Ballymoney United 1 v 1 Ballynahinch United

IRISH CUP ROUND 4

United travelled to the Riada Stadium to take on Irish League Championship side Ballymoney United in the fourth round of the Irish Cup. From United’s point of view this was a game that was going to be difficult as the home sides results had improved significantly in recent weeks following the appointment of Jim Platt the former Northern Ireland goalkeeper as manager.

United battled hard throughout the game and felt a little unfortunate to be a goal down at half time however a determined effort in the second half brought an equaliser from Scot Brashaw to send the game into extra time.

The dismissal late in the second half of midfielder David Kelly was a major blow however the lads all dug in and were able to withstand the Ballymoney onslaught.

When the dreaded penalties came the tension was unbearable particularly for the travelling support who could hardly watch.

Davy Boal took the first one and scored but the usually reliable spot taker Johnny Hunter missed. Craig Bowman thundered his kick home to put his side level after a Ballymoney kick was saved by Brian McMullan. Next up was Ian McMullan to score and team captain Scot Brashaw was cool when he converted his kick to take Ballynahinch United into the 5th Round of the Irish Cup for the first time ever.

This Thursday United go into the 5th Round had along with nineteen other Intermediate sides and the twelve Irish League Premier Division clubs.

Ballynahinch United 2nds 3 v 1 Bryansburn Rangers 2nds

The Swifts continued their recent resurgence with an excellent home win against a good Bryansburn Rangers side who played good football throughout. With 20 minutes played, United were unlucky not to go ahead when a shot hit the crossbar.

They took the lead on the half hour mark when Ethan Majury headed home from a cross from ‘Beattie’ McCaffrey. Soon after it was 2-0 when Gray dived to convert another cross.

The visitors hit back just after half time to make it 2-1 however another header from Gray secured the three points.

Club Notes

Everyone at the club would wish the Swifts Manager Johnny Reid a speedy recovery from his achilles injury which he sustained at training last Thursday night and is likely to sideline him for quite some time.

Its congratulations to Hannah Majury on being awarded the Grassroots Female Coach of the Year award recently. Anyone who is fortunate to witness first hand the amount of work and effort that Hannah puts in will not be one bit surprised that she should win such an award. This is a fabulous achievement for Hannah personally and everyone at the club is absolutely thrilled.

This has been a wonderful year for the club with groundsman Jimmy Brown receiving the regional award as the Hughes Insurance Volunteer of the Year.

Downshire YM 0 v 1 Ballynahinch United

United travelled to Hillsborough for this league fixture against local rivals Downshire YM.

The game was quite tight throughout with the home side giving United little time on the ball whilst they were particularly well set up defensively making them hard to break down.

The home side had the ball in the net midway through the first but the Downshire player was adjudged to have fouled United keeper Brian McMullan.
In the second half United upped their game and when Downshire had a player dismissed they took advantage with Aaron Cheever’s being rewarded for his hard running with a goal in the early stages of the second half.

This was a vital three points as United keep in contention in the top four although the remainder of the half is strewn with numerous difficult fixtures.

This week United travel to Irish League Championship 2 side Ballymoney United in the third round of the Irish Cup.