BWEENG RANGERS BALLYCLOUGH 1980

BWEENG RANGERS/BALLYCLOUGH:




Plunkett Carter's recently published fifty years of the Cork AUL, which is now on sale at all newsagents, mentions many of the clubs that came and went over the period. One such is Bweeng Rangers and Pat Taylor, who has been given the job of organising a re-union, has been in touch requesting information.



Bweeng joined the league in 1978/79 and their high point came on Easter

Sunday, 1980, when they played North Cork neighbours Ballyclough (themselves just back in the AUL this season) in the final of the third division league cup, then known as the Dunlop Employees' Social Club League Cup.



Ballyclough, captained by John O'Donoghue and with Billy Moloney (who won a second division league cup medal with Boher Celtic in the previous season) in hot scoring form, spoiled the Bweeng party and won 2 - 1. Bweeng also had a couple of ex Boher stalwarts in Denis Kiely and Ger O'Connell but they couldn't avoid their second defeat of the season.



Bweeng had home advantage at the local Community Field but went a goal down in the 4th minute when Willie Walsh converted a spotter after Donal Kelleher dragged down Moloney.



Ballyclough, boosted by that early goal, dominated the first 30 minutes and they stretched their lead in the 26th minute when Brian O'Connor's chip over the advancing keeper was turned in by Moloney.



Bweeng hopes were raised just before the break until it was realised that

Donal Kelleher's "goal" against Ted Ownes came from an indirect free kick. They had hard luck early in the second half when a Kiely shot from a Gerry Horgan corner came back off the post.



The losers finally got a deserved goal in the 76th minute when Horgan blasted home from a spotter. They piled on the pressure but Ballyclough, with keeper Ted Owens in brilliant form, held on to win. When Owens was beaten, Teddy O'Keeffe came to the rescue by heading a Horgan effort off the line.



The triumph was particularly sweet for captain Johnny O'Donoghue, who received the cup from Tony Fitzgerald, and for manager Gerard O'Connor, the co-founders of Ballyclough. That narrow defeat was as close as Bweeng got to honours during their stay in the AUL.



The players that did duty for Bweeng on the day and the men that Pat Taylor (022 - 22236) is now seeking to reunite were: Ned Lehane, Donal Kelleher, Eamonn Connors, Pat Corbett, Dinny Kelleher, Mick Walsh, Gerry Horgan, Denis Kiely, Colin O'Brien, Brendan O'Shea, Joe O'Flynn, Gerard O'Flynn, and Michael O'Flynn.