Boys Brigade Senior League Cup Round-up

The annual East Antrim Battalion Boys Brigade Senior League Cup was played on Saturday past at a very cold and blustery Eden Playing Fields in Carrickfergus.  Three teams took part in the competition; a disappointing turnout for what is an excellent competition.  This is now the fourth year the Cup has been played, having been presented by current Battalion President Brian Smith five years ago.

1^st Ballyclare, 7^th Carrickfergus and 2^nd Carrickfergus took part, with each team playing each other once and the top team after the three matches being declared the winner. First up was 1^st Ballyclare against 2^nd Carrickfergus and both teams performed admirably in the difficult conditions.  Both sides were very evenly matched with most of the play in the centre area of the pitch. 

Ballyclare had the wind in their favour in the first half and looked the more dangerous side early on, without ever endangering the 2^nd Carrick keeper.  In fact, it was the Ballyclare keeper who had to work first when he faced a penalty after a dreadful tackle by his captain, Steven McMullan.  Andrew Woodside was well up to the task and made a tremendous stop, following it up with an excellent block from the rebound.  Great goalkeeping by the Ballyclare custodian.

Ballyclare continued to press and got their reward near the end of the first half when a corner from the left was flicked on and Steven McMullan forced the ball over the line at the near post.  1-0 to Ballyclare at the break.

The second half was a different story with 2^nd Carrick taking over control.  They got a number of shots on target but Woodside in the Ballyclare goal was outstanding.  Eventually, their pressure told and Kenny Graely scored at the back post after poor marking by the Ballyclare defenders.  This made the score 1-1 and the match finished like this.

Second up was 7^th Carrickfergus against 1^st Ballyclare.  7^th were the holders and were clear favourites today, boasting some excellent senior players.  The first half was fairly even, 7^th slightly more dangerous going forward, although Ballyclare did get behind their defence on two occasions, both times Gary Black was lacking the pace to trouble the 7^th keeper.  7^th Carrick got a goal towards the end of the first half to lead 1-0.

The second half was again a good contest but 7^th showed their greater knowledge of 11 a side football and put two more goals into the Ballyclare net.  Andrew Woodside made a number of notable saves in this game, one a brave block at the striker’s feet resulting in him needing attention from the physio.  7^th Carrickfergus finished 3-0 winners, with Aaron Bell at centre back and Craig Reid at right back both excellent performers.

7th Carrick Winners		2nd Carrick
		1st Ballyclare

Final match was 2^nd Carrickfergus against 7^th Carrickfergus.  7^th took an early lead and held this until half time.  After half time, 2^nd shocked their opponents by equalising and were well in the game at this stage.  Unfortunately for them, this shocked 7^th into action, and they added two further goals to run out 3-0 winners.  This gave them the trophy for the second year running, leaving 2^nd Carrick in second place and 1^st Ballyclare in third.