Bryansburn Rangers FC

A Tumelty hat-trick assisted Bryansburn to romp to a 4-0 win over Civil Service at Houston Park, home of Bloomfield F.C. Whilst the win propelled Bryansburn three points closer to league leaders, Dundonald, it also left Civil Service fighting a bottom two place with hosts Bloomfield.

On a hard bumpy pitch with a stiff cross field wind which made ball control a little difficult, Bryansburn made all the early running but their shooting left a lot to be desired. However, with fifteen minutes gone, Tumelty latched on to a short corner on the right and cut across the eighteen-yard line before firing the ball into the corner of the net. With McGimpsey, Maguire, Coard and particularly McConkey well in control in the middle of the park, Bryansburn continued in the ascendancy but some horrendous shooting prevented them from establishing a handsome lead. However, midway through the half Coard, working through the left, slipped a neat ball into the middle for Tumelty to double his tally. In defence, Cooling, Kane, Maitland returning from injury and R.Thompson were largely untroubled leaving Steventon to comfortably field the odd long ball. Meanwhile at the other end, Bryansburn continued to squander chances, partly due to the occasional awkward bounce on the hard surface with the major sinner being a well known but nameless Centre-half who miss hit from three yards out.

Minutes into the second half Malomo-Paris surged into the Service box but before he could take on the ‘keeper in a one on one, he was tripped from behind, Although it possibly could have been a red card for the defender as “last man”, Bryansburn settled for a penalty which Tumelty hammered home to complete a welcome hat-trick. Despite being three goals down, Civil Service never gave up and began competing well for the ball in midfield as Bryansburn reshuffled with McGimpsey being withdrawn with a cut above the eye from a clash of heads. With time running out, A.Thompson threaded an astute ball between the twin centre- halves and Culbert wasted no time in latching on to the through ball to smash it into the roof of the net and complete the scoring.

A comfortable enough win for Bryansburn but they will want to see more of the chances they are creating converted into goals. Next up is Dunmurry YM this Saturday.

After a two week break, the 2nds returned to league action at home to Drumaness Mills and continued their good run with a 2-0 victory.

A much changed side began steadily and got into their stride with some good football. The midfield of Mills, Lemon, Shaw and McCullough were dominant and ‘Burn created several chances before their opening goal after twenty minutes. A great piece of skill from Peeples saw him nutmeg the Drumaness defender before firing home, giving the keeper no chance. They almost doubled their lead shortly after, but Mills saw his effort hit the top of the crossbar. At the other end, Drumaness were looking to use the height of their no 9 to good effect, but he was well dealt by Morrow. Edwards was making good runs behind the Drumaness defence on a number of occasions but was not given the chance to add to Bryansburn’s tally as he looked to be harshly blown for offside. HT 1-0

In the second half Bryansburn continued to create the better openings but had no further goals to show for their efforts. With half an hour to go, they were reduced to ten men when Morrow was shown a second yellow card. ‘Burn conceded territory and possession, but the reshuffled defence of Dickson, Storey, Peeples and Bowater defended well against the Drumaness attacks. Galbraith was called on once, and saved brilliantly at the feet of the visiting striker. ‘Burn were still threatening on the counter attack, and Edwards had a couple of one-on-ones with the Drumaness keeper, before Bowater saw his diving header loop over the keeper and into the back of the net for the cushion that ‘Burn needed. A hard fought and well deserved win that keeps the 2nds good run going.

A last minute equaliser saw the 3^rd XI drop two points at Ballygowan as the sides drew 2-2.

Bryansburn were always comfortable in the first half although Andrews had to make a miraculous save to prevent Jones putting through his own goal. Gallagher gave ‘Burn the lead with a good individual goal while Cardwell and Dempster failed to hit the target from good opportunities. Just before halftime Ballygowan equalised when Andrews tipped a shot against the bar and the rebound was hammered home despite a valiant attempt from McComb on the line.

Gallagher made one amazing run beating no fewer than six home players before hitting the crossbar before Cardwell latched on to a Hardy ball on the hour mark and lifted it over the keeper to put ‘Burn back in front.

The rest of the game saw Bryansburn strive in vain for the third goal to kill the game off. They did create some good chances but finishing was poor. For their part Ballygowan battled to the end showing a great fighting spirit and their efforts were rewarded when a cross was volleyed home from close range in the last minute to salvage what they would probably say was a deserved point.

‘Burn IVs played Corrymeela IIs in a Tommy Murphy Memorial Shield match at Ballywooley and lost 2-0.

Both sides had difficulty in playing any fluent football on a bumpy pitch and chances were few and far between. It was Corrymeela who took the lead after 30 minutes when a long ball gave their centre forward the opportunity to outpace the ‘Burn defence and fire a strong shot past Geddis into the corner of the net. Bryansburn responded and they forced a number of corners. John Geddis’ delivery caused problems but no ‘Burn player was able to produce the killer touch. Corrymeela doubled their lead on the stroke of half time when a loose ball was bundled home. ‘Burn continued to struggle to make chances and rarely troubled the Corrymeela keeper.

Gilmer was introduced to the fray and he provided a much-needed outlet, holding the ball up well and bringing others into play. It was he who went closest with an overhead kick, which was well saved. Jones and White also provided fresh legs but ‘Burn were unable to further trouble the Corrymeela keeper and the game finished at 2 nil to the visitors.

On Tuesday night at Ballywooley the 2^nd XI defeated League favourites Lisburn Rangers ll 1-0 while the 3^rd XI were beaten 2-0 by Oakfield Breda.

Tonight (Thur) the 3^rd XI travel to take on Newtown Forest in the Quarterfinal of the Supplementary Cup while the 4^th XI entertain Newtown Forest ll.

On Saturday with the Club trip to Benidorm there are only two home games scheduled with the 1^st XI up against Dunmurry YM and the 4^th XI taking on 82^nd ll.

On Monday th2 4^th XI are at home to Corrymeela ll while the following night the 2^nd XI travel to Bangor Rangers ll.

The next Social event is a Nite at the Races on Saturday 24^th April. Tickets are available from Davy Cole while horses can be purchased from Alan Dempster.

The Annual Dinner and Awards Night is at the Marine Court Hotel on Friday 21^st May. Tickets (£25) are available from Alan Dempster and are being allocated on a first come basis.

Bryansburn Rangers had a comfortable although unconvincing 2-1 win over Newtownards side 1^st Bangor OB in a Division 1B League encounter.

Following heavy overnight rain, which left the playing surface a bit greasy, Bryansburn started brightly enough with both McConkey and Tumelty leading the 1^st Bangor defence a merry dance but despite enumerable shots at goal, all attempts to really test the ‘keeper were to no avail as most sailed harmlessly wide or over the bar. Thankfully, 1^st posed no great threat themselves resulting in a goal-less first half with only ex Bryansburn starlet Ennis putting in some powerful runs on the right for 1^st.

Bryansburn got the second period off to a great start when yet another mazy run from McConkey set up Culbert to hit the target from close range. Fifteen minutes into the half Bryansburn should have had the match well sewn up in the space of three minutes. First, Tumelty jinked his way through the 1^st defence but when faced with the ‘keeper from six yards out somehow managed to tamely poke the ball into the custodian’s hands. A minute later, Culbert stormed his way along the six yard line but was tripped when about to pull the trigger. Unfortunately the referee was on the blind side of the incident and waved play on and then unbelievably, Tumelty again found himself face to face with the ‘keeper and yet again harmlessly poked the ball into the ‘keeper’s hands.

When you miss chances like this you deserve to be punished and that is just what happened. 1^st made a quick break on the right but as Steventon went wide to narrow the angle, a cute lob left him in no mans land as the ball sailed over his head and into the net for the equaliser. However, midway through the half Tumelty again wriggled clear but before he could get in his shot, hopefully this time with a bit more power, he was pulled down leaving Culbert the task of hammering in the spot kick.

With fifteen minutes to go 1^st were reduced to ten men when Magee had to be carried off, victim of a crude, dangerous tackle. However, the ten men of 1^st seemed more able to use the ball and the space better in the remaining time and held out comfortably but before the end there was yet another moment of madness. The 1^st ‘keeper accepted a pass back from one full back and whilst trying to play the ball with his feet across to the other full back, he misread his angle and it took a last gasp desperate lunge to hook the ball off the goal line.

Although it was another three points for Bryansburn, the news from Dundonald was a 2-1 win against Shorts leaving Bryansburn still twelve points adrift from the top, albeit with four games in hand.

Bryansburn 2^nd XI’s trip to Shorts FC ll was called off due to a burst water pipe meaning that they still have a massive eleven League games to play in the last month of the season.

The 3^rd XI had a 3-2 win over Ballygowan, which was more comfortable than the final score suggests.

The first half was one-way traffic as ‘Burn gave Ballygowan a footballing lesson. Bryansburn took an early lead when Beattie split the defence and Dempster scored with a cross-cum-shot to settle the nerves. A second goal soon followed with Thompson flicking a ball from Beckett past ex-Burn player Baillie in the Ballygowan nets. Dempster then played a one-two with Beattie and although his low shot beat the keeper a covering defender managed to clear the ball off the line. ‘Burn were pushing the ball about well all around the pitch but on one occasion were too casual at the back but a forward shot over the bar. Ballygowan did get a foothold in the match when a corner was not cleared and they reduced the deficit.

However minutes later the two-goal advantage was restored when Edwards volleyed a Beattie cross home at the back post. After that the only surprise was that the score remained 3-1 at the interval. ‘Burn attacked at will with Ballygowan chasing shadows and only some good goalkeeping and bad luck prevented a rout.

The second half was a different story as a spirited Ballygowan side battled to the end. They created and missed numerous chances before a good header gave Andrews no chance to pull the score back to 3-2.

At the other end ‘Burn did have their chances to kill the game off. Murphy headed against the bar before Edwards set Cardwell up six yards out but the keeper saved with his legs. Then substitute Flynn stormed through the middle but his drive just cleared the crossbar.

The problem with not finding the 4^th goal was that Ballygowan were in with a chance of snatching a point right up to the final whistle. However, ‘Burn held out comfortably enough although based on their first half superiority they should never have been in the position of defending a one goal cushion late in the game.

The 4^th XI had a comfortable 4-0 win at Agape ll in the Tommy Murphy Memorial shield.

Goals from Patterson and Jeffers in the first twenty minutes put ‘Burn in the driving seat. McAllister then added a third before half time. Agape improved in the second half creating some chances, which were capably dealt with by goalkeeper Geddis. Their cause was not helped however when they had a player somewhat harshly sent off. Even so, Agape continued to press and were awarded a penalty after a foul in the box. Geddis however produced a fine save to maintain the three goal cushion. Bryansburn raised their game again and pressure from Turnbull led to an Agape defender pushing the ball into his own net. Alex Jones came on at the back for the last ten minutes to partner son Kris and ‘Burn comfortably saw out the remainder of the match. 

Tonight the 3^rd XI entertain Ravenhill YM at Ballywooley, kick-off 6.15pm while training is as normal for the other three senior teams.

On Saturday: 1^st XI V Civil Service (a), 2^nd XI V Drumaness Mills ll (h), 3^rd XI V Ballygowan (a) and 4^th XI V Corrymeela ll (h).

The next social function is a “Nite at the Races” in the Rose on Saturday 24^th April so please keep that night free. Horses are now on sale – please see Alan Dempster. Tickets are available for that event and also for the Annual Dinner and Awards Night in the Marine Court Hotel on Friday 21^st May. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come basis. Tickets are £25 – again see Alan Dempster.