Thrilling Win For Bryansburn

Only Bryansburn 2^nd XI were left with a game on Saturday when they travelled to Whiterock Leisure Centre to face St Teresas YC ll on a 3G surface. The 4ths fixture at home to Vision Athletic ll was postponed on Friday morning and this was followed suit by the 3rd XI’s visit to Bangor Rangers lll at 10.15am on Saturday. The 1^st XI had already left in a bus for their Coca Cola Intermediate Cup 4^th round tie at Newcastle when word filtered through the game had also fell victim to the weather. However, the squad decided to travel anyway and enjoyed a great day out. Our thanks go to both Newcastle FC and the Anchor bar for their hospitality. The game has been rescheduled for this Saturday. Meantime the 2nds were rewarded for playing in terrible conditions when they returned with a thrilling 4-3 win.

The match was in doubt due to the referee not being happy with the markings as they were almost non-existent on a pitch designed for Gaelic matches. After much consultation with the ‘Burn Management Team and staff of the Leisure Centre, the match finally started in arctic conditions. The visitors’ had to weather the storm on and off the pitch as the home side were shooting from any position helped with the very strong wind at their backs. The defence of Dickson, Brown, Collins and Patterson held strong well marshalled by seventeen year-old keeper Douglas.

It was pretty much backs to the wall for the opening twenty minutes and when the ball did arrive with forwards Hanna and Crawley they were soon surrounded by at least four defenders. Scott and Ballantine worked the flanks as good as they could but were met by several strong challenges. On 32 minutes ‘Burn were awarded a free-kick on the right flank but when Scott whipped the ball in, Crawley just failed to get his head on it. The home side then broke and wind assisted, aided by a slight hesitation from the Bryansburn defence, a midfielder  let fly from 35 yards over the over the head of Douglas and into the net. The home side then threw everything at ‘Burn to try and capitalise on the conditions but several shots went high and wide. In the 42^nd minute ‘Burn missed a great chance to draw level when a cross from Scott was headed by Dickinson however it was straight at the home keeper. Halftime 1-0.
During the break some words of wisdom were spoken by the Management Team and self belief was installed into the players. With the wind and rain stopped for a short period, Bryansburn managed to play some ground ball and on 49 minutes Crawley was upended in the box after great work by Parkes. Scott stepped up and calmly slotted the ball home for the equaliser from a temporarily made penalty spot. Before the restart all three teenage substitutes – Greer, McMullan and Ferris – were introduced giving Bryansburn four seventeen year-olds on the pitch. McMullan and Greer were given positions on the flanks and were not daunted by the task or by the size and build of the opposition defence.

In the 54^th minute a throw in from Ferris was headed on by Greer and McMullan calmly slotted home from six yards to score his first senior goal. Notably all three subs played a hand in the goal. Three minutes later Ferris was clattered outside the box and he was helped off the field to leave ‘Burn playing with ten men. Then, from a throw in, St Teresas restored parity after a slight mix-up at the back. Brown stayed down injured and after several minutes of treatment was carried off the field. The nine men dug in but with twenty minutes remaining, both injured players returned to the fray to assist in the quest for three points.

Ballantine adopted a lone striker role and Parkes, who had slotted in as cover in defence, worked the flank brilliantly before calmly laying off to Dickinson who fed an inch perfect pass to Ballantine who beat several rash challenges before firing home from twelve yards. The goal was celebrated by the entire team and rightly so. McMullan went close on 78 minutes when his shot was excellently saved by the home keeper. Then, nine minutes from time, ‘Burn broke up an attack and again Ballantine picked the ball up thirty yards from goal and ran at the home side before calmly placing the ball under the keeper to make it 4-2.

Almost directly from the restart the home side scored again to leave a frantic eight minutes plus injury time to negotiate. Douglas made two great saves to keep the visitors’ ahead and the additional seven minutes of injury time were seen out by ‘Burn to leave the final score of 4-3 to the visitors’.

A fantastic team performance with special credit to both Brown and Ferris for returning to the play with nasty foot injuries. “Man of the Match” was Ballantine for two excellent goals and assured performance throughout.

Training continues at Bangor Sportsplex tonight (Thur) from 7pm to 8pm and on Tuesday from 8pm to 9.30pm. Players are reminded that attendance in training and payment of any outstanding debts will be taken into consideration when teams are selected for Saturday.  

This Saturday the 1^st XI make another attempt to play their 4^th round Coca Cola Intermediate Cup tie away to Newcastle, while in league action the 2^nd XI are home to Suffolk FC ll. In the Down Area league the 3^rd XI face Newtown Forest at Bloomfield and the 4^th XI travel to Comber Star ll in the Tommy Murphy Memorial Shield.

For those interested in the Annual Club Trip, the current price has now risen to £140 for return flights to Newcastle and three nights in a Travelodge Hotel leaving on Friday 30^th May returning Monday 2^nd June. Please contact Alan Dempster if you wish to join the travelling party.

Finally two social events have been organised in the Clubhouse over the next month. On 22^nd February there will be a Poker Night and on 8^th March a Pool Tournament. Those interested in either of these competitions should give their name to Johnny Ferris.

Bryansburn Defeat League Leaders

With all the other games falling victim to the weather, the focus turned to the 3^rd XI who had the unenviable task of travelling to unbeaten league leaders North Down. The home side worked hard on the pitch before it was finally given the green light by the referee but most likely regretted their efforts afterwards as a heroic performance from Bryansburn inflicted their first league defeat of the season.

‘Burn adopted a defensive 4-2-3-1 formation for the game and the tactics worked a treat as they stifled North Down for the whole ninety minutes to the extent that the home side created very few clear cut chances despite that fact that they camped in the Bryansburn half for most of the match.

Right from the start ‘Burn were pinned back by wave after wave of attack but the scene was set with the visitors’ defending resolutely. Centre-backs Cole and Ferris, who was drafted in from the 4^th team, were outstanding from the start coping with everything North Down could throw at them for the ninety minutes. Sitting in front of them Dempster and Murphy protected the back four and proceeded to break up play throughout the game. Keeper Steventon only had a few saves to make, all from long range and his handling was assured in the testing conditions. Last ditch tackles from Cole, Ferris and Dempster all prevented almost certain goals as the home side pressed relentlessly.

As the half wore on the experienced Bryansburn side began to see more of the ball and retained it well as the home side began to get more and more frustrated. ‘Burn began to make headway on the counter-attack and were rewarded when they opened the scoring on the half hour mark. Good build up play involving Scott and McMurray culminated in Cardwell dissecting the North Down defence with a diagonal ball and Scott smashed the ball into the top corner from an acute angle.

As expected, North Down came at Bryansburn with renewed vigour but the visitors’ continued to battle for every ball and fly into every tackle to frustrate their opponents. The defensive heroics looked like protecting the one goal lead to the break when things suddenly got better for ‘Burn with three minutes left of the half. Some good approach play led to McMurray threading the ball though to McGimpsey leaving him one on one with the keeper and he produced a sublime finish into the bottom corner to make it 2-0. At the interval North Down tried to persuade the referee to abandon the game but the conditions had not deteriorated since the start of the game.

‘Burn came out in the second half expecting North Down to throw everything at them and the home side did not disappoint. However, as in the first half, defensive heroics prevented North Down getting a clear sight of goal. McMurray, McGimpsey and Beattie used all their experience to compete in the midfield area while Cardwell continually caused problems in his lone striker role leading to a number of free-kicks for Bryansburn in dangerous areas.

Steventon continued to be assured with his handling and a number of timely challenges and clearances kept the home side at bay. North Down were restricted to little sight of goal resulting in shots from distance that continually went high or wide as Bryansburn run the clock down. ‘Burn then introduced fresh legs in order to assist their battle to hold out.

The defensive rearguard held out until the 82^nd minute when North Down eventually reduced the deficit with a fluke goal as an intended cross sailed over Steventon into the roof of the net. This signalled the start of a frantic last eight minutes plus injury time as North Down threw extra players into attack in a bid to salvage a point. The exchanges became feisty at times with a number of rash challenges from both sides resulting in a number of yellow cards. Defensively ‘Burn remained sound and despite being put under intense pressure the visitors’ never managed to force Steventon into a save.

Then deep into injury time and with everybody bar the home keeper in the Bryansburn half the ball was cleared to McMurray at the half way line and it bounced over the last defender leaving him with a run on goal. He headed straight with two defenders chasing hard but just when they were about to catch him he squared the ball to Beattie who had matched his run and was totally unmarked ten yards out. He took his time to control the ball and clipped the ball past the keeper to make it 3-1 and seal a heroic win.

This was an excellent team performance from an experienced Bryansburn team with a number of players rolling back the years in a vintage display. It was not pretty to watch but Bryansburn got their tactics spot on, frustrating a home side continually for ninety minutes and they simply ran out of ideas as to how and break the defensive formation down.      

Training continues at Bangor Sportsplex tonight (Thur) from 7pm to 8pm and on Tuesday from 8pm to 9.30pm. Players are reminded that attendance in training and payment of any outstanding debts will be taken into consideration when teams are selected for Saturday.  

This Saturday the 1^st XI have a bus booked for their trip to Newcastle in the 4^th round of Coca Cola Intermediate Cup, the furthest ‘Burn have ever been in the competition, while in league action the 2^nd XI are away to St Teresas YC  ll. In the Down Area league the 3^rd XI are away to local rivals Bangor Rangers lll and the 4^th XI are at home to Vision Athletic ll.

Flight times for the annual Club trip have been changed by the airline. Those going should speak to Alan Dempster for details. The current price has now risen to £135 for return flights to Newcastle and three nights in a Travelodge Hotel but please note that with the number of flights on each day reduced from three to one the remaining places will soon go as well as the price increasing. Anyone wishing to book on the trip from Friday 30^th May to Monday 2^nd June please contact Alan Dempster.

Finally two social events have been organised in the Clubhouse over the next month. On 22^nd February there will be a Poker Night and on 8^th March a Pool Tournament. Those interested in either of these competitions should give their name to Johnny Ferris.

Late Equaliser Denies Bryansburn

Bryansburn 1^st XI returned to league action with a home game against Colin Valley on a heavy Ballywooley pitch but despite leading 2-0 at the break they were pinned back by a late equaliser that saw the visitors’ snatch a point.

Bryansburn started off brightly and took an early lead after only six minutes when Coard showed great skill to place a shot into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box.
‘Burn continued to press and the front three of Tolson, Morrison and Mallon were causing the visitors major problems with a host of chances being created and only a combination of last gasp defending and a great save by the visitors’ keeper preventing the home side going further ahead.
The midfield three of Coard, Tyson and G McMullan were winning the battle in the centre of the park and the defence was well organised restricting Colin valley to very few opportunities. On the one occasion when the away side did threaten Close pulled off a smart save.
After almost half an hour of constant pressure Bryansburn extended their lead when Higginson met a defensive clearance and slammed the ball into the top corner from fully 25 yards out to make it 2-0. The home side lost Tolson to injury just before half time which was a major blow as he had been causing the Colin Valley defence a lot of problems. The last few minutes of the half saw ‘Burn push for more goals but the score remained 2-0 at half time.
The second half started in the worst possible way with Colin Valley pulling a goal back from a free kick conceded on the edge of the box and this gave them the lift they needed and they started to take control. However, Bryansburn were defending well and were able to break with pace on the counter attack.
‘Burn were unlucky to not extend their lead on a number of occasions most notably when Morrison out jumped the visitors’ defence only to see his header come back off the post with the keeper well beaten. With Bryansburn unable to get the third goal they needed to kill the game off, it meant that the visitors’ remained in the contest
and they pressed for an equaliser. Disaster then struck when a good passage of play and a smart finish saw Colin Valley draw level at 2-2 with only four minutes remaining of the ninety.
Things could have got worse for the home side as Colin Valley then had a goal disallowed for offside in the last minute. The decision led to a loss of discipline with a visiting player being sent off for dissent and their Assistant Manager also seeing red following the final whistle for the same offence.
Bearing in mind that Bryansburn had dominated the majority of the contest, this has to go down as two points dropped. Best for ‘Burn was Morrison who put in another fantastic shift up front.    

The 2^nd XI were understrength for their visit to high-flying Bangor YM ll but still put in a creditable performance before going down 2-0.

YM had the better of the exchanges throughout with ‘Burn offering little in the way of an attacking threat. Seventeen year-old C.Ferris and Stewart both made their debuts after recent transfers to the Club while W.Ferris made his first start for the second string. There were good performances from Scott and Ballantine while Bryansburn’s “Man of the Match” was seventeen year-old keeper Douglas who kept the visitors’ in the game throughout.

Bangor YM did not manage to open the scoring until five minutes before the break when a quickly taken free-kick and cross from the left saw a forward get in front of his marker to score. ‘Burn remained in the game at 1-0 until just before the end of the match when a terrific free-kick into the top corner gave Douglas no chance. Seventeen year-old Greer was given a run-out and S.Ferris made a cameo appearance for his first Bryansburn appearance in over twenty years.

The 3^rd XI booked a place in the Semi-final of the Frank Moore Memorial Cup with an impressive 3-0 victory away to a strong Queens Grads lll side.

‘Burn opted for a new 3-1-4-2 formation and the tactic paid off as the home side struggled to break ‘Burn down to the extent that they had only one shot on target over the course of the ninety minutes. Key to this was the performances of the back three of Patterson, McComb and Cole who were outstanding throughout winning every ball whether on the ground or in the air.

Bryansburn won the toss and elected to play with the blinding sun behind them making it a very difficult first half for the Grads defenders and keeper. ‘Burn strived for an early advantage with several long range shots testing the home keeper but Queens stood firm through the early period of pressure. Then came the one Queens chance of the match when a forward broke through but Steventon made a comfortable save.

After that ‘Burn remained on top despite creating few clear opportunities. Scott fired in a couple of good crosses from the left, one of which saw McGimpsey fire just the wrong side of the upright, while on the other flank a good cross from Beattie nearly led to a breakthrough.

Dempster headed a Scott cross inches over before the opening goal came on the half hour mark. Cardwell tried his luck from distance and the sun played its part as the keeper failed to hold the shot and the ball squirmed over the line. The visitors’ held on to their lead comfortably to the break.

‘Burn remained in control in the second half but despite a lot of possession and dominance failed to get the vital second goal. That was until the 58^th minute when Cardwell headed home an excellent Beattie cross from close range to make it 2-0.

Bryansburn then pressed for a third goal to kill the game off with Beattie and Scott dangerous on the flanks but apart from a Dempster volley they failed to register anything on target.

Dickson entered the fray as ‘Burn temporarily moved to a 4-1-4-1 formation to snuff out the attempts of the home side to get back in the game. Then, once a period of pressure was seen off, Gillespie was introduced to join Cardwell up front as the side reverted to the tried and tested 4-4-2 formation for the closing stages. Sixteen year-old Reece Dempster was also given a run out as Bryansburn saw out the game comfortably enough.

The icing on the cake came in the last minute when Gillespie produced a sublime lob to give the keeper no chance and complete the scoring for a 3-0 win.

This was the second great team performance in a row by the 3^rd XI with all fourteen guys playing their part. ‘Burn now await the Semi-final draw to see if they play Abbey Villa lll, 43^rd OB or Agape, or Vision Athletic or 8^th OB in the last four. 

On a bright and crisp East Belfast afternoon the 4^th XI maintained their title challenge with a hard fought, albeit entertaining, 2-1 win at Vision Athletic ll.

From the outset it was recognised that the height and strength of the Vision team would cause problems in what was a must win game. ‘Burn started brightly on the huge pitch, but after only seven minutes successive right wing attacks almost led to the home side taking the lead. The pacey winger was causing problems with strong attacks from midfield and Black in nets had to be in good form to prevent the opener.  For the next 25 minutes the visitors struggled to maintain possession and following a defensive blunder, ‘Burn found themselves one down just after the half hour mark.  Bogle and Dickinson's experience helped settle the young Bryansburn team and following a parried save by the keeper, Bogle reacted quickly to knock in the equaliser.

The second period proved to be just as difficult as the first for Bryansburn and the match had a very competitive and entertaining edge for the neutral.  The travelling Bryansburn support were vocal in their encouragement and with twenty minutes remaining Lowry latched onto a great pass to skip past the last defender and fire past the custodian to give ‘Burn the lead.

Parkinson replaced the hard working Gardiner and immediately his pace caused problems and an effort on goal was pushed away by the keeper.  Armstrong replaced the tireless Lowry and provided an escape route for the last ten minutes.  Deep in injury time the home side had a chance to equalise but a volley whistled just past the post much to the huge relief of Bryansburn.

‘Burn must continue in winning ways for the remaining four matches of this League Campaign if they are to have a chance of the title. All four contenders have games against each other in what will be an interesting finish to the campaign in the coming weeks.  This was a great all round team performance with Lowry 'the pick of the bunch'.

Training continues at Bangor Sportsplex tonight (Thur) from 7pm to 8pm and on Tuesday from 8pm to 9.30pm. Players are reminded that attendance in training and payment of any outstanding debts will be taken into consideration when teams are selected for Saturday. Last week a number of players were unable to get a game despite so many players being unavailable.

This Saturday the 1^st XI and 2^nd XI have league games, opponents are unknown at the time of going to press. In the Down Area league the 3^rd XI travel to unbeaten league leaders North Down and the 4^th XI are home to Comber YM ll in the quarter-final of the Mervyn Bassett Cup.

Flight times for the annual Club trip have been changed by the airline. Those going should speak to Alan Dempster for details. The current price has now risen to £135 for return flights to Newcastle and three nights in a Travelodge Hotel but please note that with the number of flights on each day reduced from three to one the remaining places will soon go as well as the price increasing. Anyone wishing to book on the trip from Friday 30^th May to Monday 2^nd June please contact Alan Dempster.

Finally two social events have been organised in the Clubhouse over the next month. On 1^st February there will be a Poker Night and on 22^nd February a Pool Tournament. Those interested in either of these competitions should give their name to Jonny Ferris.

Bryansburn Lose on Penalties

Bryansburn 1^st XI were edged out of the Clarence Cup 6-4 after extra time and penalties in a lack-lustre encounter at Loughmoss. ‘Burn probably had the better of their lower league opponents over the 110 minutes but were repeatedly let down by their decision-making and passing, continually choosing to go for the difficult rather than the simple options...

A Baltic afternoon on a surprisingly firm pitch saw a lively opening. Cooling rescued ‘Burn with a last-ditch header over the bar in the 3^rd minute and their 2C opponents went close in the 7^th with a header just the wrong side of the post. Bryansburn settled and an 11th minute Cooling free grazed the bar while Higginson was unlucky nine minutes later when his fifty yard run ended with a shot wide of the home goal. The encouraging start soon settled into a scrappy midfield duel with good work from both sides failing to produce a decent service to their forwards. Minutes before the break ‘Burn hit lucky when another good run from Higginson saw his fierce low cross evade defenders, strikers and the keeper to find the net via the back post and hopes were raised for ‘Burn adding to their lead after the interval. Halftime: 1-0 to Bryansburn.

Sadly the optimism was not well founded and Close had to make a point blank save on the hour mark, Thompson a vital challenge to deflect a shot over the bar and Morrison a critical tackle with Bryansburn’s response a single Thompson header wide from a Coard free-kick. Increased Carryduff pressure led to a couple of corners and the match was levelled at 1-1 with fifteen minutes to play. Tolson came on for Mallon, and G.McMullan for Tyson but ‘Burn’s keeper was called into action again after 77 minutes diving to parry clear a dangerous low drive. The final ten minutes saw a welcome sustained Bryansburn offensive but first Stanex with a neat turn and shot and McGreevy with a powerful drive were unable to find the winner. Full-time: 1-1.

Extra-time was very much one-way traffic with the ‘Burn defence pushing up and much of the play taking place in the opposition half. A McMullan provided a steady supply of passes to Tolson who terrorised the Carryduff left but little came of the dominance with good opportunities squandered through misplaced passes and poor movement. Bryansburn could have snatched the tie when a succession of Thompson long throws finally led to a Morrison diving header in the 105^th minute but his effort slipped past the far post and it was still deadlock at the final whistle.

The penalty shoot-out got off to the worst possible start with Morrison’s opener saved but thereafter both sides showed that, under different circumstances, they had no problem finding the net. Coard, McGreevy and A.McMullan calmly converted but Close could only get his fingertips to one of Carryduff ’s efforts and they scored five out of five.

Another disappointing afternoon: probably not helped by the Christmas lay-off and enforced team changes. Better expected in 2014!

The 3^rd XI produced the performance of the day when they travelled to a high-flying Ballygowan side boasting a 100% home record and returned with a hard-earned point. After two poor results, ‘Burn were in dire need of a confidence boosting performance ahead of their Frank Moore Memorial Cup quarter-final away to Queens Grads lll this Saturday and turned out in a completely new 4-2-3-1 formation designed to make it difficult for the home side to break down. It was the normal squad of players but only three of them turned out in their normal position. The tactics worked a treat in an excellent team performance with ‘Burn not only earning a point but going oh so close to taking all three.

As expected Ballygowan came racing out of the traps and pinned ‘Burn in their own half for the first ten minutes but they only managed to carve out one real chance. A forward broke through but young keeper Douglas, making his comeback after a long period of injury, turned his shot round the post. Bryansburn weathered the early storm and when they did win the ball they kept possession well frustrating their opponents. In the 11^th minute ‘Burn nearly took the lead when McGimpsey burst through only to be denied by the keeper. The home side did not heed the warning because three minutes later Bryansburn did open the scoring. Scott and Beattie combined to send Cole racing down the right and his cross was met first time by McGimpsey to open the scoring.

As expected Ballygowan came back on the offensive but despite being pinned in their own half, ‘Burn survived comfortably enough with Patterson and McComb outstanding at the heart of the defence. There was one scare on the half hour mark  

when the home side had the ball in the net only for the strike to be ruled offside. With every man doing the role asked of him, it looked like ‘Burn were going to keep their clean sheet to the break but then Ballygowan carved out an equaliser in the 41^st minute. A long throw into the box was flicked on and a home player managed to get to the loose ball first. Parity lasted all of two minutes as ‘Burn regained the lead. Not for the first time the visitors’ caught Ballygowan on the counter-attack and great work from McGimpsey out on the right found McMurray unmarked in the middle. He lifted the ball over the head of the keeper but his shot was blocked on the line by a defender. However, McMurray kept his cool and buried the rebound to make it 2-1 at the break.

The second half followed the same pattern as the first with Ballygowan dominating in terms of possession and territorial advantage but ‘Burn holding out resolutely. Murphy and Dempster sat in front of the back four repeatedly making the tackles and breaking up play and restricting the home side to long range efforts which Douglas dealt with comfortably.

As the half wore on Ballygowan did carve out a couple of good chances. Douglas made a tremendous save from the first one and then a header from a good cross from the right came back off the inside of the post and into his grateful arms. As the home side pushed more men forward ‘Burn began to catch them out on the break. Then with twenty minutes remaining Ballygowan finally equalised from a back post header.

Bryansburn reacted by bringing on teenagers Ballantine and R.Dempster for Cole and Beattie who had both put in great shifts. The speed and fresh legs of the youngsters caused the home side numerous problems as McMurray in particular repeatedly brought them into play on the counter attack.

As the game moved into the closing minutes Patterson stood solid at the back and McComb made one excellent tackle which if miss-timed would have resulted in a penalty, as Ballygowan threw everything into attack. With four minutes left on the clock McMurray was put through only for his shot to rebound off the keeper’s legs. The ball fell to Ballantine only for the keeper to block his effort as well.

Then in the last minute the Ballygowan Centre-forward wriggled free leaving Dempster no option but to bring him down on the edge of the box. The wall did its job as the free-kick was hammered into it. ‘Burn broke on the attack and McMurray threaded Ballantine clean through but as it seemed ‘Burn were going to snatch a winner he screwed his shot wide with the last kick of the match.

A tremendous performance from the 3^rd team against a very good side with every man playing his part.  

The 4^th XI won 3-1 at Comber YM ll to chalk up their sixth consecutive win and move them to within two points of the top of the league table. With five games left and all the top teams still games remaining against each other, Bryansburn have put themselves well and truly in the mix.        

In windy conditions, ‘Burn created all the early chances only for the home custodian to pull off a couple of great saves. Finally, with the interval looming, a Stone corner was headed home by Bogle for a slender 1-0 half time lead.
The second half was a tough encounter and the visitors won the midfield battle, although Lowry, playing up top, was tireless in his running and Stone caused Comber loads of problems on the left. The home side finally equalised in the 71^st minute and it was very much game on.
Stevenson began to push forward for Bryansburn and from a Stone pass he fired the visitors’ back in front. Stevenson continued to torment YM and he was influential in the goal that killed the game off ten minutes from time. He burst forward from the centre of the park on a surging run into the box where he was sent sprawling for a blatant penalty. Stone stepped up and clinically finished from the spot to make it 3-1 to Bryansburn.
A great solid performance by the whole squad as they eased into third place, nicely poised to make a title challenge.

Training continues at Bangor Sportsplex tonight (Thur) from 7pm to 8pm and on Tuesday from 8pm to 9.30pm. A good turnout is essential with a full programme of fixtures on Saturday.

This Saturday the 1^st XI entertain Colin Valley while the 2^nd XI visit local rivals Bangor YM ll. In the Down Area league the 3^rd XI travel to Queens Grads lll in the quarterfinal of the Frank Moore Memorial Cup and the 4^th XI are away to Vision Athletic ll.

In the 4^th round of the Coca Cola Intermediate Cup the 1^st XI have been drawn away to Newcastle on 25^th January and the 4^th XI have been drawn at home to Comber YM ll in the Quarter-final of the Mervyn Bassett Cup on 18^th January. In the group stages of the Tommy Murphy Memorial Shield the 4^th XI have been drawn in group C along with 3^rd Bangor OB ll, Comber Star ll, Queens Grads IV and Willowfield Parish ll.

Despite constant reminders there are still some players who owe annual subs and match fees. It this is not rectified those concerned they will not be available for team selection.

Flight times for the annual Club trip have been changed by the airline. Those going should speak to Alan Dempster for details. The current price is £120 for return flights to Newcastle and three nights in a Travelodge Hotel but please note that with the number of flights on each day reduced from three to one the remaining places will soon go. Anyone wishing to book on the trip from Friday 30^th May to Monday 2^nd June please contact Alan Dempster.