Ballynahinch run riot

Ballynahinch run riot

19 September 2012 - by BY DAVID TELFORD

BALLYNAHINCH seconds fired a warning to their Junior 3 rivals that they have no intention of taking things easy this season.

In their opening game last Saturday they put Cookstown fourths to the sword and the margin of victory could and probably should have been greater.

Having secured promotion at the end of last season any doubts their Junior 3 rivals had about how Ballynahinch would cope were blown away thanks to a truly devastating display which left the visitors shell-shocked.

The home side led 5-0 at the break and by the time the umpires signalled the end of the game, Cookstown had conceded 10 goals and were lucky it wasn’t a lot more.

Had some of the Ballynahinch players kept their composure at crucial times the club would have been seeking planning permission to extend the scoreboard.

The strange thing about this Junior 3 game was that it took the home side 16 minutes to open the scoring. But once the first goal went in the floodgates opened with Cookstown swept away by a Ballynahinch tidal wave and a display which will have not gone unnoticed by other clubs with an eye on promotion come the end of the season.

Grant Hayes was his imperious self at the back for the locals, pulling the strings and conducting the ensemble ahead of him which was in fine tine, despite the few goalscoring chances the players did miss.

Stuart Hunter, who finished with four goals, set his side on the road to victory when he finished a smart passing move, drilling the ball past the ‘keeper. Five minutes later it was 4-0 and Cookstown knew they were in for a tough and particularly uncomfortable afternoon.

Hunter made it 2-0 in the 18th minute following a surging run into the heart of the opposition penalty area and then Jason Campbell popped up unmarked at the back post to sweep the ball home to make it 3-0.

Lee Thomas then got in on the scoring act to make it 4-0 and with Cookstown looking for the interval whistle and a chance to regroup, Gary Hamilton scored a fifth.

The impressive Millar scored a brace within minutes of the restart to give his side a 7-0 lead, with one of his goals coming from the penalty spot. David Bolton made it 8-0, but the locals didn’t take their foot off the gas and that man Hunter weighed in with another two to take his personal tally to four and his side’s to a magnificent ten.

A great start indeed for Ballynahinch, but a word of warning for the locals. There are a lot of good sides in Junior 3 and much sterner tests lie ahead. The players can only perform against the opposition in front of them and North Down thirds away this Saturday won’t be easy.

Final score: Ballynahinch II 10 Cookstown IV 0