Senior 5 A-Side

1st Ballyclare Score the Hat-Trick

The second Saturday in January always brings the East Antrim Battalion Senior 5 A Side competition, one of the most eagerly anticipated competitions on the Boys Brigade calendar. 1st Ballyclare have won the competition two years running now and were going for a bit of history this year by becoming the first company to win the competition three years running.

A disappointing turnout of only 6 teams, with none from any of the eight companies in Carrick, meant a straight league was played with the winners being the team with the most points at the end of the afternoon. There would be no semi finals or final.

Raloo and Greenisland opened up the competition and played out a great 2-2 draw. 1st Ballyclare had two teams in the competition and it was the B team who were first to play. Their first game was against Raloo and they managed a great 1-0 win, David Clarke the scorer. The A team were next on in a local derby against 3rd Ballyclare. In what was a very even game, 1st Ballyclare A came out on top 3-0. The scoreline did not really reflect the game and it was only 1st Ballyclare's more clinical finishing that made the difference. Robert Gould, William Stevenson and Peter Griffith were the scorers.

1st Ballyclare B played their second game against Greenisland and got another great result, a 1-1 draw. Luke Chambers got the goal. In the early stages of the afternoon, it seemed 1st Larne and 1st Ballyclare A were going to be the main contenders and these two sides met in the next game. Although Ballyclare had the better of the game and the clearer chances, the game ended in a 0-0 draw.

3rd Ballyclare had a disappointing afternoon, losing four of their games and only recording a win against 1st Ballyclare B, 4-1 the scoreline. Ballyclare B put themselves in a really good position to get amongst the medals but tired legs in the last couple of games cost them. Following the great 1-1 against Greenisland, they got an even better 2-2 draw with 1st Larne. This result should have been better as Larne scored both their goals within twenty seconds after Ballyclare B had taken a 2-0 lead through Luke Chambers and David Clarke. DC could have won the game late on when clean through but the goal keeper made a great save to keep it at 2-2. Ballyclare B finished with two defeats against the other two Ballyclare teams, 3rd Ballyclare and 1st Ballyclare A. Mark Gault scored a consolation goal in each of those games.

1st Ballyclare A looked the strongest team throughout and, after dropping points against 1st Larne, they never looked back. Their next game was against 1st Greenisland and was a real cracker. Greenisland took the lead but Robert Gould brought Ballyclare level. Then Chris Anderson, just on the pitch, scored to put Ballyclare in front but almost immediately Greenisland levelled the game again. A draw looked likely but Ballyclare stepped up a gear in the last minute and a further two Chris Anderson goals gave Ballyclare a 4-2 win.

Further wins against Raloo, 3-1 with Robert Gould getting a hat-trick, and 1st Ballyclare B, 7-1 with goals from Robert Gould, Peter Griffith, Chris Anderson, Adam Sands and an Ali Bell hat-trick, gave Ballyclare a well deserved three in a row triumph. Greenisland did well to come through and claim second place, with Raloo in third place.