SML round-up: Newpark mark debut season with first trophy

THREE more pieces of silverware were decided last week as the Tower Blinds Ballymena Saturday Morning League season gets down to the nitty-gritty.

Newpark Olympic marked their first season in the league by winning the third division knockout competition, the Sammy Moore Trophy, with a convincing 4-1 win over Braid United in the May Day Monday final.

The second division cup event, the George McAuley Cup, went the way of Ahoghill Thistle who beat North End 1-0 in Friday night’s decider at Michelin.

It provided a modicum of revenge for Thsitle, after North End had pipped them to the Tower Blinds Division Two title, with the Dunfane-based side collecting the trophy last week.

In the Division One title race, meanwhile, All Saints Old Boys kept doing what they have to, with a crucial 2-0 win over Harryville Homers – a result which ends Jason Jordan’s side’s league aspirations.

Carniny Rangers continue to close the gap on All Saints as they clear the backlog of league games brought about by their extended runs in both the Junior Shield and Junior Cup.

The outcome of the title could be a lot clearer this Saturday morning when Crniny and All Saints meet in a monumental clash at Wakehurst.

SAMMY MOORE TROPHY FINAL

Braid United 1, Newpark Olympic 4: Newpark romped to a four goal lead in the first half which secured them their first silverware as an SML side.

Olympic came out of the blocks with all cylinders firing and started at a great pace against a big strong Braid side who were surprised by the pace of the two front men James and Gary Brown.

The opening goal goal came after 4 minutes when a cross into the box by James Brown was laid off by Stephen Brown to Adam Scullion on edge of box to slot home in right hand corner of the net.

Continuous pressure by Newpark paid off with a sweet ball played through by Gary Brown to Jamie Nutter to slot home their second on 20 minutes.

Newpark were bossing the game from back to front and then Stephen Brown found space in midfield to slip the ball through to his brother Gary to chip the keeper and defender from just inside the box on the half hour mark.

A dream first half for Newpark was completed with their fourth goal 5 minutes from half time when the ball was played out from the back to Billy McIlwaine who played it up the left to Ian Brownlees who slotted the ball through to Robert Crawford who hammered it into the roof of the net.

Braid started the second half like a team with a mission and pulled a goal back after

4 minutes when a cross from Charles Allen was not cleared by the Newpark defence and substitute Ryan McCloskey was on hand to fire home and reduce the arrears.

Braid’s cause was also helped 10 minutes later when Newpark had a man sent off but Braid never looked like recovering from their first half nightmare.

After the final whistle Raymond Aitcheson of Clough Glasgow Rangers supporters Club handed over the Sammy Moore Cup to Stephen Brown, Captain of Newpark Olympic and the trophy went back to Antrim for only the second time in its 21 years existence.

Braid United: Craig Cubitt, Jonny Reid, Charles Allen, Kieran Chappell, Phil Hill, Stuart Smyth, Derek Montgomery, Brett Thompson, Flo Bordieaneau, Rab Fleck. Subs: Mark Reid, Richard McClean, Rodney Forsythe, Ryan McCloskey, Conor McLarnon.

Newpark Olympic: Davis Thompson, Robert Crawford, Stuart Borrows, Gary Surgenor, Billy McIlwaine, Ian Brownlees, Stephen Brown, Adam Scullion, James Brown, Gary Brown,Jamie Nutter. Substitutes: Phil Smyth, Glenn Todd, Richard Young, Richard Cromie, Damien Geoghagen.

Referee:Mr Lindsay McConnell. Assistant Referees:Mr Anto Quigg and Mr Finlay Sloan.

GEORGE McAULEY CUP FINAL

Ahoghill Thistle 1, North End 0

A goal from Jordan McCullough in the first half was enough to win the George McAuley Cup Final for Thistle and in doing so they prevented North End completing a double and gain some consolation for not beating North End to the Division Two Title.

Both teams had chance early on from free kicks with Ryan Stewart curling an effort against the post after seven minutes for Thistle and then four minutes later Chris Smiley saw his free kick tipped over the bar by Richard Tennant in the Thistle goal.

The goal which proved to be the only goal of the game came on 15 minutes when a Jason Stewart corner kick caused a goal mouth scramble and Jordan McCullough was on hand to poke the ball home from close range.

The second half was a very scrappy affair with little in the way of goal action until the hour mark when Sean Ward had to be at his best to prevent Jason Stewart from putting Thistle two up.

North End threw everything at Thistle in the final 10 minutes as they forced a succession of corners which Thistle keeper Richard Tennant did well to come and punch clear, but on two occasions when he failed to deal with it North End almost scored firstly when Gerard Spurgeon saw his volley hit the crossbar and then Paul Donegan saw his header cleared off the line as Thistle hung on to win the George McAuley Cup.

After the final whistle Bertie McAuley brother of the late George McAuley handed the George McAuley Cup over to Maurice Spence and Danny Brown Captain’s of Ahoghill Thistle and the celebrations began.

Ahoghill Thistle: Richard Tennant, Maurice Spence, Ryan Stewart, Jason McFadden, Jordan McCullough, Gary Tennant, Danny Brown, David Campbell, David Tennant, Gary Glass, Jason Stewart. Subs: Alec McDonald, Gareth Montgomery, Andrew Boville, Mark Young, Richie Irwin.

North End: Sean Ward, Ryan Quinn, Steven McAvoy, Kieran Butler, Gerard Spurgeon, Dean Dunlop, Anthony Lee, Ryan Brady, Brian Paul Donnelly, Donald Crawford, Chris Smiley. Subs: Patrick O’Neill, Damien McGarry, Paul Donegan, Paul Devlin, Niall Ward.

Referee: Mr Anto Quigg. Assistant Referees: Mr Gary Crawford & Mr Brian Patterson.

BSML DIVISION ONE

All Saints OB 2, Harryville Homers 0: Second half goals from Gavin Burnside and Alan Telford saw Saints claim all three points in this top of the table clash and keeps them in the hunt to win the Division One title.

The first half was end to end stuff with both teams probing without creating any clear cut chances as defences were on top.

As the half wore on Saints started to assert themselves more and an Alan Telford shot forced a save out of Ryan Martin in the Homers goal and the both Peter McReynolds and Gavin Burnside dragged shots wide as the half finished in stalemate.

Saints got the opening goal on 51 minutes when Gavin Burnside reacted well to a poor headed clearance from a Homers defender and rifled the ball beyond Ryan Martin.

With Homers piling forward in search of the equaliser Saints were always dangerous on the break and on one of these breaks Philip Lynn broke down the right and beat his marker before being pulled down in the penalty box and the penalty was awarded. Alan Telford stepped up and hammered the ball beyond the reach of Martin to give his side a two goal lead with 12 minutes to play.

Carniny Rangers 3, Moylena 1: Carniny entertained Moylena in their third league game in five days as they continue to play catch up on the leaders.

Their two wins in midweek hadn’t taken any sharpness away as it took Aaron Wilkinson only two minutes to find the net after good work on the right hand side from Chris Clail.

Mo McDowell kept up a good scoring run with his third in three games in the 15 th minute as his shot sailed past the unsighted Stevenson from 18 yards.

A third came soon after and a fine strike it was from Alan Cochrane again from distance, the ball fizzed into the top corner to give Carniny a three goal advantage.

Possibly with their eye on the week ahead Carniny played the second period at a lesser tempo and Moylena enjoyed some longer spells of possession and managed a goal in the 69th minute when a shot from Gavin McConnell deceived Carniny keeper Mark Smith and found the net.

BSML DIVISION TWO

North End 5, Dunloy Athletic 1: North End were given the chance to clinch the Division Two title on Tuesday night thanks to Carnlough’s defeat of Ahoghill Thistle the previous week but they had to survive a scare from Dunloy Athletic to run out convincing winners and seal the Division Two title.

After a scoreless first half, Dunloy shocked the home side 20 minutes into the second half when Brendan McCarry played in Dermott Brady who lobbed the ball over Sean Ward and into the net to make it 1-0.

This shocked North End and the reaction was immediate as two minutes later Dean Dunlop cut in from the left and fired a shot beyond the Dunloy keeper from 18 yards.

Three minutes later North End were awarded a penalty when Chris Smiley was fouled just inside the box. Smiley himself stepped up and made no mistake from the spot kick.

North End were now well on top and Smiley all but sealed the victory on 77 minutes when he hammered home from just inside the box to make it 3-1.

Dean Dunlop got his second goal and North End fourth of the game after good work from Ryan Brady set him up nd with four minutes to go Chris Smiley completed his hat trick and put the icing on the cake for North End as he made it 5-1 and sealed a magnificent comeback which saw them crowned Division Two Champions and remain unbeaten for their whole league campaign.

With Ahoghill Thistle confirmed as runners-up, a win for FC Antrim at the weekend propelled them into the Play Offs while a draw between Carnlough Swifts and Dunloy Athletic left FC Penarol in third place with Dunloy Athletic 4th, Carnlough Swifts 5th and FC Antrim 6th.

The Allen Cup Final (Division Two Play Offs) sponsored by Leighinmohr House Hotel will take place this Friday at Showgrounds 4 and will feature the winners of FC Penarol/FC Antrim play the winners of Carnlough Swifts/Dunloy Athletic with a 7pm start.

BSML DIVISION THREE

Long time leaders Cushendall look to have blown their Division Three Champions chances when they were beaten 4-1 by Inver Athletic on Friday night.

Inver only have to win one of their last three games to be crowned Champions. Cushendall have to wait to see if Braid United can beat Galgorm in their last match to join Cushendall on 57 points and force a play off to see who finishes Runners Up and gain automatic promotion with the other side going into the Play Offs. .

OTHER RESULTS

BSML Division One: Abbeyview 2, Carniny Rangers 3; Harryville Homers 9, Michelin 0; Carniny Rangers 3, Westend Athletic 1; Ahoghill Rovers 6, Shore Wanderers 3; Shore Wanderers 3, Clough Rangers 1; Randalstown Sky Blues 5, Westend Athletic 2

BSML Divison Two: Randalstown 1, Waveney Swifts 3; Connor 1, FC Penarol 6; Connor 0, FC Antrim 10; Carnlough Swifts 1, Dunloy Athletic 1

BSML Divison Three: Braid United 3, Inver Athletic 2; Galgorm 1, Atletico Antrim 1; Cushendall 1 Inver Athletic 4 (played Friday); Lisnafillan Swifts 0, Braid United 1; Raceview Athletic 2, Woodside 5.

Rainey Cup quarter-final: Randalstown Sky Blues 0, Harryville Homers 3

FIXTURES

Tuesday, May 15 (7pm) - BSML Division One: Harryville Homers v Carniny Rangers (Wakehurst 3).

Wednesday, May 16 (7pm) - BSML Division Three: Wakehurst Star v Inver Athletic (Dunfane); Galgorm v Woodside (Galgorm); Atletico Antrim v Riverdale.

Friday, May 18 (7pm) – BSML Division Two Play Offs - Leighinmohr House Hotel Cup Final (Showgrounds 4).

Saturday, May 19 (10.15am) - Rainey Cup quarter-finals: North End v Westend Athletic (Dunfane).

BSML Division One: Carniny Rangers v All Saints OBs (Wakehurst 6); Randalstown Sky Blues v Harryville Homers.

BSML Division Three: Inver Athletic v Galgorm; Newpark Olympic v Atletico Antrim (Forum).

Monday, May 21 (7pm) - BSML Division Three Play Offs - Paddy Dunlop Cup Semi-Finals (Showgrounds 4 & 5).

Rainey Cup Quarter Final: FC Antrim v FC Moylena (Forum).

Tuesday, May 22 (7pm) - Ace Cup Semi-Finals: Carniny Rangers v Ballykeel (Showgrounds 4); Harryville Homers v Clough Rangers (Showgrounds 5).