John Delaney, CEO of the Football Association of Ireland, honoured a long standing commitment to return to Ballymackey Football Club in Ballinree last Saturday afternoon. George Haverty, Chairman of Ballymackey Football Club Development Committee was on hand to welcome Mr. Delaney on behalf of the Club and also to greet Mike Young, Chairman of the North Tipperary & District League. Both Mr. Delaney and Mr. Young were highly impressed with the developments that have taken place in the past few years at the club. “This is real grassroots football” Mr. Delaney said.
“That the people in this club can come together to make facilities like this available to players without heavily indebting the Club is a fantastic achievement. I cannot praise highly enough people such as George Haverty, Eddie Ryan, Michelle White, Gerard Hogan, Thomas Burns, Jennifer Haverty, Brian Bergin and Alan Kenneally who give so much of themselves for the betterment of Ballymackey Football Club and by extension, Irish grassroots football”, he added. Mike Young commented on the wonderful community spirit within the club and the area. “What a massive achievement by such a small club, growing in a sustainable way on and off the pitch – it makes me a very proud man of the area”, he said.
In reply, George Haverty thanked the two men for their visit and expressed the hope that we would see them return for an official opening of the facility in the New Year.
The fencing and floodlighting will be completed this week around the club’s new 60x40m 3G Astro Turf pitch. The facility has already been booked by several sporting clubs in North Tipperary and is an outstanding success before a ball is kicked. Log on to www.ballymackeyfc.com for further details.
NOTES
U11s
The Under 11 team played their first game of the season away to Killavilla on Saturday 4th October. The game was played at a good tempo on a sunny Autumn day. The first half finished 2-2 with two well worked goals from Adam Hall. The second half saw another goal from Adam Hall to complete his hat-trick and a further three goals from the Ballymackey boys scored by Oisín Troy, Fionn McGuigan and a fantastic strike from Cormac Hogan. Killavilla scored a third goal in the second half and the final score was no reflection of the closeness of the two sides. The game ended Killavilla 3-6 Ballymackey. Team: Harry Duff, Oisin Troy, James Mounsey, Joseph Coffey, Chris Boyle, Aaron Egan, Ted Evans, Fionn McGuigan, Cormac Hogan, Adam Hall.
U13s
The U13s faced a spirited challenge against Killavilla in the National Cup and were on the wrong end of a 6-3 scoreline. A hat-trick from Kenneth Ryan was the highlight of the fixture. Hard luck boys.
U15s
Ballymackey travelled to Herbertstown in Co. Limerick for their National Cup match against one of the best in that county. The Bally Boys went in to this game as underdogs but raced in to a shock lead after two minutes with a well taken goal from Aidan White. Herbertstown enjoyed the majority of possession but were slow to capitalise on it, thanks to stubborn resistance at the back from Mark Carey, Dylan Armstrong and Dane Ryan and Eoghan Tinkler tidying up behing them. However, Herbertstown continued probing and with electric pace down both wings, they created two goals in the first half. The second half started the same way as the first, with Aidan White finding the net again after only two minutes to tie the game. Unfortunately, this only sparked a Herbertstown revival and in a devastating ten minute spell, they scored four goals and would have had more but for some fine saves by Eoghan Tinkler. Ballymackey kept at their task, continued passing on the ground and were rewarded with five minutes to go with a consolation goal by Kevin McCarthy. Herbertstown were relieved at the end of the game and congratulated the lads for their sterling attitude and commitment. Stevie Hallinan worked hard up front, Dane Ryan was unrelenting, Aidan White deserved his brace. Jack Carter came on late in the game but at that point, the game was in no doubt. There was enough in their performance to suggest they will be hard to beat in the league this year.
U16s
The U16s played out a 2-2 draw with Moneygall last Tuesday in a friendly in Ballinree. With experimentation on the mind, coaches Jim Teer, Eddie Ryan and Ger Feighery used the full compliment of players at their disposal in various positions. Goals from Calvin O’Rourke and Tommy Teer gave Ballymackey the advantage until the very last kick of the ball when a spirited Moneygall side got their equaliser. Both sides will be pleased with this workout as the league begins to loom but Ballymackey know there is much work to be done between now and then if this season is to be a success.
YOUTHS
Ballymackey played Holycross last Saturday in a match which two good sides went head to head. Ballymackey put pressure on the Holycross defence throughout the first half but failed to find the back of the net. With not long left in the half, it was Holycross who took the lead with a goal from striker Tossy Ryan. Despite all of Ballymackey’s efforts, the half time score was 1-0 to Holycross. Ballymackey started the second half the same as the first putting a lot of pressure on the Holycross players. It wasn’t long until Ballymackey got the first goal with a great pass from Tommy Teer to the feet of Alan Ryan who finished the ball to the net. Ballymackey began to push on and ten minutes later they got the second with a super cross from Gearoid Murphy to the feet of Adam Carey who made no mistake to score the second. As the game went on Ballymackey got behind the defence again with a pass from Alan Ryan to Denis Haverty who did very well to take it past the goalkeeper and make it 3-1. It was to be the final score of the game, but a special mention must be made of Man of the Match James Clifford whose individual performance was exceptional.
SENIOR A
Despite being 1-0 down from a goal against the run of play at the interval, the A’s fought back to win 5-1 at home to Kilcommon last Sunday. Goals from Niall McDonald (61, 82), Denis Haverty (67, 73) and Andy Loughlin (79) sealed the deal. The boys are looking really sharp and focused – if they stay that way, they’ll be up there in the shake-up for promotion at the end of the season.
SENIOR B
Ballymackey B were away to Lough Derg B and went down 6-4 in an end to end attacking game. Lough Derg opened the scoring in the 34th minute with a very well worked goal. At half time nobody would of predicted the final result that would follow. Ballymackey took control early in the second half and deservedly got back level with a screamer from long range into the top corner. Ballymackey pushed for the lead but were caught on the break in the 52nd minute. Lough Derg then scored two more in quick succession to make it 4-1. Ballymackey were seriously at a disadvantage as they’re hat-trick hero from last week Kevin Mounsey could only come off the bench as a result of a knock in that game. When he came on, he made an impact. Rory Mounsey then scored a great goal from outside the box. Ballymackey scored another soon after from Conor O’Meara to make it 4-3. However, the home side again caught the Ballymackey on the counter attack to make it 5-3. Kevin Mounsey scored a header late on to make it 5-4 but Lough Derg scored their last almost immediately to win 6-4. A pulsating encounter and while disappointed with the result, coaches Anthony Kenneally and Thomas Hogan can be pleased that at least their side is scoring lots of goals in recent games.