manly opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he curled a great shot into the top corner of the net. Ben Wilson who has been one of the team’s hard working midfielders this season scored the second after 18 minutes when he was set up by Graham McMullan. Wilson’s curling shot gave the Ardglass keeper no chance.

For the remainder of the half Ardglass curtailed the Swifts attacking threat and defensively Craig McMullan, Ross Hayes, John McMenamin and Shaun Bonner had to be at their best while Jamie McPhail in front of the back four covered every blade of grass. Goalkeeper Johnny McGreevy’s handling had to be at its best as he faced a barrage of crosses mainly from a series of corners.

In the second half Ardglass had a lot more possession but again they never really created a clear cut opening while the Swifts were limited to breakaways prompted by Alan Massey in central midfield and on occasions they created openings with Gareth Bingham having the best opportunity when he shot over the cross bar when put through by Craig McMullan. Replacements Scott McNeill and Ross Bingham made a major impact when they came on.

The Swifts put the game out of Ardglass’s reach when Matthew Manly’s shot after great work by the teenage winger resulted in a defender and the goalkeeper combining to allow the ball to cross the line.

This was a decent performance from the Swifts who remain unbeaten however they will need to be more commanding next week when they travel to Ballykinlar.

Match Report: Killough 2nds 4 – 5 Ballynahinch United 2nds

The Swifts got their league season started with an excellent away win to Killough Seconds. Last year the two sides met in a thrilling 5 – 5 encounter but this time the visitors edged the home side out with goals from Ross Bingham [2], Alan Massey, Paul King and David Griffiths.

The 2nds entertain Kirkistown 2nds at The Millbridge this Saturday 20th September in a league game.

Match Report: Ballynahinch United 3 v 2 Grove United

United went into this match on the back of a series of cup defeats and were anxious to get back on the winning trail in this league encounter. Whilst a number of the more experienced players were back in action the team was missing Paul Dickson and Craig Bowman through suspension,  JJ Carlisle now off to University, Scott Brashaw and Gareth Bingham both unavailable whilst Gregg Allison is injured. The visitors who were quite a youthful team got off to a great start when they went ahead after one minute when a long cross from the right wing was headed into the net via the post. Things got worst inside ten minutes when a clearance broke kindly for their centre forward and he smashed the ball past Brian McMullan who had no chance of saving it.

The home team were shelled shocked and they really never got going and could on several occasions have fallen further behind had it not been for timely interventions from the defensive line up of Ross Hayes, David Boal, Ethan Majury and Craig McMullan and a number of fine saves from goalkeeper Brian McMullan.

The second half started poorly with United taking some time to get into the game until a positional changes were effected with Stuart McMullan moving to the left side of midfield and Herron to left back, The impact was almost immediate as United increasingly got on the attack however the visitors held resolute frustrating them until late in the game.

McMullan and Herron were proving a handful on the left side and it was they who created the opening that led to United’s first goal and for which Grove paid a heavy penalty. In the 80th minute Aaron McCaffrey was put through by McMullan and he was pulled back by the Grove number 5 and as it was his second booking he was red carded. From the resulting free kick on the edge of the penalty Dalton Tate shot home through a space in the defensive wall.

Buoyed on United pressed forward with midfielders David Kelly, Gavin Crawford and Dalton Tate seeing a lot of the ball and finding more openings and from a corner the ball broke free for McMullan to stroke the ball into the net from close to the penalty spot. The game was now into injury time but as there was a fair bit of additional time due to time wasting United pressed forward. In the 92nd minute McMullan eased the ball away from the Grove goalkeeper on the left hand side of the penalty area and he swivelled close to the bye line close to the  six yard box to find Gavin Crawford running in and crashing the ball into the net.

In the closing minutes Grove pressed to get an equaliser but United held the ball from them to secure a vital three points.

This week United travel to East Belfast for a league game.

Match Report: Sirocco Works 1 v 3 Ballynahinch United

United travelled to New Grosvenor last Tuesday night for the second of the season’s two midweek games against a strong Sirocco Works team who had like their opponents not found that winning formula after three league games.

The early exchanges were even with Sirocco enjoying the advantage of a strong wind while United’s slick passing enabled them to gain valuable attacking opportunities. United suffered the loss of forward Gareth McMullan with a hamstring injury after twenty minutes. Sirocco created a few chances which Brian McMullan dealt with well while at the other end the Sirocco keeper pulled off an outstanding goal line clearance from a shot by David Kelly. On the half hour mark as United pressed up field they were caught out by a long ball which left the Sirocco centre forward free to run through and slip the ball past Brian McMullan. This was a blow for United however they were not to be behind for long as after a few unproductive attacks Dalton Tate released Stuart McMullan on the right wing and he slipped the ball to David Kelly who centred for Gavin Crawford to head superbly into the net.

In the second half United had the advantage of the wind and they varied their tactics with more use of the longer diagonal ball which caused the Sirocco defence lots of problems. Time and again Stuart McMullan and Aaron McCaffrey beat the offside to create openings.

In the 50th minute following excellent work on the right wing by Craig Bowman found David Kelly who created an opening for Scott Brashaw to run into the penalty area and unleash a shot that went in off the post to give United the lead.

This was a lead that United were determined to hold onto and this was epitomised throughout the team. In defence Paul Dickson rose to clear a barrage of long balls while his defensive colleagues Davy Boal, Craig Bowman and Craig McMullan repelled attacks all along their back line. Brian McMullan who was rarely troubled still handled superbly when called upon. In midfield Kelly, Tate, Brashaw and Crawford worked their socks off while Stuart McMullan and McCaffrey provided an excellent first line of defence as they harried the Sirocco defenders at every opportunity.

Despite holding the lead things remained tense until the 80th minute when United got their third goal which always looked as if it would come. Once again it was pressure on the right wing that created the opening and when McCaffrey latched onto the ball in the penalty area he cleverly side footed it to David Kelly who thumped it into the roof of the net.

Sirocco pushed hard in the closing minutes to get back into the game but United remained steadfast to hold on to the valuable three points they had worked so hard for. Gareth Bingham replaced the hard working McCaffrey in the forward line and like all his team mates he put in a valuable shift.

This result is a just reward for some decent performances by United in these opening league matches of the season. Over the next three weeks they face Lisburn Rangers, East Belfast and Killyleagh in cup matches.