‘BURN OUT OF JUNIOR CUP AFTER LONG JOURNEY

Bryansburn 2nd XI  made the long journey to Enniskillen to play Erne Rovers in the 1st round of the Coca Cola Junior Cup but were beaten 4-3 in a spirited performance with striker Tolson starting at Centre-half and Gilmer standing in as a makeshift keeper. The home team started better as ‘Burn tried to adjust to playing on the 3G surface. Rovers played to their strengths with long ball tactics that the Bryansburn defence struggled to cope with and they deservedly opened the scoring on the fifteen minute mark. Gradually the visitors’ began to settle and equalised when Jones headed in at the back post from a McMurray corner. After a few chances went begging for the home side, Bryansburn took the lead. Good work by Hanna saw the ball fall to Stannex who drilled the ball in from twelve yards. However, the home team were a constant threat and scored twice before the halftime break to lead 3-2.
‘Burn were the better team in the second half and got a deserved equaliser with Stannex again providing a strikers finish after perseverance from Scott and Ballantine. Mallon and Scott had good chances to give the visitors the lead but the keeper made a couple of good saves. The ‘Burn defence were much more solid in the second half and it was the Bangor West side that looked the more likely to win the game. Then with nine minutes to go the Bryansburn defence was breached with the home winger beating the offside trap to slot home what was to turn out to be the winner. ‘Burn threw everything forward in the closing minutes in search of the goal to take the game into extra time but it was not to be as time eventually run out leaving a beaten Bryansburn side to make the long journey home.
The 3rd XI too were knocked out of a cup competition as Ballywalter Rec lll beat them 4-3 after extra time in the Billy Allen Shield.
Bryansburn made the better start and three times Dempster put Cardwell through only for the normally reliable striker twice to be foiled by the keeper and once shoot wide of goal. Then totally against the run of play the home side took the lead. A Bryansburn corner was cleared and Ballywalter broke up the pitch to find a forward clear on goal. Steventon saved his shot but the rebound fell to another player who made no mistake. ‘Burn stepped up a gear and Higginson in particular was causing Ballywalter numerous problems on the right flank with a stream of dangerous crosses that ‘Burn could not convert. A series of corners had Ballywalter on the rack and it was only a matter of time before the equaliser came. Beattie slipped Cardwell through and he was brought down for what looked a certain penalty but the referee awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box. However justice was done when Higginson hammered home the free-kick aided with a deflection off the wall. Despite remaining on top ‘Burn had to settle for being on level terms at the break.
Six minutes into the second half ‘Burn did take the lead. Tyson lifted the ball over the top for Cardwell to run on to and this time his finish was clinical. Ten minutes later it was 3-1. Higginson made it to the byline and pulled the ball back for Tyson to hammer home from close range. Unfortunately Bryansburn then offered the home side a lifeline when a terrible defensive mistake allowed them to pull it back to 3-2.
The rest of the match saw ‘Burn search for the 4th goal that would have killed the game off and Ballywalter trying for an equaliser. The home keeper made a number of good stops to keep his side in the game but as the game moved into the closing minutes it was Bryansburn who were hanging on for victory with Steventon making one remarkable stop. They did not manage it as in the last minute another defensive lapse was punished as Ballywalter equalised to force extra time.
In the first period of extra time Ballywalter came closest to snatching a winner but a shot came back off the post. In the second period the home side then took the lead when a shot the keeper had covered kicked up off the pitch and went over him. For the remaining minutes Bryansburn, reverting to a 3-4-3 formation, pinned Ballywalter in their own half. Two free-kicks on the edge of the box hit the wall and other chances went begging but they could not force a penalty shoot-out. Then a Tyson header was a foot over the line before the keeper clawed the ball out but the referee was unsighted and waved play on. The final whistle blew with Ballywalter celebrating and Bryansburn knowing that they had thrown the game away.
The 4th XI travelled to Blanchflower Stadium and from the outset were determined to put in a much better performance compared to the previous week. That was never in doubt as they hammered Corrymeela ll 6-0.
 A few people back from injury gave the 4ths a very solid looking starting eleven and on seven minutes Lowry had the home custodian scrambling to save from his shot. On 16 minutes, the deadlock was broken when the very lively Stone unleashed a 20 yard volley into the roof of the net. The 2nd soon arrived in an almost carbon copy to the first again with Stone firing home. The midfield of Dickinson and Gardiner were in total control and were backed up on the wings by Emberson and Lowry. On 37 minutes a great header by Dickinson was only parried by the home keeper and Chris was on hand to rifle home the third from close range.
The half time break gave Manager Ferris time to talk about the need to continue the fast passing game which had served the team so well in the first half. The defence were extremely well marshalled by McNeil and never looked in danger of conceding. On 54 minutes the 4th arrived after good work from Emberson and his shot was squeezed into the bottom left hand corner.  Gardiner was rewarded for his tiresome effort with a goal on 75 minutes, again after great work from Stone who whipped in a pin point perfect cross and rising at the back post was Gardiner to powerfully head in the 5th. This was even appreciated by the home sideline who generously applauded the goal. The game by this stage was well and truly over as a contest but a further goal arrived on 84 minutes after a free kick from Gardiner was headed home by Lowry.
A great performance by the team and with further players due back from injury competition for places is certainly hotting up.
Training continues tonight (Thur) at Bangor Sportsplex, 7 – 8pm, and on Tuesday 8 – 9.30pm.

On Saturday the 1st XI entertain Kilmore Rec in the 2nd round of the Border Cup while the 2nd XI travel to Ballywalter Rec ll. In the Down Area League the 3rd XI visit Abbey Villa lll and the 4th XI are away to Newtown Forest ll.

Players are reminded that annual subs are now due and must be paid in full by the end of September. Players who have just joined the club have one month from the date of signing.
Alan Dempster has already taken over twenty names for the Club Christmas Dinner at the Stormont Hotel on Saturday 21st December. Cost is £45 for a five course meal followed by live music from four acts along with 250 revellers at the “Party Nite”. The bus will be leaving Ballywooley at 7pm and leaving the Stormont to return to Bangor at 1.30am. All those going have until the end of September to confirm their place with a £25 non-returnable deposit with the balance due by the end of November.
Alan Dempster also has 18 names for the Club Trip to Newcastle. Current price is £100 for return flights to Newcastle and three nights in a Travelodge Hotel. Places will be booked as payment up front is received. Please note that the current price will rise as more people book on.
Finally tickets are now on sale for Flash Harry, a fundraiser we are holding in conjunction with NOW and Jointz. Venue is the Stormont Hotel on Saturday 12th October and tickets (£20) are currently on sale from Alan Dempster. All members are asked to come along a support their Club at this event.

Superb Irish Cup Victory for ‘Burn

Bryansburn survived a one hundred and ten minute cliff-hanger before they emerged as 2-1 winners away to Roe Rovers in their 1st Round Irish Cup tie. Having made the 150 mile round trip to Limavady with only thirteen players after a late cry-off, injuries forced them to play the final fifty-five minutes with ten men and only the woodwork, goal-line clearances, dogged determination and some clinical finishing took them over the finishing line.
‘Burn started well, outplaying a hesitant Roe, and were unlucky when Morrison’s header from a Kehoe cross beat the keeper but rebounded off the crossbar after only four minutes. Parkes saw a shot saved, a C.Cooling free-kick went wide and they had to wait until the 18th minute for their deserved breakthrough. Coard slid a ball through to Morrison who calmly curled the ball past the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Rovers responded immediately and ‘Burn weathered an anxious period with a string of goalmouth scares and a point-blank save from Close with only a high and wide C.Cooling free-kick in response. Devlin pulled up and was replaced by Hannion but Roe continued to press and the home side saw an offside goal and then a free-kick for high feet deny them an equaliser before ‘Burn’s Mitchell almost doubled the lead with a header past the post in the final seconds of the half. Half-time 1-0 to ‘Burn.
More bad news came at the re-start with Parkes joining the injury list to be replaced by Bryansburn’s last sub Higginson. An open exchange saw a couple of dangerous Roe corners, a blocked C.Cooling effort and a Coard shot over the bar but disaster appeared to have struck when MacLeod limped off on the hour leaving ‘Burn with ten men.
Roe Rovers used their “extra man” to good effect and within minutes they hit the post and saw A.Cooling (twice) and Kehoe clear shots off the line. It was “all-hands-to-the-pumps” in the nine-man Bryansburn defence with Gray, A.Cooling, Coard, and Clarke all making critical tackles as the clock ticked slowly towards the ninety minute mark. All Bryansburn’s hard work appeared to be undone when Rovers finally levelled at 1-1 in the 88th minute and only the post prevented an undeserved defeat seconds before the final whistle and the start of extra-time.
Clearly ‘Burn were facing an uphill struggle but somehow they managed to summon the energy to smother Rover’s all-out offensive and in the 5th minute of extra time spirits were lifted when Kehoe swung in a forty yard cross and lone striker Morrison rose to head home his 6th goal of the season for a 2-1 lead. Predictably it was a long, long fifteen minutes to the end of the match and ‘Burn were again grateful for two last-ditch tackles from Kehoe and tireless work from the full squad in seeing them through to a remarkable victory.
In an outstanding thirteen man team performance Kehoe shone with A.Cooling & Morrison deserving special mention.    

After an impressive pre-season the 2nd XI finally started their league campaign with a home fixture against Colinvalley ll. However, despite fielding their strongest line-up for some time, ‘Burn were edged out 2-0 in a very tight game.
Undoubtedly, Bryansburn had the better of the first half in a game of surprisingly high standard with free flowing football from both sides. Unfortunately for Bryansburn, despite having the edge an own goal ten minutes from the break saw Colinvalley take the lead. A high free kick eluded the hands of young goalkeeper Hayes and struck a Bryansburn defender to give the visitors’ an undeserved lead.
Enforced changes in the ‘Burn line-up in the second half limited their earlier supremacy and the match levelled out before a powerful last minute drive put Colinvalley two up. There was much celebration in the visitors’ camp as they had been clinging on to the three points in the face of a lot of pressure.
Despite the defeat, Bryansburn can be well pleased with a sound performance against a side which will most certainly end up well placed in the league come May. Also, by and large, the quality of football would not have been out of place in an Intermediate match. In the absence of an official referee, local man Ian Robinson kept the match well under control with an excellent display.

The 3rd XI were beaten 5-1 at a strong Newtown Forest side in a game that was much closer than the score-line would suggest.
Bryansburn got off to a disastrous start when the ball was given away resulting in the home side taking the lead after just 44 seconds. Fortunately an experienced ‘Burn side did not let the early set-back affect them and played their way into the game with only the Forest keeper preventing an equaliser with saves from Cardwell and Dempster. At the other end Bryansburn had a scare when Steventon tipped the ball against the underside of the bar and Cole was on hand to clear it. Steventon then made a tremendous point blank save and the visitors’ survived a series of corners to stay in the game at 1-0. At the other end Bryansburn caused problems from a number of Scott and Murphy corners but just before the break Newtown Forest scored again to lead 2-0.
Bryansburn dominated the early exchanges in the second half and deservedly reduced the deficit when Cardwell was brought down outside the box and Cole rifled the free-kick round the wall and into the bottom corner. At 2-1 down Bryansburn were well in the game and fought hard in search of an equaliser. However, all the hard work was thrown away when two sloppy goals were conceded in the space of five minutes to gift Newtown Forest the points. Firstly a corner fluked its way directly in from a corner and then from a Bryansburn corner the ball was hoofed up the pitch to find an attacker unmarked and homing in on Steventon.
Suddenly 4-1 down, ‘Burn brought on Morrison and Wallace for Beattie and Bracewell and moved to a 3-5-2 formation with Scott given a free role, in an attempt to salvage something from the game. Dempster fired a twenty-yard effort inches over, several Scott crosses caused problems and Cardwell hit the bar but it was the home side who broke a couple of minutes from time to complete the scoring.
Poor performance from Bryansburn even if the score did rather flatter the home side.

The 4ths took on Ravenhill YM ll at home in their opening league game and despite taking the lead, finally went down 5-1.
Missing two key defensive players and several regulars, a makeshift ‘Burn side were expected to struggle against a highly fancied Ravenhill team. Despite this it was Bryansburn who opened the scoring after only six minutes. Rees had an effort saved by the keeper but his quick reactions saw him first to react to hit the rebound into the unguarded net. The visitors’ front line and pacey midfielders soon began to control the game and two goals before the half time break saw Ravenhill edge in front and the pendulum swing.
An early third goal in the second half all but ended the game as a contest.  Two further, late goals saw a heavy league defeat inflicted on the home side, a statistic that was neither welcomed nor accepted by the management team. An improved performance is expected next week


Tonight (Thur) is the final training session at Ballywooley. Next week training reverts to Bangor Sportsplex 8 to 9.30pm on Tuesday and 7 to 8pm on Thursday for all four teams.

On Saturday the 1st XI have an Intermediate League game (opponents unknown at the time of going to press) while the 2nd XI make the long trip to Erne Rovers for a 1.30pm kick-off in the 1st Round of the Coca Cola Junior Cup. The 3rd XI are away to Ballywalter Rec lll in the 1st Round of the Billy Allen Shield and the 4th XI travel to Corrymeela ll.

Players are reminded that annual subs are now due and must be paid in full by the end of September. Players who have just joined the club have one month from the date of signing.

Alan Dempster has already taken over twenty names for the Club Christmas Dinner at the Stormont Hotel on Saturday 21st December. Cost is £45 for a five course meal followed by live music from four acts along with 250 revellers at the “Party Nite”. The bus will be leaving Ballywooley at 7pm and returning to Bangor at 1.30am from the Stormont. All those going have until the end of September to confirm their place with a £25 non-returnable deposit with the balance due by the end of November.


Alan Dempster also has 18 names for the Club Trip to Newcastle. Current price is £100 for return flights to Newcastle and three nights in a Travelodge Hotel. Places will be booked as payment up front is received. Please note that the current price will rise as more people book on.

Finally tickets are now on sale for Flash Harry, a fundraiser we are holding in conjunction with NOW and Jointz. Venue is the Stormont Hotel on Saturday 12th October and tickets (£20) are currently on sale from Alan Dempster. All members are asked to come along a support their Club at this event.

Irish Cup Round 1: Roe Rovers 1 Bryansburn Rangers 2

1sts survived a 110 minute cliff-hanger before they emerged as 2-1 winners over Roe Rovers in their 1st Round Irish Cup tie. Having made the 150 mile round trip to Limavady with only 13 players injuries forced them to play the final 55 minutes with 10 men and only the woodwork, goal-line clearances, dogged determination and some clinical finishing took them over the finishing line.
Bryansburn started well, outplaying a hesitant Roe, and were unlucky when Morrison’s header from a Kehoe cross beat the keeper but rebounded off the cross-bar after only 4 minutes. Parkes saw a shot saved, a C. Cooling free-kick went wide but they had to wait until the 18th minute for their deserved breakthrough. Coard slid a ball through to Morrison who calmly curled the ball past the keeper for 1-0. Rovers responded immediately and ‘Burn weathered an anxious period with a string of goalmouth scares, a point-blank save from Close and only a high & wide C. Cooling free-kick in response. Devlin pulled up and was replaced by Hannion but Roe continued to press and the home side saw an offside goal and a high free-kick deny them an equaliser before ‘Burn’s Mitchell almost made it 2 with a header past the post in the final seconds of the half. Half-time 1-0 ‘Burn.
More bad news came at the re-start with Parkes joining the injury list to be replaced by Bryansburn’s last sub Higginson. An open exchange saw a couple of dangerous Roe corners, a blocked C. Cooling effort and a Coard shot over the bar but disaster appeared to have struck when McCloud limped off on the hour leaving ‘Burn with 10 men. Rovers used their “extra man” to good effect and within minutes they hit the post and saw A. Cooling (twice) and Kehoe clear shots off the line. It was “all-hands-to-the-pumps” in the 9-man Bryansburn defence with Gray, A. Cooling, Coard, and Clarke all making critical tackles as the clock ticked slowly towards the 90 minute mark. All Bryansburn’s hard work appeared to be undone when Rovers levelled at 1-1 in the 88th minute and only the post prevented an undeserved defeat seconds before the final whistle and the start of extra-time.
Clearly ‘Burn were facing an uphill struggle but somehow they managed to summon the energy to smother Rover’s all-out offensive and in the 5th minute spirits were lifted when Kehoe swung in a 40 yard cross and lone striker Morrison rose to head home for a 2-1 lead. Predictably it was a long, long 15 minutes to the end and ‘Burn were again grateful for 2 last-ditch tackles from Kehoe and tireless work from the full squad in seeing them through to a remarkable victory.
In an outstanding 13-man team performance Kehoe shone with A. Cooling & Morrison deserving special mention.

Bryansburn Exit Steel & Sons

Bryansburn travelled to face UUJ in Round 2 of the Steel & Sons Cup at Nortel but made the long journey home with their tail between their legs after a footballing lesson and a 5-0 thrashing.
This was never going to be an easy encounter against 1A opposition and with so many players unavailable the manager re-shuffled to give Tolson, Parkes & Gray their first starts of the season. On paper, with A.Cooling & McMullan restored to their full-back roles and Coard & Tyson in the centre of midfield, the team looked stronger than recent weeks but it was quickly clear that ‘Burn were going to struggle against their faster, stronger, fitter and more skilful opposition.
As early as the third minute Gray had to stretch to clear a dangerous low cross and with Bryansburn slow to settle the home side continued to press until a bad bounce cleared the defence to allow their No11 to make it 1-0 with ten minutes played. Bryansburn rallied with Tolson and Morrison having repeated success down the left but a string of crosses and corners failed to find a touch in the box and UUJ repeatedly cleared to launch another attack. A loud penalty claim, following Tolson’s up-ending in the box, fell on deaf ears; a speculative Morrison shot cleared the bar and a C.Cooling free-kick went wide but it was UUJ who found the netting with a 30- yard screamer following a corner clearance. 2-0 down after twenty-five minutes, Bryansburn had to work tirelessly and rely on a couple of good saves from Moore and poor UUJ finishing to scrape into the interval with no further loss.
The restart allowed ‘Burn to catch their breath and initially they gave as good as they got. Coard pulled the strings in mid-field; sub MacLeod, Cooling, Parkes and McMullan looked solid at the back with Tyson, C.Cooling and Tolson providing additional cover and Mitchell & Morrison fighting for every loose ball but UUJ always seemed to have six or seven men behind the ball whether defending or on the offensive. Disaster struck before the hour mark when ‘Burn conceded a third and the match was effectively over when, three minutes later, a penalty took it to 4-0. Higginson and Kehoe replaced C.Cooling and Tolson but their opponents were now cruising and when the 5th goal went in it suddenly looked like the final twenty minutes could see a complete rout. In fairness to a dispirited Bryansburn they fought hard to avoid further loss and could take some pride in escaping with only a 5-0 score-line.
Probably a match best viewed as a “good work-out” with impressive showings from Tolson, Morrison, A.Cooling and Coard.

The 2nds completed their preseason hosting near neighbours Bangor Swifts ll and ‘Burn hit back to win 6-3 despite trailing 3-1 at the break.
The visitors hit two early goals but Bryansburn fought back to half the deficit with Kehoe scoring from the spot. Swifts restored their two goal cushion when their striker raced onto a long ball and slotted home. HT 1-3.
Despite being behind, ‘Burn were playing some good football and were rewarded when Ballantine was upended in the box and Kehoe again beat the swifts’ keeper from the spot to equalise. With twenty minutes to go, the floodgates opened. Ballantine knocked in two after good work down the left wing by Patterson while Hanna and Tolson both finished their respective chances to give a final score-line of 6-3 to Bryansburn.



The 3rds went down 4-2 to a very strong Ards Rangers lll side at Ballywooley. The visitors dominated the opening half hour and sloppy defensive play gifted Ards two goals with forwards played in to beat Steventon from close range. When an excellent chip made it 3-0 it looked like a heavy defeat was on the cards but Bryansburn fought back to take the game to their opponents in the last fifteen minutes of the half and were unlucky not to reduce the deficit with a number of efforts before the break.
Early in the second half, the game burst into life as the home side scored two goals in the space of three minutes to pull the score back to 3-2. Cardwell touched the ball into the path of Dempster and he volleyed into the top corner from just outside the box. Then Ballantine went on a mazy run before slipping the ball through for Cardwell to swivel and score. Briefly the visitors’ were on the rack but they then increased their lead to 4-2 on the counter-attack although the strike looked well offside.
Bryansburn took off a defender for a forward and switched to a 3-4-3 formation and threw everything at Ards for the remainder of the match but were unable to rescue a point. At the other end Ards Rangers also had chances as gaps opened up and Steventon pulled off a couple of fine saves to keep his team in contention to the end.
Creditable performance from Bryansburn to make such a good game of it after trailing 3-0 after half an hour.

With their season one week away the 4ths entertained Bangor Rangers IV in their penultimate friendly and in an entertaining game they emerged victorious winning by four goals to three.
In a competitive yet good spirited game a few new faces made their debuts for Bryansburn and naturally they took time to settle in. Bangor took the lead from the spot before Dickinson equalised from a corner. The visitors then swept into a 3-1 lead at the interval albeit the home side had created a number of chances.
Keeper Black made a number of excellent saves early in the second half to keep the home side in the game before Armstrong pulled one back with a tight angled shot and, Stone equalised. Bryansburn’s second half performance was rewarded when Armstrong pounced for his second of the game to make it 4-3 for what proved to be the winner.

In midweek the 3rd XI had a tremendous 3-1 win over a strong Queens Grads lll side. Bryansburn had keeper Close to thank for a number of top drawer saves in the first half as ‘Burn managed to keep the game goal-less despite being under pressure for most of the half.
In the second half Queens continued to have the better of the exchanges in terms of possession, territorial advantage and chances created. However Bryansburn were superior in one department – finishing. Cardwell was brought down in the box after a good run from Ballantine and he picked himself up to score form the spot. Then Ballantine burst through and lifted the ball over the head of the advancing keeper to double the lead and minutes later substitute Tolson scored a well-taken individual goal to kill the game off at 3-0.
At the other end Queens continued to make chances but a combination of Close and poor finishing meant that they were unable to get back in the game. Bryansburn worked very hard throughout the team to close the game out for a superb victory. The only blemish came six minutes from time when Queens finally got a deserved consolation goal but it was too little too late.


On Tuesday the 4th XI completed their pre-season programme with a friendly away to Donaghadee.

Tonight (Thur) and also Tuesday training is as normal at Ballywooley, 7pm, for all four teams.

On Saturday the 1st XI make the long trip to Roe Rovers in the 1st Round of the Irish Cup while the 2nd XI commence their league programme with a home game against Colinvalley ll. In the Down Area League the 3rd XI are away to Newtown Forest and the 4th XI entertain Ravenhill YM ll.

Players are reminded that annual subs are now due and must be paid in full by the end of September.

Alan Dempster is currently taking names for the Club’s Christmas Dinner at the Stormont Hotel and also the Annual Club Trip at the end of the season, which this year will be to Newcastle. If interested please give him a shout for details.

Finally tickets are now on sale for Flash Harry, a fundraiser we are holding in conjunction with NOW and Jointz. Venue is the Stormont Hotel on Saturday 12th October and tickets (£20) are currently on sale from Alan Dempster. All members are asked to come along a support their Club at this event.