22.12.07 (Round 1) B'mallard Youth 4 - 0 B'mallard UtdMcConkey (pen), Brown, Corrigan, Houlihan.
19.01.08 (Round 2) Bryansburn Rangers 0 - 7 B'mallard Youth -
Edgar (2), Hoy (2), Lee, Strain, Currie.
16.02.08 (Round 3) Linfield 1 - 0 Ballinamallard Youth
Linfield 1 – 0 B’mallard 16.2.08 @ Lisburn
B’mallard failed to reach the last 16 of the N.I.Cup but put up a stubborn resistance before losing by a single goal to a classy Linfield at Lisburn. The Mallards started strongly and were quickly on the attack with Christopher Sheridan and Brian Owens linking well on the left. Sheridan’s resulting cross to John Edgar looked like providing the opener but the keeper was quickly out to deny him. Dean Cochrane’s long throws were also causing problems for the Linfield defence and one of these fell to John Joe Strain who made space for himself in a tight penalty area but his powerful low shot was well saved by the keeper. At the other end Linfield were being restricted to shooting from distance with Andrew Nevin in nets being rarely troubled. As the Mallards pressed, an Andrew Farrell corner was gathered by Sheridan near the front post and returned to Farrell. His cross was headed goal ward by John Edgar but comfortably saved. This bright opening seemed to surprise Linfield but half way through the first half they began to get in their stride and take control. A cross shot was met by a Linfield striker but his finish was judged offside. Minutes later Nevin had to be at his best to tip a shot over the ball and this was followed by several good saves as Linfield stroked the ball about the pitch making the Mallards work hard. Forwards Lee Walker and Strain were forced into defensive duties for the remainder of the half but the Mallards doggedly held on and at half time went in level.
The pattern continued in the second half with some heroic defending by Louis Leonard, Ben Brown and ‘Man of the Match’ Charlie Mitten. Linfield should have taken the lead 10 minutes into the half when a free header struck the post and was cleared with Nevin well beaten. Although the Mallards were under constant pressure Edgar, Walker and Strain playing on the break were giving Linfield some nervous moments but were unable to test the keeper. With 15 minutes remaining the breakthrough came. A cross to the edge of the penalty area was met by a Linfield player whose intended pass struck Leonard in the face. The ball fell kindly to a striker who made no mistake from 6 yards despite a gallant effort by Nevin. In a search for the equaliser Farrell was added to the attack and almost immediately Owens had a 20 yard shot go narrowly over. The game became wide open but Linfield continued to carry the greater threat and were unlucky to strike a post for a second time. With 5 minutes remaining Edgar was fouled 20 yards from goal in a central position. He took the kick which just went the wrong side of the post. This was to be the Mallards last chance and despite this gusty performance they exit the cup.
‘Man of the Match’ Charlie Mitten said, “There are a terrific team and deserved their victory but we did ourselves proud. We battled for everything and with the score at 0 – 0 we always had a chance of causing an upset”.
Bryansburn 0 - 7 B'mallard Youth 19.01.08 @ Bangor
B’mallard U15’s progressed to the last 16 of the N.I. Cup following this convincing 7- 0 demolition of Ards Borough League reigning champions Bryansburn Rangers. The long journey to Bangor didn’t affect the Fermanagh outfit and they opened the scoring in the first minute when a John Edgar through ball was latched onto by Lee Walker who scored from the rebound after his first effort was well saved by the keeper. A flowing move in the 5th minute involving John Joe Strain and Walker saw the impressive Edgar control a cross and scored from 6 yards. The Mallards strong midfield were running Rangers ragged and the tie was effectively over on 15 minutes when Edgar won the ball in midfield, his ball to Christopher Sheridan was quickly dispatched to Strain who finished calmly when 1 on 1 with the keeper. A few minutes later Sheridan’s 20 yard shot rebounded off the bar and this was quickly followed by a Strain shot which also hit the bar. 5 minutes before half time Strain had a shot well saved and Sheridan again hit the bar with another long range shot. On the stroke of half time Walker was brought down in the area and Edgar calmly stroked the penalty home to make the half time score 4 - 0.
The second half continued in the same vein and within 2 minutes of the restart Johnny Hoy made it 5 – 0 after gathering a Louis Leonard free kick on the edge of the penalty area. He out muscled a defender when second favourite to the ball, rounded the keeper and smashed the ball home. Mallard’s keeper Andrew Nevin was a mere spectator as defenders Ben Brown, Charlie Mitten, Dean Cochrane and Leonard had a comfortable afternoon and were never really stretched. 20 minutes into the half a Farrell corner was met by Matthew McConkey whose shot was parried but Hoy reacted quickly to prod the ball into the net for his second. The busy Walker had another goal bound effort tipped round the post for a corner but at the other end Rangers had a shot which narrowly missed the angle. In the dying seconds a McConkey cross to the back post was headed into the danger area by Walker. John Currie’s close control gave him space when closely marked and he had the composure to find the net leave the final score 7 – 0. Following his ‘Man of the Match’ presentation Chris Sheridan said, “We were very solid today and although we scored seven goals credit must also go to the defence who didn’t put a foot wrong. The remaining teams will be of a very high standard but if we get a home tie we will be confident against anyone”
B’mallard Youth 4 – 0 B’mallard Utd 22.12.07
The unfortunate pairing of B’mallard Youth against their ‘B’ team B’mallard Utd in the first round of the N.I. Cup took place at Fisher Park on Saturday with B’mallard Youth proceeding to the second round with a 4 – 0 victory. As expected with this ‘local derby’ the opening stages was a tight affair with tackles flying in but gradually the more experienced Youth gained control and shots from Johnny Hoy and Ben Brown went narrowly wide. Utd were posing little threat up front despite the best efforts of strikers Mark Elliott and David Fitzpatrick but Matthew McConkey and Louis Leonard at the heart of the Youth defence were having a solid game. After 20 minutes the Youth broke the deadlock when a Niall Wallace corner was headed goalwards but was stopped by a defenders hand on the line and a penalty was awarded. Matthew McConkey coolly stroked the ball home to give the Youth a 1 – 0 lead and continue his 100% penalty conversion record in competitive games. Despite further efforts from James Turley and Alonso Houlihan there was no further scoring in the first half largely due to a strong performance from Ryan Sandford at the heart of the Utd defence.
The Youth continued their dominance in the second half and scored from another Wallace corner. Houlihan flicked on a near post header, the ball fell to Brown on the edge of the penalty area and his terrific left foot shot into the top corner gave keeper Nathan Wallace no chance. Defenders Jamie Beatty, Alan Quinn and Darryl Brown were kept busy and but for some timely tackling the Youth would have scored freely. Nathan Wallace was much the busier keeper and his confident handling from a series of shots and crosses frustrated the Youth. Sam Wilson for Utd on the left midfield and Ronan McDonough also had good games but it was the Youth who scored their third from another telling Wallace corner when Ruairi Corrigan rose to head in. Utd put on Ben Smith, Gareth Dykes and Lee Somerville in an effort to get back into the game but it was the Youth who wrapped up the game when Hoy received the ball at the edge of the area. He drove to the by line, beat a defender and his perfect cross to the back post was powerfully headed home by Houlihan. The Youth will now meet Bryansburn Rangers from Comber in round 2 on 19.01.08.
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