Ballybay Club Notes

There was no winner of last weeks Ballybay Pearse Brothers Blotto. Number drawn were as follows: 3, 19, 30 & 32

The following people won €20:

Paul McAviney, Dundalk

Eileen Hanawin, Ballybay

Cathal Mooney, Loch Mor Ave Ballybay

Sandra Keenan, Lisdoonan

Ronnie Cassidy, Tamlet, Latton

Free ticket to club raffle – Betty Ward, Castleblayney

Next weeks jackpot is €3,700

Results: Its was a mixed week for the club on the playing field. The Ballybay U14’S completed the Division 4 double on Saturday last in Carrickmacross with their League Final win against Tyholland in an epic battle between 2 very well-matched teams. Our midfield powerhouse Julius Sniauksta got us off to a perfect start with a goal in the first minute following great link up play by Artus Muizneieks and Phillip Brady. Further points by Julius and Philip gave us a 5 point lead. Completely unfazed, Tyholland then struck back with 2 quick-fire goals from Conor McAvoy and Darragh Treanor. Tyholland then started to take over the game. The “Cluxton-like” accuracy of Oran Hughes finding most notably his half-back James Allen was causing us all sorts of problems and James was creating the platform from which Tyholland were launching a series of attacks. Points from Conor McAvoy, Dylan O’Reilly and the impressive Dara McKenna saw Tyholland develop a 5 point lead. Great defensive work by Daniel Montgomery, Ruairi Duffy and Thomas Keenan kept us in the game at this stage and Ruairi pulled us back to within 4 with a driving run and subsequent free which he himself converted. A speculative lob by Dara McCann then resulted in the ball ending up in the net following great pressure by Oran Byrne. Oran Hughes then pulled off a great save from Oran Byrne. Philip Brady then brought us back level with a clever free after he himself created to close the half.

A brilliant long range point from Dara McCann got us off to the perfect start in 2nd half but again Tyholland struck back with a 2nd Conor McAvoy goal to push them 2 ahead. Great link up play by John Lambe and Phillip Brady allowed Dara McCann strike again with another point. Dylan O’Reilly then buried another great goal for Tyholland. Superb points by Julius, Dara and Ruari kept is in touch. We were then dealt a hammer blow by losing one of our key players, goalie Jayden Lees whose long range kick out accuracy had been matching Oran Hughes at the other end. Having no substitute goalie, corner forward John Lambe bravely stepped forward to take the goalies jersey. Points were swapped by Dylan O’Reilly and Dara McCann. Then came another of the many highlights of the game, a stunning Oran Hughes save from a Dara McCann piledriver. Ruairi Duffy then brought us within a point after great work again form Phillip Brady, Artis and impressive sub Blake Lees. Dara McCann brought us level with another wonder point for long range. As the game entered the final minutes, Tyholland looked to have got the crucial score when Dara McKenna raced through and buried the ball to the net giving John Lambe no chance and causing the large Tyholland support present to raise the roof giving them a 3 point lead again. However cometh the hour, cometh the man and Dara McCann (surely destined to be a future senior and county star) picked up a ball at mid-field and with his scorching pace and

ball skills raced at the heart of the Tyholland defence and gave Oran Hughes no chance with an unstoppable shot to tie up the game. We would have settled for a draw at this stage but both teams were going for it. Brilliant turnovers by Joshua Dixon and Thomas Keenan stemmed 2 dangerous Tyholland attacks. Julius then put us ahead but Daragh Treanor struck back to level it yet again. Then as the game drew to a close Julius raced through and clinched it with the winning score to end a pulsating match on a scoreline of Ballybay 3-14- Tyholland 5-7

Congratulations to both teams on a brilliant match and credit to Tyholland players and coaches for their tremendous efforts and the sporting way they accepted defeat in what is surely the cruellest of ways to lose any match.

On behalf of management team of Mal, Colm and Tom, we would like to thank all our players for their efforts, most especially to the under 12’s John, Phillip. Isiah, Blake and Conor who joined us at the start of year to give us 13-14 players and allow us have an U14 panel to enter competitions. Thanks also to Cillian McAviney to allow us have the use of these players from his U12 panel. Special thanks to all parents and guardians who tirelessly kept the boys coming to training and matches. Thanks too to Buggy Malone, Drew Wylie and Cathal Hand who without hesitation stepped in during the year with alternative training sessions which lifted the boys. A final thanks to Stephen Duffy for stepping in at last minute to commentate on the game. DVD’S will be available for anyone interested. Will be worth buying for Stephens’s unique commentary alone!

On Sunday the senior team squared up to Scotstown in the semi-final of the Greenfield Foods championship. The Pearse Brothers started the brighter of the two sides opening the scoring with a super effort from Dessie Ward. With a strong wind blowing more across the field it made playing conditions that bit harder but it was the same for both teams. There was very little between either side in the opening exchanges with the Ballybay defence marshalling the Scotstown attack extremely well repeatedly turning over possession and driving out with pace and power. Drew & Ryan Wylie put in inspirational performances while Mark McArdle & Michael Hannon fought hard for the dirty ball. Midway through the half Ballybay got the break they needed when Christopher McGuiness got out in front attacking a super 50-yard ball in from Drew with speed rounded his man before driving the ball to the top corner of the net. A certain contender for goal of the championship. A Paul Finlay free put four points and extra day light between the teams soon after but Ballybay failed to build on it and it was Scotstown who hit the next four unanswered points to draw the game level again. Ballybay to their credit dug deep & hit three points before the short whistle to leave two between the side. Ciaran Gallighan, Paul & a wonderful score from Mark McArdle with the scores. The second half didn’t go to the Ballybay script with Scotstown taking control of the game hitting five unanswered points. It wasnt until the last ten minutes of the half that the Pearse Brothers registered their first score of the half which indicated how the game had developed. Ballybay to their credit battled to the death and would reduce the margin to two points but in the end there can’t be any complaints and the better team won on the day. It’s a disappointing day for players and management alike. Ballybay team: Sean Gorman, Brent Wylie, Drew Wylie, Ryan Wylie, Michael Hannon, Mark McArdle, Colm Lennon, Ciaran Gallighan, Thomas O’Neil, Shane McQuillan, Paul Finlay, Dessie Ward, Shane McGuiness, Christopher McGuiness, Thomas Kerr, Hugh Malone, Brian McCabe, Eoin McKearney. Full time score Ballybay 1-9 Scotstown 0-14

The winner of the early bird draw for two tickets to this Sunday’s All Ireland final between Dublin & Mayo was …… The draw took place during the weekly bingo on Tuesday night. Congratulations …… we all hope you’ve a fantastic day. Raffle tickets are still available from any seller with €10,000 worth of prizes to be won so make sure your in the draw cos if your not in you cant win. Tickets are priced at €20 each or 3 for €50, with the draw taking place on the 28th of October in the club rooms

Fixtures: On Saturday afternoon senior team face Carrickmacross in Ballybay at 3.30pm. Please come out & support the lads as the attention turns to the remainder of the league.

Breakfast morning: Our neighbours Drumhowan are running a breakfast morning on Sunday the 18th of September from 9.30pm to 12noon before the All Ireland Final. All proceeds from the morning will go to the local Ballybay Cancer Society so we’re urging all club members to support this very worthwhile event.

The members draw for the clubs All Ireland tickets will take place on Friday night in the club house. The winners will be contacted directly.

Bingo: Just a quick note to remind everyone that the club’s weekly Bingo takes place every Tuesday night at 9pm in the clubhouse. The bingo is a great opportunity for the community to come together midweek and have a good night while maybe even winning a few bob. This is a fundamental part of the club’s fund raising for day-to-day costs and we would all really appreciate if you, your friends or your family could support this if you can at all. And, don’t forget, there is transport available to the centre. Every week, our volunteers go to great efforts to keep this going so that all of the other voluntary members of the club have a good starting platform. Hope to see some new faces tomorrow night and over the coming weeks.

If you would like to get items into the club notes please contact Niall Duffy by 8pm on Monday evening and he’ll gladly include.