Ballybay Notes

There was no winner of last weeks Ballybay Pearse Brothers Blotto. Number drawn were as follows: 6, 7, 10 & 29. The following people won €20:

Evan Larmer, 30 O’Duffy Tce, Ballybay

Erin McQuilan, Lisnalong

Roseanne McDermott, Madabawn

Mary Farrelly, 44 O’Duffy Tce, Ballybay

Brendan McKeraney, Ballybay

Next weeks jackpot is €2,000

Results: On Sunday evening the seniors took on Clontibret in the preliminary round of the Greenfield Foods Senior Football Championship in Scotsotwn. On a super summers evening with the sun shining high in the sky the game started at an extreme pace with Ballybay shading the opening the 10 mins. Points from Thomas Kerr, Chris McGuiness & Eoin McKearney who popped up from the back to slot over a superb effort in his first senior championship encounter left Ballybay two in front after five minutes having really hitting the ground running. Clontibret then settle and hit the front after been awarded a penalty which was dispatched to the net leaving the boys trailing by a point after the opening exchanges but the large crowd in attendance sensed a real cracker was in unfolding before their eyes. Ballybay had to rejig things slightly when they lost the services of Brent Wylie through injury but this didn’t stop the team’s go forward attitude and momentum. Paul Finlay continued his recent great form providing the team with a focal point in attack and got his first score of the evening to leave the penalty between the sides midway through the half. At the other end the defence where getting to grips with the Clontibret attack with all six lads putting in strong solid displays. Ryan Wylie, Dessie Ward & Mark McAdrle where mopping up any loose ball and drove forward to set up the attacks with the forwards getting out in front and taking full advantage of the early ball in. The boys finished the half the brighter with strong running from Thomas Kerr & Aaron Toner created opportunities that saw two more points from Paul & Christopher hitting his second of the day to leave two between the sides at half time. Ciaran Gallighan was introduced at the break going on to give a massive aerial display throughout the second half. On numerous occasions he won clean possession allowing others run off his shoulder in support while putting Clontibret on the back foot. Ballybay made this count in the opening exchanges of the second period again starting the brighter and hitting the first three points of the half through the two Tommy’s, Kerr with one from a great free off the ground and an equally good effort from play in the opening seconds of the half with the O’Neill’s effort sandwiched in-between coming off a strong run through the middle of the field. Dessie Ward was causing all sorts of problems to Clontibret picking the ball up from deep, using his power & pace to break the tackle making serious quantities of ground, quickly turning defence into attack. Ballybay dominated the possession in the second period, particularly around the middle third with Tommy Kerr, Dessie, Mark & Cillian mopping up the majority of ball that broke from Ciaran & Tommy O’Neil in the middle third, however we failed to show this dominance on the score board, with the penalty keeping Clontibret in touch. Ballybay created a well worked team move when Shane McGuiness timed his run to perfection coming off Paul who popped it to him on the move leaving him one on one but unfortunately his shot went narrowly wide. Ballybay to their credit kept at the things that where working resulting in two more points, frees from Finlay but the major score came as Tommy Kerr expertly dispatching

the ball to the back of the net after a superb ball from Paul to create the opportunity, leaving three between the sides. Clontibret where never going to sit back and battled to the very end, but the defence had the ability to hold out. Evan & Eoin each had great dispossessions while Ryan & Drew used their experience to ensure that the defence where in place to protect the goal ensuring that they weren’t going to couch up any easy scores. It was all hands to the wheel in the closing stages and the Ballybay squad was tested to its limits through injury and a black card but they held out for the narrowest of victories full time score Ballybay 1-13 Clontibret 1-12. Management will be happy with the victory and level of performance but know that there’s a significant amount of work has to be done for the next round of championship fixtures whenever that might be. Ballybay team: Sean Gorman, Eoin McKearney, Drew Wylie, Brent Wylie, Mark McArdle, Ryan Wylie, Evan Rutledge, Thomas O’Neil, Thomas Kerr, Aaron Toner, Christopher McGuiness, Dessie Ward, Shane McQuillan, Paul Finlay, Shane McGuiness, Cillian McAviney, Ciaran Gallighan, Danny Groman & James Kerr.

Reserve Championship: Our reserves travel to Monaghan Harps for the Quarter Final of the Platium Tanks Reserve Championship. At the time of writing the match is fixed for Saturday evening at 7pm but this may be re-arranged to Friday to accommodate the Ballybay Golf Classic. Please keep an eye on the Ballybay Facebook & Twitter accounts for the additional info throughout the week.

Fixtures: Please see the official fixture lists.

Golf Classic: All roads lead to Clones Golf course for the Ballybay Pearse Brother Golf Classic on May 21st. Tee times are still available but are filling up fast. A team of four costs €140. There’s wonderful prizes to be won including an overnight stay with golf in a McEniff Hotel, Golf Shoes, round of golf at the famous Slieve Russell & Concra Wood courses & entry into the Clones Golf Club Classic. A ladies’ team prize is also up for grabs. This is a major fund raiser for the club so all support will be greatly appreciated, while the event itself is kindly sponsored by Kepak Ballybay. For more information, please contact either Niall Duffy or Barry Lennon.

Volunteers: The club are looking for any members who are willing to volunteer at this weekends classic to please make themselves known to either Barry Lennon or Paddy Kerr. All help will greatly appreciated.

Ballybay Pearse Brothers Club membership for the 2016 season is now available. There are three options available this year.

Gold Membership – which consists of free entry into all senior & reserve home league fixtures, entry into the clubs Blotto each week, entry into the draw for tickets to this year All Ireland Final & general club membership for a fee of €240. (Payment via direct debit is available over a 12-month period)

Silver Membership – which consists of free entry into all senior & reserve home league fixtures, entry into the draw for tickets to this year All Ireland Final & general club membership for a fee of €100.

Bronze membership – which consists of free entry into the draw for tickets to this year All Ireland Final & general club membership for a fee of €30.

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!