BALLINHASSIG 1999

Ballinhassig AFC




Ballinhassig, founded twenty years back, are bulldozing their way to a brighter future, not that the past has been that bad. The heavy machinery has moved into their newly acquired lands at Gortalough and two full sized pitches have been laid which should be ready for the end of next season. According to PRO Anthony O'Donovan, there will enough space left over for dressing rooms, a car park, and a good sized decent training pitch.



The new grounds will see their ten year tenure in Crossbarry come to an end. Naturally enough, they are delighted with the development even though it is putting a big strain on the fund-raising activities and O'Donovan would dearly love some help in this area. Existing sponsors include: PVC Fabrications, Five Mile Inn, Red Abbey Motors, and O'Riordan Insurances.



Ballinhassig AFC was founded in 1979 and among the founder members were

Donal Donovan, Denis Cullinane, Billy O'Brien, Michael Murphy, John Joe

O'Brien, Ollie Jordan and Pat Desmond. Playing on their first pitch at

Goggins Hill, Ballinhassig, the club entered the West Cork League and won

promotion in their first season. The club left the West Cork League after

16 seasons to join the AUL in the summer of 1994, at that time leading the

West Cork League Roll of Honour with 11 titles.



Unusually the first team is managed by a trio of experienced players in Declan Bowen, Noel Connolly and Ger Spillane, doing the job for a second term following the success they had with the County Cup last season. Ger Spillane has played in every cup final that the club has won since it was founded up to the County Cup final, which he was ruled out of through injury.



Once again, Mick Brady leads in the scoring stakes. Mick has been a prolific striker and has been the club's top scorer for 3 of the last 4 years. He also has the distinction of scoring in every round of last season's County Cup, including the winner in Turner's Cross.



Jason McCarthy captains the first team for the second year in succession.

Jason, who is one of the youngest on the first team, leads by example. He is a tireless worker and is never willing to accept defeat.



Former goalkeeper Wesley Bateman, who had a spell in the AUL inter-league panel three years ago, is perhaps the best known of the Ballinhassig players but not because of his considerable soccer skills. Wesley is now concentrating on hockey in which he has been capped for Ireland, also playing in goal.



Another man to leave the club recently is second team manager Pat Rocks. He too is doing well for himself and has taken up a coaching position with Boston University. Billy Mackessy has taken over the managership role for the B team.



The awards for players of the year and top scorers for each junior team,

sponsored by O'Mahony Packaging, went as follows: First Team Player

of the Year - Pat Clancy; First Team Top Scorer - Mick Brady; Second Team

Player of the Year - Alan Coughlan; Second Team Top Scorer - Jerry Coleman.



Despite a terrible start to the season, the first team have climbed the

table into the top half after a run of wins in the league. The second team

got off to a great start this season but has lost nearly half the panel through emigration, players studying abroad, or changes in work commitments, and have slid down to third from bottom in AUL 3.



This year's first team panel is almost identical to last year's having lost only one player from the cup winning squad. But it is stronger with all the younger

players showing improvements. Tadgh Coleman has been added to the front line and he has already caused problems for opposing defenders.



The busy PRO spoke about their main aim for the season: "Obviously we would love to retain the County Cup and won't be giving up our grip on it easily. While promotion now looks beyond the first team, we would like to be thereabouts. The second team would be realistically aiming for a top-half finish in AUL 3".



In the longer term, Ballinhassig intend to gain promotion to the Premier divisions, and to increase the numbers involved in coaching schoolboy, Under 17 and youths teams, and to keep up their record of first team players winning medals every season as they have done since joining the AUL.



Sean Spillane is the club President and the officers are Denis Cullinane (Chairman), Ger Desmond (Secretary), John O'Callaghan (Treasurer), Anthony O'Donovan (PRO), Noel Connolly (Registrar), John Crowley (Vice-Chairman), Donal Donovan (Vice-Secretary), Ger McCarthy, T.J. Reardon, John Goulding and Pio Lane.



The first side's most recent encounter saw them in action against visitors College Corinthians in the AUL 1 League and it was quite an exciting affair according to O'Donovan: "We were comfortably ahead in the first half, going 2-0 up at half time, however we let Corinthians back into the game, seeing them equalise before Jason McCarthy was brought down inside the box. However the winner was not direct from the spot, and the 'keeper managed to stop the penalty and two shots from the rebounds before McCarthy shook the net with the fourth bite of the cherry".



On Friday next, at 11.00am, Ballinhassig B travel to take on Grangevale in AUL 3. The first team have an interesting league game in AUL 1 on Sunday next (10.45am) when they entertain Pearse Celtic.



Roll of Honour

West Cork League

Division II Winners: 79-80

Division I Winners: 82-83, 88-89, 90-91, 93-94

League Cup Winners: 93-94

Division I Cup Winners: 85-86

Flor Crowley Cup Winners: 81-82, 85-86, 88-89

Beamish Cup Winners: 92-93



Cork AUL

Division 3 Winners: 94-95

Division 2 Runners-up: 95-96

Division 1 Runners-up: 96-97, 97-98

County Cup Winners: 98-99