FAIRHILL UTD DEC 2000

FAIRHILL UTD:




Fairhill Utd, the Murphy's Stout AUL Team of the Month for October, are nothing if not ambitious. "Our aims for the season are the league (2A) and the three cups," says manager Martin O'Sullivan.



That four-pronged ambition has perhaps been given an extra edge because of the fact that the Northsiders lost their grip early in the campaign on the Saxone Cup that they won in such an exciting fashion last term.



But that loss to West End Utd sparked their current run and they have now chalked up nine wins in a row. The three cups include the AOH and the knockers will say that O'Sullivan and his assistant Liam Walsh are trying to bite off more than they can chew. But remember that premier side St John Bosco's are ranked among their nine victims and Fairhill pulled off that shock in the AOH.



Park Utd, another premier side, provide the next opposition for Fairhill in the AOH, a place in the last sixteen at stake. Park will have home advantage in Mitchelstown and joint managers Ned Finn and Mick Cotter will be on their guard. Colin Murray (10) and Mick O'Sullivan (6) are the leading marksmen for the 'Hill but no less than eleven players of the 17 strong Two A leaders squad have hit the target this season.



The Corinthians Cup is another of Fairhill's targets and they brought that a step closer recently with a thrilling 3 - 1 advance over higher ranked Waterloo. The City Cup, which will start after the Christmas, is the third cup target.



Fairhill, with five wins from as many games, are sitting pretty at the top of Two A. Ballyclough and Newmarket are third and fourth respectively but the main opposition is likely to come from fourth placed Mallow Celtic. Donoughmore too could also come into the reckoning but a frequently unplayable pitch and a consequent backlog handicap them.



The longer term ambition for this lively Fairhill club is to gain premier status and the committee which consists of Una McCarthy (chairperson), Tony Reddin (vice-chair), John McCarthy (secretary), and Gareth McGuire (treasurer), will do all they can to make that come true. John McCarthy is the current Clubman of the Year while top marksman Colin Murray is Player of the Year.



The club plays its home games at the North Mon. It is an excellent pitch and they acknowledge the great help given by the brothers. Also much appreciated is the sponsorship coming in from the Anglers Sports Lounge, MB Scaffolding, and Hyland Security.



The 1 - 0 AOH win over Bosco's was included in the October streak that led to the award and the other victories (all in the league) were 5 - 1 over Ballyclough, 6 - 2 away and 4 - 0 at home over Park Utd B, and 4 - 1 over Glanworth Utd. Twenty goals for and just four against. Impressive stats!



Fairhill's next game is against Ballintotis in the Corinthians Cup. The Mon is the venue for Sunday's game and kick off time is 10.45am.