The committee, players and supporters of Ballynahinch United would wish to express their condolences to committee members Steven Jess and Phil Kelso on their recent bereavement.
New Management Announced
Ballynahinch United F.C. is delighted to advise that the new first team manager will be Alan Davis who will be assisted by Paul Allison. Both have been involved with the club’s Youth side for some years and last year stepped up to take on the Swifts team which made excellent strides in Division 1 of the Newcastle League.
The Swifts will be managed by club stalwart Gareth Bingham assisted by Davy Teggarty.
The club would also like to send its best wishes to Jimmy Brown who is currently recovering after knee surgery.
Condolences Expressed
The committee, players and supporters of Ballynahinch United would wish to express their condolences to Jim, Ethan, Hannah and Helena Majury on their recent bereavement.
They would also wish Craig Tate a speedy recovery from the ankle ligament damage he sustained in the recent home fixture against Drumaness Mills.
Match Report: Ballynahinch United Swifts 2 v 1 Kilmore Rec. 2nds
The Swifts met Kilmore Rec 2nds for the third time in relatively quick succession and this time in the Purdy Cup.
Due to first team call ups manager Alan Davis had to shuffle his team somewhat. There was a strong wind blowing across the Langley Road pitch which made conditions difficult and the Kilmore team settled the quicker of the two. They also took the lead from the penalty spot in the early minutes of the game which brought about a change of formation for the Swifts.
The visitors were calling the shots with the home defence and midfield having to work hard to keep them out however as the first half was nearing its end Graeme McMullan sent Aaron McCaffrey through only to see his shot go narrowly wide. Minutes later Ross Murray who was having a quiet half ran onto an Alex Burtney pass to slot the ball home.
In the second half the Swifts had a slight wind advantage but the overall conditions made flowing football almost impossible. The home defence of Onhua, Annett, Beattie and McMullan coped with Kilmore’s long ball strategy while in midfield King and Hunter started to get the upper hand. The winning goal came from a Hunter pass which found Ross Murray and his shot was parried by the Kilmore keeper however Gareth Bingham was on hand to bundle the ball into the net. In the closing minutes Blaine almost increased their lead but his shot sailed past the post.
In the end the Swifts were pleased to get into the second round of this competition.
Match Report: Ballynahinch United 10 v 0 Wellington Recreation
Wellington Recreation provided the opposition at Millbridge for this vital league encounter with both teams occupying the relegation places in Division 1B. Despite an improvement in results the visitors fortunes have changed in recent weeks with their manager resigning while United have had some really encouraging performances particularly against table topping teams.
Obviously a win for the home team was essential and this was exactly what they got in more ways than one. From the outset United were on the front foot attacking on either flank driven on from central midfield by Gavin Crawford and Ben Wilson while Greg Allison and Jack Davis on the right and Stuart McMullan and Aaron Cheevers on the left. The breakthrough came in the 10th minute after a penetrating attack on the left wing saw Stuart McMullan cross for Greg Allison to shoot home. Wellington almost equalised moments later but Brian McMullan blocked the shot for what was his only serious save of the match. Greg Allison increased United’s lead on 21 minutes when he smashed the ball home after Aaron Cheevers had crossed from the right wing. On the half hour mark Matty Shaw crashed the ball off the crossbar.
Just before half time Stuart McMullan raced clear of the visitors defence and crossed for Greg Allison to head home and score his first hat trick for the first team. Wellington reorganised their defence to nullify the threat coming from United’s left flank however the emphasis changed to the right side and within ten minutes another two goals had been scored through headers from Matty Shaw and Gavin Crawford all from right wing crosses. Jack Davis, Matty Shaw and Aaron Cheever’s swarmed all over the visitors defence resulting in Cheevers scoring on the hour mark to make it 6-0. Jack Davis who has had a superb season since his promotion into the first team scored United’s seventh when he ran into the Wellington penalty area and crash a shot in from ten yards. United never let up in this game scoring a further three goals in the closing quarter with Gavin Crawford crashing a shot into the net from the edge of the penalty area and Aaron Cheevers slipping past the offside trap to score.
First team debutant Scott Cheevers came on for the closing quarter and he made an immediate impact by crashing the ball off the crossbar and in the final minutes he lobbed the onrushing keeper to score his first ever goal at this level and his teams tenth of the game. Defensively United coped easily with the odd forward excursion from the visitors and their back three of Dalton Tate, Scott Brashaw and Paul Dickson regularly joined the attack with Dickson sending several long range shots narrowly wide.
This win took United out of the bottom three but players and management are well aware that a lot of hard work remains to be done in the coming weeks and that starts with this weekend’s visit to Ballywalter.