Category: Results

Match Report: Ballynahinch United 2nds 1 v 1 Castleabbey

Manager Davy Teggarty entered this game missing regulars Jamie McPhail, Scott McNeill and Ross Bingham and goalkeeper Johnny McGreevy however despite this apparent handicap his youthful team put on an outstanding performance against their more experienced opposition.

Right from the start the Swifts were on the attack with brothers Alan and Graeme McMullan combining on numerous occasions to cause the visitors defence considerable problems.

Matthew Manly should have given his side the lead after 20 minutes when he was sent clear by David Griffiths but he shot wide.

The Swifts welcomed back defender Paul King and he combined superbly with Craig McMullan in central defence and fullbacks Ben Wilson and Shaun Bonner to cancel out the occasional threat provided by the Castleabbey forward line.

After a scoreless first half the second began in wet conditions with the Swifts also facing a stiff breeze however they continued to dominate play prompted by veterans Gareth Bingham and Alan Massey and but for the lack of a killer touch they could easily have been several goals up.

The Swifts took the lead on 70 minutes when Paul King curled a brilliant free kick from the right side of midfield onto the goal line which was touched in by David Griffiths.

Castleabbey started to get a bit more possession but resolute defending and some confident handling from goalkeeper John McMenamin who had an excellent game looked as if it would see the home side over the finishing line.

In the closing minutes of the game a high cross into the Swifts penalty area caused confusion and it fell for a forward to head home and gain a share of the spoils for the visitors. While the eventual outcome was disappointing for the Swifts they can take great heart from a performance against Castleabbey who are a team expected to challenge for honours this season. Most importantly the Swifts have managed to maintain an unbeaten start to their league campaign and if they continue playing attractive attacking football they could well be up amongst the challengers themselves.

Match Report: Ballynahinch Olympic 1 v 2 Ballynahinch United

Bells Bridge, Dromara was the setting for the first ever derby match between Ballynahinch rivals Olympic and United. It was somewhat ironic that the setting for the game was Bells Bridge which was once United’s home ground in their early days.

A decent crowd turned up for the game however if they were looking for any fireworks at this Halloween period they would have been sadly mistaken because in general terms both teams were more focussed on playing football.

Olympic as the home side made much of the early running and but for the intervention of Stuart McMullan heading off the goal line from an early attack they could have been ahead.

Apart from this United’s experienced defensive line-up of Boal, Hayes, Brashaw and Herron with Dickson providing a shield gave United’s goalkeeper Brian McMullan solid protection and kept Olympics’ prolific scorer Niall Murray at bay.

United took the lead five minutes from half time when they forced a corner which was taken by Stuart McMullan. Paul Dickson rose above everyone else to head home past Olympic keeper Ryan Walsh.

In the second half both sides had an equal share of possession without really creating any serious goal scoring opportunities. For United Dalton Tate was very effective in central midfield along with Gavin Crawford while in attack Ian McMullan and Aaron McCaffrey chased everything.

United doubled their lead on 65 minutes when Gavin Crawford, who has been scoring regularly in his second season with the club, hit a screamer of a shot from around 20 yards which beat Walsh to nestle in the net.

United were playing with confidence and didn’t have to force the issue however in the closing quarter Olympic made a few changes and it paid dividends when they scored with a deflected header to leave a grandstand finish.

United introduced stalwart Johnny Stevenson to the action for his first outing of the season along with teenager Greg Allison and their fresh legs provided a threat to an Olympic team who were chasing the equaliser. Stevenson was unlucky not to score when he crashed a shot of the Olympic crossbar however the visitors were able to hold out to secure a vital three points and end a two game losing sequence when they have perhaps been a shade unlucky with the run of the ball.

This week United host Rathfern Rangers in a league game at the Millbridge.

Match Report: Ballykinlar Rec 2 v 3 Ballynahinch United 2nds

The Swifts continued their excellent unbeaten opening to the season with a hard fought victory away to Ballykinlar Rec.

Graeme McMullan gave the Swifts the lead with a superb drive from the edge of the penalty area after some hard work and an assist from Shaun Bonner.

Halfway through the first half the home side were reduced to ten men following a straight red card for a foul on Ross Bingham. However a resurgent Ballykinlar fought back to lead 2 – 1 at half time.

Playing against 10 men gave the Swifts the upper hand in the 2nd half and Gareth Bingham equalised with a header from an Alan Massey corner to make the score 2 – 2.

The hard working Ben Wilson continued his scoring run and made sure of the 3 points after a goalmouth scramble to fire the ball into the net.

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.