The Juvenile Club are organising a bus to Croke Park, Dublin this coming Sunday to see Kerry play Mayo in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. Priority is given to members of the U-16 team but there may still be some places available for others. There may also be a few places available for adults who might be interested in going. The cost of the trip is €50 for adults ( Bus fare and match ticket included ) and €30 for under 16s. The Bus will depart from Ballymac GAA grounds at 8 am and return about 10 30 pm. If interested, please contact Club Secretary, Liam Goggin 086 1079970 as soon as possible. Places will be given on a first come first served basis. Ciarraí Abú !!!
Faoi 16
County League Rd 6 Result ; Firies 0-05 Ballymac 3-17. Our U-16 lads maintained their unbeaten run in the County League with a rather facile win over the hosts Firies on Wednesday last Aug 10th. Played in howling wind and incessant rain, Ballymac made light of the atrocious weather conditions as they played some very attractive and intelligent football on a night where our opposition found it difficult to come to terms with the weather conditions. We decided to play with the aid of the very strong wind in the opening half and this choice paid dividends almost immediately when Gerard Browne, Vincent Horan, Jack Scanlon, Chris Leen and Moss Leen all kicked points inside the opening 10 minutes. And when Chris Leen netted on 20 minutes there seemed to be an air of inevitability about the result as we led 2-12 to no score at half time – Vincent Horan scoring Ballymac’s second major. Firies to their credit upped their performance in the second half but when Ballymac were able to match them score for score, it was only a matter of what the winning margin would be. Sub, Tomás O Connor sealed the win with a well-taken goal near the death and team management were delighted with this marked improved performance on our last outing. This victory has guaranteed us a semi-final spot and only victory against St. Pats last night would ensure a home semi-final. Foireann: Eoin Lyons, Neil Sullivan, Jack O Shea, Patrick O Connor, Sean Doyle, Danny Pierce, Jonathan Brick, Mossie Leen, Gerard Browne, Vincent Horan, Dylan Goggin, Chris Leen, Stephen Bermingham, Jack Scanlon, Sean Savage, Chris Rogers, Garry Sheehy, Tomás O Connor
Faoi 14
Central Region Semi-Final Replay: Annascaul/Lispole 4-11 Ballymac 2-06. A very disappointing and disjointed performance by our U-14s in this semi-final replay last Sunday when very few of our lads played to their potential whereas the West Kerry outfit played very well indeed. Falling four points behind in the opening half while playing with the breeze seemed to have set Ballymac back and we failed to find any type of form until we scored 1-02 within 5 minutes, the goal coming from Chris Leen. However Annascaul/Lispole responded with two goals before half time and they led by 8 at the short whistle. Ballymac made wholesale positional changes for the second half but unfortunately this paid little dividend. Aaron Dunne, now at full forward goaled within 2 minutes of the restart and was then unlucky to see a fisted effort rebound off the crossbar moments later. Jack O Shea and Chris Rogers were now playing well, bringing the game to Annascaul/Lispole but the West Kerry side tagged on a few points to put the game out of Ballymacs reach. They scored two goals deep into injury time to put a gloss on their winning margin. Its now back to the drawing board for our U-14s for a while as we await the concluding stages of the Castleisland District League. Foireann : Garry Sheehy, Max O Brien, Eoin Lyons, Kevin O Connor, Micheal Reidy, Tomás O Connor, Robert Dowd, Jack O Shea, Morgan Quirke, David Long, Aaron Dunne, Gary Horan, Jerdie O Shea, Chris Leen, Chris Rogers, Keelan Brosnan, Eddie Rogers, Brian O Connor, Paddy O Donnell, Barry Lyons, Darragh Regan.
Faoi 13
County League Rd 4 Result ; Ballymac 1-13 Cordal/Scart 2-13. A one goal reversal at the hands of our district rivals has meant that Ballymac will now have to win their remaining League fixtures if we harbour any chance of qualifying for the League knock-out stages. A disappointing outing and display from our lads on a night when almost all clocked in sub-par performances. Missing a few regulars from the starting line up including keeper, Brian Lonergan was indeed a factor for the defeat but not the reason for the reversal. Tomas O Connor and Jerdie O Shea tried their hardest as did Darragh Regan in attack but Ballymac were always chasing the game and just could not bridge the gap after a poor opening half. Micheál Hoare and Eddie Rogers endeavoured to haul Ballymac back into contention as did Max O Brien at full-back. Hopefully, a marked improvement in our next game can bring us back into contention for League honours. We are due to play Fossa away this Thurs Aug18th with a 7 pm throw-in. Foireann : Barry Lyons, Tadhg Brick, Max O Brien, Kevin O Connor, Gary Horan, Robert Dowd, Eddie Rogers, Micheál Reidy, Tomás O Connor, David Long, Jerdie O Shea, Michael Hoare, Darragh Regan, Keelan Brosnan, Daire Keane, Christopher Lowe, Brian O Connor, Joshua O Keeffe, David and Ciarán Nolan Tighe.
Rose of Tralee U-13 Football Blitz
This competition will take place this Saturday Aug 20th during the Rose of Tralee Festival and Ballymac are seeded in group A along with Clonoulty/Rossmore ( Tipperary ), Laune Rangers and Milltown/Castlemaine. All our group games will take place at Na Gaeil GAA grounds, Killeen and the competition is due to begin at 10am. Normal U-13 rules will apply with all games of 10 minutes a half. There will be no penalties but the square ball rule will apply. The top two teams will qualify for the semi-final stages of the competition. All players are asked to bring a packed lunch, drinking water and appropriate rain gear etc. We wish all involved with the team the very best of luck in the competition and lets hope for an enjoyable day of football.
Tralee District U-11 League
This inaugural competition began on Monday evening last with an away tie against St. Pats. Ballymac fielded a strong team in this game and all involved expressed themselves very well indeed. Emphasis is on participation and fun and all our players certainly enjoyed their experience. This coming Monday Aug 22nd Rd 2 sees Ballymac play Na Gaeil in Na Gaeil , Killeen at 7pm and on Monday 29th August Ballymac play Stacks at home in Ballymac.
U-11 Blitz in Firies
Our U-11 team travelled to Farranfore last Saturday to partake in the annual Firies Blitz. Despite missing three regulars we performed above our expectations and produced some scintillating football at times. Our opening game saw us take on and defeat Fossa, with David Nolan Tighe, Dáire Keane, Barry Lyons and Josh O Keeffe to the fore. In Rd 2 we played a very strong Glenflesk side and despite a brave performance from the likes of Ciarán Nolan Tighe, Kevin Lenihan, David Rogers and David Daly we were eventually turned over by the East Kerry side. Therefore a must win game against Kilcummin in Rd 3 saw Ballymac play some exceptional football where Liam O Brien, Cillian Gallagher and Kieran Coggin brought the game to the opposition. A winning margin of 8 points saw us through to the semi-final against a much-fancied Churchill side and with outstanding displays from Tadhg Brick, Tommy Brosnan, Eoghan O Donnell and Dylan Dunne Moriarty we overcame Churchill by three points. The final show-down against Genflesk in the final saw us fall behind to an early goal and from then on we were chasing the game for most parts. However, all tried very hard in the final only to fall at the final hurdle to a hugely impressive Glenflesk team. We are all very proud of your efforts on the day and we would like to thank Firies GAA club for once again hosting this enjoyable blitz. Many thanks to all the parents who gave generous support to the team throughout the day.
Peil na gCailiní
Our U-10 girls played an exhibition game at half time during the Senior game in Ballymac on Saturday evening last. Niamh O Rahilly was selected as Match Mascot for the evening and all girls welcomed the Senior team onto the field at the beginning of proceedings. Those to impress on the night during the mini-game were Caroline Hurley, Áine Rice, Theresa Keane, Emily O Donoghue and Lisa Curran. Great work is been done with the girls at present and progress is certainly evident throughout the team. Foireann: Millie Luck, Laura Dunne, Millie Dunne, Alison Jones, Heather Jones, Rachel Godley, Emily O Donoghue, Lisa Curran, Theresa Keane, Eve Creedon, Cora Savage, Áine Rice, Caroline Hurley, Niamh Rahilly, Róisín Long. Well done to all!
Juvenile Training
Due to Kerrys game against Mayo at Croke Park and the Rose of Tralee Festival this Sunday Aug 21st there will be NO Juvenile training for U-6, U-8, U-10 or girls this coming Sunday morning. Training will resume on Sunday Aug 28th at 11 am sharp.