Ballymena Hockey CLub round-up: Men hit nine in first league win of season

Ballymena Men’s Firsts XI were keen to shake off a recent run of bad league form against Saintfield at the Showgrounds on Saturday.

Their previous two league encounters against Portrush and PSNI had both ended in defeat - but that statistic came to an end in spectacular style as an on form Ballymena side completely overwhelmed a mediocre Saintfield 9-0.

As the game opened there wasn’t much between the two sides with Saintfield giving as good as they got during the initial exchanges.

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However, after about ten minutes of play the hosts found their rhythm and it was all one way traffic from then on in!

Ballymena played with the kind of spirit and energy that they had been lacking in their two previous league confrontations and with a style of passing hockey that was not only pleasing on the eye but effectively ran the Saintfield defence ragged! Ballymena’s opening goal came courtesy of Clive Fulton who in a moment of composure, beat the besieged Saintfield keeper with a rasping reverse stick drive.

Pat McKeown then graciously received an inch perfect pass from Chris Hogg and found the roof off the net in spectacular fashion. Ballymena’s third goal was probably the pick of the bunch and the defining moment of the game!

The run, initiated form deep in the host’s half, saw the Ballymena forwards surge down the middle of the pitch brushing off any challenges in their formidable wake.

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Passing was fluent, accurate and it fell to Mark Allision to pick his spot and chip the ball over the Saintfield keeper with delicacy and exactitude to round off the first half.

After half time then Ballymena were leading the charge with fearless running and willingness to shoot on site.

The goals were coming easy for the hosts now with Tim Lowery and Matt Corbett securing a brace each!

Alex McKeown too was in on the act and blasted one home in spectacular fashion from the top of the circle!

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Ballymena then twisted the knife further when Pat McKeown dragged in a short corner and Tory Alexander smashed the ball past the Saintfield keeper following a barn storming solo run up the centre of the pitch.

This was a well-deserved victory for the hosts who took their chances and dominated the game throughout.

Saintfield on the other hand offered little resistance and, the fact that the deficit wasn’t even greater was testament to the brave performance of their keeper who managed to deny the efforts form Andrew Crooks on no less than three separate occasions!

Ballymena: Eddie Hampton, Chris Hogg, Andrew Bell, Andrew Shields, Tory Alexander, Clive Fulton, Vic Orr, Alex McKeown, Pat McKeown, Andrew McKelvie, Matt Corbett, Tim Lowry, Mark Allision, Andrew Crooks.

LADIES

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Ballyclare 0, Ballymena 1: Ballymena Ladies, still smarting following their league defeat to Lisnagarvey last week, were determined to re align their fortunes on Saturday against Ballyclare 1st XI.

Right from the off then Ballymena piled on the pressure and had their first attempt at goal from a penalty corner in the opening minutes.

The hosts were unfortunate not to convert this impressive strike from Clare Gillespie, whose effort was deflected harmlessly past the post.

The Ballyclare keeper was on blistering form and denied Ballymena on a number of occasions with her acrobatics and no nonsense resolve.

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The visitors were now bossing the mid field but couldn’t, try as the might, to convert their efforts into goals! Ballyclare on the other hand had stepped up to the plate and were ruffling feathers at the visitor’s end of the pitch with a counter that posed a threat to the Ballymena defence.

Unfortunately for Ballyclare they hadn’t made any allowance for the formidable pair of Sara Allen and Jenny Sutherland who formed the main stay of the Ballymena resistance.

Allen and Sutherland made sure the hosts attack was dealt with efficiently thus denying Ballyclare the opportunity to gain a foothold in this game of attrition.

The first half was wearing on now and Ballymena tested the host’s keeper again and again to no avail and the score remained 0-0 at the break.

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Following the restart the Ballyclare resolve hardened and for a time they had Ballymena on the ropes and relying heavily on their defence.

Ballymena did offer a glimmer of hope in the form of blistering runs from Lauren Kennedy, Aimee Logan and Kirsten Young, either one of which could easily have broken the deadlock but for the resolve of the hosts keeper.

Towards the end of the second half and probably against the run of play Ballymena did manage to snatch a goal from a penalty corner, courtesy of an excellent strike from Kirsten Young.

Ballymena adopted a defensive strategy to play out the rest of this game which found Ballyclare piling on the pressure in an intense last few minutes of the half.

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The Ballymena keeper, Emma Leslie, saved no fewer than four penalty corners in the dying embers of this exciting game of hockey.

Leslie was ably assisted at the back by an impressive alliance formed between Grace McBurney and Cathrine McCracken who tackled, battled and denied space to the Ballyclare forwards.

This was a precious win for Ballymena and an outstanding performance for Emma Leslie in particular, without whom the visitors probably would not have triumphed in this ‘the game of two keepers’.

Ballymena: Emma Leslie, Sara Allen, Jenny Sutherland, Grace McBurney, Catherine McCracken, Sarah McBride, Becky Reynolds (captain), Clare Gillespie, Amy Logan, Aimee Logan, Kirsten Young, Lauren Kennedy.

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