SENIORS
Ballymac relinquished their Division 3 status following their defeat to Ardfert on Sunday last in Ballymac. The away side made the better start and led by 1 – 2 to 0 – 1 after eight minutes. John Egan goaling for Ardfert with David Griffin adding two points Eanna Reidy had the Ballymac reply. Ballymac were indebted to goalkeeper Paudie O Connor for a fantastic save from a David Griffin shot in the 10th minute. This seemed to give Ballymac a lift and points from Luke Sweeney, Aidan Breen (free) and Padraig McCarthy saw the halftime score Ballymac 0 – 3 Ardfert 1 – 4. Ardfert’s other score in this half coming from a John Egan free.
Ballymac would rue some missed scoring chances in this half which would prove costly later in the game. Vincent Horan narrowed the deficit to the minimum within 2 minutes of the restart. Ardfert then upped a gear and a succession of points from John Egan and David Griffin saw them extend their lead. Points from Chrisy Leen and Aidan Breen (free) kept Ballymac within touching distance but as the half wore on Ardferts sharpness due to recent match practice came to the fore and they added late scores to preserve their Division 3 status with a 1 – 12 to 0 – 8 victory. Team : P O Connor, D Long, T J Casey, M Reidy, C Counihan, K O Shea, N O Shea, M Shanahan, A Breen, L Sweeney, V Horan, E Reidy, C Leen, P Mc Carthy, D O Shea. Subs: T O Connor, M Sweeney, A Bonn
While our lads will be disappointed to loose this game, they certainly gave a good account of themselves against the reigning All Ireland Intermediate Champions as it was only in the last 10 minutes that Ardferts fitness and sharpness saw them dominate. Ballymac can look to the future with confidence as we had five minors on duty on Sunday last something definitely to build on for 2016. Many thanks to all the players who gave their time to the Club during the year and a special thanks must go to team mentors Stephen O Brien, Bridget Leen and John O Connor who dedicated a huge amount of their time to the team.
AGM
Final reminder to all members the Club AGM takes place next Sunday 13th December 2015 at 2.00pm in the Club rooms.
FAOI 12 ANNUAL REVIEW
Faoi 11 (Gold Team)
Once again the Kerry County Board organised a very successful County league. For Phase I we were placed in Division 3B. We drew with Ardfert in our first game and won all our remaining games culminating in a great away win against Fossa to win Division 3B. Following this a huge step up was taken with us being placed in Division 1B for the second phase of the county championship. This placed us in a group with the big guns, competition such as Austin Stacks, Na Gaeil, Laune Rangers, Kilcummin & Kenmare. We won all our games including a difficult away game against Phase 1 champions Laune Rangers. This was the highlight of a fantastic year with the gold team being crowned Division 1B Champions.
Following this we participated in the U11 Tralee Town Board League. We had six teams taking part in this competition and with the emphases by the board on giving players as much time on the filed as possible, it was agreed by all clubs that no results of these games be published and no trophy’s at the end of this competition. This turned out to be a great event for us as we brought up some of the older U10 players to play with the U11 Gold squad. All players made great strides when getting plenty of time on the field.
The Central region competition started brightly with wins over Austin Stacks and Na Gaeil but the signs of a long season started to show with narrow losses to Laune Rangers and Ardfert. All in all the lads performed well with the focus being primarily on giving all the players good periods of game time and trying out players in different positions prior to the Castleisland district competition.
At the end of August the U11 gold team were invited to participate in the annual Firies Blitz. Despite stiff opposition on the day and being picked to play into a strong breeze more than once they managed to reach the final and were drawn to play Glenflesk who beat us earlier that day. What ensued was a terrific game of football with the lads coming from behind to beat Glenflesk by a single point. Joint captains Eoin Kenny and Mossie Brennan accepted the cup. This is the first time Ballymac have won the competition.
The gold team got back to winning ways in the Castleisland district winning their group games against Cordal, Scartaglin and John Mitchels. This ensured they made the final. This was played in Castleisland with the opposition being Cordal. This game was played on a tight pitch which our team had great difficulty getting to terms with during the first half. However their fitness and movement improved in the second half ensuring they overturned the 5 goal deficit from the first half to win the match and the Cup. Captain on the evening Luke O’ Connell received the cup to huge celebration helping to round off a highly successful season.
Management: Eddie O Connell, Declan O Connell & Dave Slattery.
Panel; Jack McElligott, Alfonzo Marquez, James Kenny, Jared O Briain, Mossie Brennan, Kieran Slattery, Mark O Connor, Donal Daly, Luke O Connell, Eoin Creedon, Luke McGill, Gary Lynch, Jamie Sugrue, Oisin Shannan, Andy Rodgers, Maurice O Connell, Adam Walker, Adam Wharton
Faoi 12
Training for this age group commenced in March, with their final game of the year being mid-September.
The early start to the year certainly helped to bring the boys on and they got off to a great start in the Phase 1 of County league with a win over Ardfert in our first game in which we were trailing by 9pts at half time. This followed with victories over Spa, Desmonds & Fossa to leave us unbeaten in our group and Div 3 County League winners.
Phase 2 of County League began in end of May and after our great performance in Div 3 the County Board put us into Div 1 of County League. Here we played Kilcummin, Laune Rangers, Kenmare, Austin Stacks & Na Gaeil. The lads competed well here and they got great experience playing at this level which will stand to them in the future.
Next up was Central Region again we were in Div 1 and played Austin Stacks, Laune Rangers, Na Gaeil & Ardfert. Once again the lads competed very well here.
Finally we finished the season with Castleisland District League where we played Knocknagoshel in the final which we pulled out of the hat in injury time to win by 1 point.
Playing in Div 1 for these lads was great experience for them and as nearly all these players bar 2 are moving up to U14’s this year, it will be an exciting year ahead as they will be completing in Feilé in the coming year.
Word of thanks to coaches Jack Culloty, Eddie o Connell, Liam Joy, Liam Sweeney & Jer Lynch for all the work they put in throughout the year
Winners of U12A County League Div. 3
Winners of U12A Castleisland District
U12A – Most improved player – Sean Horan
U12A- Player of the year- Adam Kelly
U12A – Best Attendance – Adam O Keefe
PARISH CALENDAR
Ballymacelligott Community Alert are once again selling calendars for the coming year. The Calendar is available at Mannix’s Post Office, O’Riadas Bar, The Halfway Bar & at Glenduff House. It contains pictures and scenes from the locality and is of huge interest to many people. Over the last few years the calendar has made its way to all continents on the globe! The calendar is larger this year and is selling at 10 Euros. Funds raised from it’s sale help support the Warning Text System. Everyone’s support is really appreciated!
