Our U8/10 and U12 teams travel to Dingle on Sunday 26th August for games against the locals. Please be there for 10.45am
Faoi 10
Pride of place this week must go to the U-10 team who participated in the annual Milltown/Castlemaine Blitz last Sunday. Guided by mentors Mike Brosnan, Eddie Lynch, James Godley and Liam Joy, the team surpassed all expectations and won out the tournament after some impressive displays throughout the day. In truth, this was no surprise as this group of talented players have been progressing ever so well since the beginning of the year and great credit is due to all concerned after winning the tournament for the second time in three seasons. We were grouped with Keel, Knocknagree,and Laune Rangers in the group section. Weather conditions were very mixed on the day with some heavy rain and gusts twinned with great sunshine and heat.Our lads knew that a good start would send them on their way and with Knocknagree first up the boys got stuck in from the throw in.Darragh Broderick and Bryan Cassidy at midfield were commanding events and ensured some great ball was played into our forwards where
Jonathan Lowe and Darragh Leen picked off some lovely scores. The lads kept the pressure on right throughout the game and ran out worthy winners with a bit to spare. With very little time to recover the lads took to the field for their second game against Laune Rangers. The Killorglin outfit proved a sterner test and scores were hard to come by . Plenty of possession by our lads was not being converted into scores on the board and this was to prove costly. Ciaran Brosnan Aidan o Brien and Adam Joy in defence were doing great work and the forwards were trying hard , Ballymac lead by 2 pts to no score at half time. The second half saw us pushing hard and we put up another point through Kyle o Connor, the clock was ticking but a great run through by Laune Rangers resulted in a goal for Rangers- the sides tied and fulltime blown – a draw.With a win and a draw under our belts the boys knew that a win against Keel would see them progress to the knockout stages. With Dylan Dunne Moriarty now operating at midfield Eoin Kenny in goals and Darragh Leen and Darragh Broderick at half back the team appeared more balanced and they took the game to Keel. Some lovely play between the midfield and forward line lead to a flurry of goals, Bryan Godley put in some great tackling and Eoin Kenny was getting some great distance with his kickouts. Cian Godley and Ciaran Brosnan combined well for a goal and we ran out winners. We were now through to the semi final against Sneem/Derrynane. The boys had never tasted success previously and were going to give this everything. As it happened they were far too strong for their opponents and they marched on to the final.
Austin Stacks were the boys final opponents and our boys got off to a great start going 1-1 up early on, the goal through Kyle O Connor who was putting in great work in the full forward line. However Stacks replied just before half time with our lads seeming to switch off. All level then at half time , again in the second half our boys harried well and were unlucky not to put over a few points. The Stacks regrouped and put us under pressure and went ahead by a questionable goal. The boys did not drop their heads and kept playing their own game with time ticking a huge sideline ball was sent in by captain for the day Dylan Dunne Moriarty which evaded everyone and went straight in for a goal! we were back , two more points by Darragh Leen and Darragh Broderick put us ahead and we were not going to be beaten from there .At the final whistle the lads were ecstatic, a great performance by one and all to give them their first taste of success. They were presented with their winners medal by Linus Burke of Milltown.
Team: Eoghan Kenny Aidan o Brien Adam Joy Daragh Broderick Dara Leen Dylan Dunne Moriarty Bryan Cassidy Cian Godley Ciaran Brosnan Kyle O Connor Johnathan Lowe Bryan Godley
Faoi 16
County League Div. 5 Final : Gneeveguilla 3-09 Ballymac 2-06.
Played on the pristine pitch in Fitzgerald Stadium, our lads just came up short against a very powerful East Kerry side in the Divisional Final last Wednesday. It was a battle all the way as we were forced to line out without the influential trio of Gerard Browne (injury), Jonathan Brick and Cian Lonergan for the final. Having already been beaten by the same opposition at the start of the League campaign last June, Ballymac knew, coming into the game that it would be a titanic struggle and that’s exactly how it turned out to be. Gneeveguilla raced into what seemed to be an unassailable lead of 10 points in the first half as Ballymac were unable to come to terms with the East Kerry side’s physicality but in fairness to our lads, they stuck to their guns and battled hard in the second half reducing the deficit to 4 points at one stage. However, such was the exertion of that stirring fightback, Ballymac tired nearing the end and Gneeveguilla side assumed control once again to see out the game by 6 points. Vincent Horan, Christopher Leen, Seán Doyle and Tomás O Connor all tried their best as did Eoin Lyons, Morgan Quirke, Aaron Dunne and Cathal Lehane. It was a disappointing outcome to a campaign which seemed to be improving game after game but team mentors, Bridget Leen, Mike Broderick and Johnny O Connor were very proud of their charges for their honest and dedicated commitment over the past number of weeks. We congratulate Gneeveguilla on a deserving victory but no doubt our lads will return stronger next season.
Rose Cup 2012
Our U-13 squad participated in the annual Rose Cup Tournament at Na Gaeil’s ground, Tralee on Saturday last. Placed along side Churchill, Na Gaeil and Páirc Kealogues from Mayo in a very tough group, we knew that we would find the going tough from the outset. In our first game we played Churchill and our opponents got off to a great start going 4 points to 1 ahead and we were playing catch up for the remainder of the game. However, Eoin O Malley and Darragh Regan tried to rescue the game for Ballymac but Churchill saw out the game, winning on a scoreline of 1-04 to 2 points. Our second game saw us play Páirc Kealogues from Mayo and in a rip-roaring contest the lead changed hands on a number of occasions. David Rogers goaled inside the opening 3 minutes but the Mayo side responded with a goal of their own. Daire Keane edged Ballymac in front once more only for Mayo to equalise again. Darragh Regan was unerring from frees as Kealan Brosnan drove on the Blue ‘n Gold. However, Páirc had the last say with an equalising point from a free. Brian Lonergan, in goals and Tadhg Brick in defence had impressive displays as did Liam O Brien, Liam O Malley and Kirean Coggins. In what was a must win game in our final round-robin tie against Na Gaeil, we started brightly only to see Na Gaeil edge two points ahead at half-time. Barry Lyons, Eddie Rogers, Cathal Dunne and Joshua O Keeffe brought the game to Na Gaeil and Ballymac completely dominated the second half, playing against a strengthening breeze. We laid siege to the Na Gaeil goals but could not find a way through a congested rearguard despite the efforts of Cillian Gallagher and others. Having lost the game by three points it meant that we just failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Our match performances improved as the day progressed despite the disappointment of elimination at the end. Great credit must go to the entire panel, including Alusin Jah, Adam O Keeffe, Aidan O Brien, David McCarthy and Eoghan O Donnell. Mentors Regina Coggins, Tony Silles and Gene O Keeffe are very proud of all your efforts. The club would also like to thank Na Gaeil club for their generous hospitality throughout the day. Míle Buíochas as ucht bhur gcuid bhfáilteach. The squad then marched in the Rose of Tralee parade on Saturday evening and all appeared to have enjoyed themselves to the full.
Faoi 12
Both our Blue and Gold teams travelled to Gallarus to take on local side, An Ghaeltacht in Rd 2 of the Central Region last Monday week. Our Gold team had a resounding victory over their counterparts winning on a scoreline of 5-10 to 3-02. David Rogers, Aidan O Brien, Rachel Godley, Cian Godley, Brian Cassidy and Kieran Coggins were all to the fore as well as Darragh Broderick, Liam O Brien, Darragh Brosnan, Eoghan Leahy with Diarmuid Lynch scoring 2-02 in a very impressive display. Our Blue Team were a little unfortunate to go under by 2 points against a very strong Gaeltacht side. Barry Lyons, Joshua O Keeffe, Cillian Gallagher and Daire Keane made great contribution to the teams effort during the game. We would like to thank Kerry stalwart, Mark O Shea for acknowledging our honest and skilful efforts in both games afterwards. Last Monday evening Aug 20th, we played host to Milltown/Castlemaine in Rd 3 of the Central League. Result and report in next week’s notes. Next Monday Aug 27th both our Blue and Gold teams play Annascaul in Rd 4 of the Central League with throw-in at 7pm in Ballymac. There is also one outstanding competition to be played this September, namely the Castleisland District League and further details will follow in relation to this competition.
Academy
After last week’s break due to the Rose of Tralee Festival, our Sunday morning academy will resume this coming Sunday Aug 26th at 11 am sharp.