Category: Results

Match Report: Ballynahinch United 1 v 4 East Belfast

United entertained one of the Division 1B favorites on Saturday last and despite a valiant performance they were well beaten.

East Belfast arrived at the Millbridge having only lost one league game and from the kick off they were rampant moving the ball with speed and accuracy. United who were missing a raft of experienced players withstood this early onslaught with Brashaw, Majury, Herron, McCaffrey and Stuart McMullan making some timely tackles and goal keeper Bryan McMullan a few vital saves.

The visitors defence were getting things fairly easy in the opening ten minutes but once United got possession things changed and the pace of Cheevers caused them major problems.

East Belfast took the lead after 15 minutes when a speculative shot from outside the penalty area struck the inside of the post and went in giving McMullan no chance.

On 20 minutes Aaron Cheevers broke free and as he raced towards the penalty area he was pulled back and United were awarded a free kick. The lively midfielder took the kick himself and his superbly placed cross was touched over the line by Gareth McMullan.

The game became more even and the East Belfast defence were coming under increased pressure. Unfortunately an overzealous challenge from forward Ian McMullan was punished with a straight red card and the visitors capitalised on their numerical superiority. During a penalty area scramble one of their players went down following a fairly innocuous challenge and they scored from the penalty spot. As half time approached United’s inability to clear their lines gave East Belfast the opportunity to increase their lead and they took it with open arms.

In the second half United came out with a renewed spirit and despite having a player less they dominated play for the majority of the half with Kelly, Tate, Cheevers and Stuart McMullan in the thick of things. Teenage substitutes Graeme McMullan and Jack Patterson also made a contribution but despite all their possession the team lacked that killer instinct.

Having soaked up everything that United could throw at them the visitors  came more into the game and despite having a player sent off in the closing minutes they scored again late on.

Match Report: Ballynahinch United 1 v 4 Ballynahinch Olympic

Saturday saw the second meeting between these two Ballynahinch rivals having previously played at Dromara earlier in the season in the first ever league fixture between the teams. On Saturday Olympic were the victors thanks to a superb display of goal scoring by Niall Murray who bagged himself a hat trick. For Olympic the win avenged the defeat inflicted on them by United in the earlier game.

Millbridge was the scene for this derby clash and if the large crowd that turned up were hoping to see a feisty encounter then they will have been sadly disappointed because both teams tried to play football throughout.

United fielded without Greg Allison who was absent through illness while the experienced Ross Hayes and Davy Boal were missing through suspension however in the early exchanges you would not have thought that. United laid siege to the Olympic defence forcing a number of corners and going close to scoring on several occasions. Olympic weathered the storm and played their way into the game and on 20 minutes they took the lead from the penalty spot after Adam Herron had been adjudged to have fouled. Olympic’s ace marksman Niall Murray converted.

The home side pressed for an equaliser and it came in the 35th minute when Ian McMullan  picked out Aaron McCaffrey with a long ball into the Olympic penalty area and he was upended. David Kelly dispatched the resultant penalty kick to evens things up.

It looked as if the teams would go in at half time level however United conceded a needless free kick some thirty yards out and would pay the penalty for the indiscretion. The ball was floated into the penalty area and Bryan McMullan fisted it clear under a strong aerial challenge and it fell kindly to Murray on the edge of the penalty area and he dispatched it on the volley into the empty goal.

United came out in the second half determined to get back into the game while Olympic seemed happy to sit back and while it was a fairly risky strategy considering the amount of possession that the home team had it worked mainly because United’s age old problem of not scoring enough goals to justify the possession they have continues to haunt them.

On the 50 minute mark Olympic took a 3 – 1 lead when Murray broke free and despite the presence of defender Ethan Majury and goal keeper Bryan McMullan he managed to thread the ball into the net.

Despite this set back United threw everything at Olympic in an effort to get back into the game with Dalton Tate, Stuart McMullan, Gavin Crawford, Aaron Cheevers and  the outstanding Scot Brashaw pressing forward at every opportunity. The Olympic defence held strong despite living dangerously on a number of occasions and they killed the game off in the 70th minute when Chris McVarnock broke free and scored a fine individual goal to put the game out of United’s reach.

United introduced substitutes Paul Dickson, Gareth Bingham and Gareth McMullan and did have the ball in the net in the 75th minute but it was ruled out for offside while late in the game David Kelly who worked hard throughout almost scored when his deep cross deceived the Olympic goal keeper and hit the post but fell to defender who cleared.

So on this occasion Olympic had the bragging rights with the honours even over the two games. I suspect that both teams will be meeting again next season given Newcastle’s present league form and a lead of fourteen points in the division while East Belfast and 1st Bangor have  a large number of games in hand and seem very strong.

Match Report: Ballynahinch United 2nds 1 v 1 Ballyvea 2nds

The Swifts entertained table toppers Ballyvea 2nds in this league match at the Millbridge last Saturday.

Both teams appeared to be at full strength and they served up an exciting afternoon fair. The Swifts took the game to their more experienced opponents from the first whistle with Gareth Bingham and Graeme McMullan proving to be a constant threat to the Ballyvea defence which looked solid throughout.

McNeill, King, McMenamin and Bonner worked tirelessly in defence to keep the Ballyvea attack in check while in midfield McPhail, Massey, Manly and Wilson won a lot of possession with their quick closing down of the opposition.

A 0 – 0 score line at half time was not surprising as both teams generally cancelled each other out with neither goalkeeper having much to do.

In the second half the Swifts pushed on forcing a number of corners whilst Ballyvea were dangerous on the break with Swifts keeper Johnny McGreevy having to make a few timely saves.

The Swifts got the first break in the 70th minute when Graeme McMullan was upended in the penalty area however the usually reliable Alan Massey’s spot kick by was well saved by the Ballyvea keeper.

This seemed to spur the visitors on and in the next attack Ballyvea scored when a shot beat McGreevy and went in off the post.

Minutes later the Swifts were on the attack following the introduction of substitutes Ross Bingham and David Griffiths. They were awarded a corner and from the resultant kick Ross Bingham powered a header into the net off the underside of the crossbar for what was a deserved equaliser.
This was a competitive game played with spirit and sportsmanship throughout which was a credit to both teams.

The referee deserves considerable credit for his handling of the game and his consistent decision making.

This week the Swifts travel to Strangford for a cup game.

Match Report: Strangford 4 – 4 Ballynahinch United 2nds (20/12/14)

The Swifts travelled to Strangford on Saturday the 20th December with no doubt that they would be in for a tough game. The early exchanges were cagey, with no real chances materialising for either team. As the game progressed Strangford were gaining the upper hand and with some slack defending to aid them, they took the lead with a good finish from their striker.

Ballynahinch pushed for an equaliser and when Bingham released Dalton Tate he delivered a great ball in for Aaron McCaffery to power the ball home from close range. Strangford again pushed forward and The Swifts were again guilty of some slack defending and as a result found themselves 3-1 down at the break and their heads were down.

A stern team talk from manager Davy Taggerty seemed to galvanise The Swifts and they came out with a different attitude and were attacking with menace.

Strangford had now adopted a more physical approach with some challenges that would have belonged more on a rugby pitch, but The Swifts would not be intimidated. After a strong spell of good attacking football, a long throw from Paul King fell to Massey and he stroked the ball home from inside the penalty area making it 3-2.

With the wind in their sails The Swifts were pushing for the equaliser and from a corner Dalton Tate delivered a dangerous ball in, which the Strangford defence could not deal with and the ball was met by their defender and ended up in the top corner making the score level at 3-3.

With both teams tiring the game was stretched and when Strangford broke on the right a cross was turned in from close range and Strangford were celebrating again with the score of 4-3 in Strangford’s favour.

With not long left on the clock The Swifts pushed tirelessly through with Matty Manley and Ben Wilson, and with Alan McMullan creating openings just like his younger brother Graeme did before he had to go off injured at half time.

Backed up by Shaun Bonner, Scott McNeil and Craig McMullan in defence The Swifts were looking dangerous. Dalton Tate was proving the thorn in Strangford’s side and when he broke free in the box he was chopped down for a penalty, which Alan Massey dispatched, and the score was 4-4 with a few minutes left.

Strangford pushed and pushed for the winner and with a great save from keeper McGreevy and a last ditch block from Ian Blackwood in the final moments the score finished level.

The Swifts will be pleased to have kept their unbeaten run going in a particularly difficult game and they showed they have character throughout the team, which they will need for the difficult games that will present themselves in the new year, starting with a top of the table clash at home to Ballyvea this Saturday the 3rd January.

Match Report: Ballynahinch United 2nds 7 – 1 Ballykinlar

The Swifts entertained Ballykinler on Saturday at a frosty Millbridge. In confident mood after last weeks’ result it was a bit of a shock when The Swifts went one nil down with ten minutes on the clock, however it was no less than their slow start deserved.

The Swifts realised they needed to earn the right to play and that they did. Massey whipped in a cross to the back post for Craig McMullan to control the ball on his chest and rifle the ball home into the roof of the net, proving to be a deserved equalizer.

The wave of attacks was sure to come good and Massey beat his man and dropped a cross over the keeper for Gareth Bingham to fire home, to put The Swifts in the lead.

The youthful Graeme McMullan and Matt Manley were causing havoc on the left wing with their neat passing and direct runs and it was McMullan who exchanged passes with Bingham, no less than twice, to find himself one on one with the keeper. He made no mistake with a neat finish to put The Swifts 3-1 up.

The Swifts went in at the break 3-1 and in a commanding position, but they were keen to grab another goal to widen the gap and found it early in the 2nd half when Massey’s corner went straight in.

Now in firm control The Swifts, with Johnny McGreevy having a comfortable afternoon in nets, helped by his defence of Paul King, John McMenamin and Shaun Bonner, kept the Ballykinler chances to a minimum. Jamie McPhail was a rock in midfield and broke up all that came in his path.

After Gareth Binghams harshly disallowed goal, The Swifts scored again through Craig McMullans finish after good work from McPhail to make it 5-1.

The introduction of Alan McMullan and Dave Griffiths just heightened Ballykinlers’ problems and Griffiths got himself on the score sheet with a close-range finish after good work from Alan McMullan to put him through on goal.

The game was nearing a close when Scott McNeil produced the goal of the game. He went on a mazy run from the right back position, beating no less than 3 opponents, and produced a finish that was out of the top drawer to make the final score 7-1.

The Swifts now go into the Xmas break in good form and undefeated in 9 games from the start of the season and will be surely looking forward to the restart of the league campaign.