All Saints Machine starting to tick.

ACFL D2

All Saints 3-9 O’Donovan Rossa 1-8

All Saints slow start to their league campaign needed a kick-start against Division 2 league leaders O’Donovan Rossa dispite being without several key players. Injuries have been constant thorn in the ballymena’s bid for promotion but it may be a blessing in disguise as several 2nd team players have done more than filled jerseys, instead fearlessly playing their way into contention for championship selection.

From the throw in youthful league leaders Rossa started the brighter with their lively full forward causing ‘Saints veteran full-back Damien Casey problems with his pace to give Rossa the first point of the game. Manager Barney McCann was quick to reshuffle his full backline moving captain Shimmy McAffee to full back and Damien Casey onto the much sturdier Rossa corner forward.

All Saints benefited from this almost instantaneously as Shimmy McAffees strong run out of defense led to Liam Cassely getting ‘Saints on the board. Rossa soon replied with a 30 yard free to keep them ahead by a point after the 10minute mark.

Rossa could not handle the ‘Saints ball winning ability round the middle of the field during kickouts with brothers Paddy and Terry Logan fielding well. This possession led to a flurry of 3 goals within 5minutes thanks to great teamwork from the ‘Saints forward lines. The first was from the industrious Conor Crilly who was fed by teammate Liam Cassley, the two reversed roles as Crilly then set-up Cassleyy who finished just as cool to increase his tally to 1-1. The third goal came through good movement from Owen O’Kane and Aidan Walsh leading to Tiernan Walsh having the goals in his sights before smashing a shot by a helpless Rossa goalie.

The home sides waves of attack were not finished as the Damien Casey broke out of defense to play a bullet pass ‘Bugsy’ McCann, who unselfishly sent Terry Logan through to stroke an easy point leaving the Rossa defense in tatters.

Rossa tried an onslaught of their own but it was to no avail as halfbacks Micky ‘Gooch’ McCarry and Andy Kelly were doing there best Terry O’Neill impression by sweeping up any balls the Falls Road men tried to play by them.

The Rossa attack finally broke through the ‘Saints defense but only to come up against the trusted shot-stopper Micky O’Kane who came up with an outstanding point blank save.

Paddy Logan and ‘Bugsy’ McCann showed their class as they continued to put over the scores leaving the Slemish Park side 10points ahead of their division leading counterparts going into the half time interval.

Half-time score All Saints 3-4 Vs O’Donovan Rossa 0-3

The Ballymena men began the second half as they did the first with a point straight from the off. Rossa then reduced the lead to 8points. The two teams went end to end hitting several wides but ‘Saints midfielders were dominating the kickouts with Ryan Lynass playing one of his best games in an All Saints jersey. The former Donegal Celtic man is in only his 3rd year stripping out for the senior team, was beginning to dominate in the the air, tactically breaking down ball to his team-mates and sending in busting tackles to any Rossa man running into his path.

Tiernan Walsh put the ball over from 35 yards while Liam Cassleyy was running at the Rossa defense at any given opportunity feeding Terry Logan on one occasion who went on to fist over the bar.

Rossa made an attempt to comeback from the 9point deficit as they moved their impressive Number 7 to corner forward. He immediately began to give the effective Joe rocks problems by rounding him and smashing the ball into the back of the net.

All Saints showed their new found depth depth by bringing on Club Captain Paul McCann and Players Player of the year Kevin McAllistar on for the injured duo Connor Crilly and Shimmy MacAfee.

Rossa showed alot of fight with their number eight going close to goal from 20yards only for the ball to skim over for a point to reduce the lead to 5points.

Continuing to show their depth the ‘Saints brought on Peter McNicholl and speedy season regular Jo Rafferty for the hard working pair Aidan Walsh and Damien Casey. The changes began to steady the ship along with an outstanding 25yard point from Liam Cassley from the far left of the field.

Ballymena held on to win by 6points despite a few late attacks from O’Donavan Rossa.

A Total Team Victory. All Saints won through great team-work, unselfishness as well as a a will to win that Rossa could not match.

Sports Development Plan – Meeting Tuesday 4th August

As part of the club’s award of a grant from the sports council NI, it is essential that a 5 year plan is drawn up to focus on 4 main areas female participation, underprivileged, ethnic backgrounds and people with a disability.

For this purpose we are asking members to attend a meeting on Tuesday 4th August at 8.30pm to assist in this plan. The meeting will finish at 9.30pm. In the meantime if you have any constructive ideas please post in the forum or by e-mail to secretary.allsaintsballymena.antrim@gaa.ie 

Please spare the time for this very important information gathering.

All Saints Golf Day – Sunday 16th August

As you may be aware the annual golf day will be held on Sunday 16th August at Raceview Golf Club. Tee-off times are from 2.30 – 4.30pm.

The price for the round is £35/person – £140/4ball and hole sponsors £50.

Can you make an effort to support this fundraiser, the club needs as much support as possible? As usual an early response would be very much appreciated.

All Saints Golf Day – Sunday 16th August

August 16, 2009

A Chairde,

All  Saints will be hosting the Annual Golf Classic at Raceview Golf Club on Sunday 16th August. Price for the round is £35 per person for everyone. 

The price to sponsor a hole is £50. There will be the usual prizes and presentation in Raceview clubhouse afterwards. 

Please make every effort to support this fundraising event. The club does need as much support as possible.

Contact Hector, Felix or myself

Is Mise Le Meas

Alaster

All Saints Invitation to All -Ireland Football 7’s competition

All Saints have been invited to the newly formed Football Sevens Competition which will have teams participating  from all of  Ireland.  These teams will be the selection from last year’s Club Intermediate county champions.   The Competition will take place on the Eve of the All Ireland Football final, being held this year on Saturday the 19th of September in Ratoath, Co Meath.

Could you pick your 7?

 

Tyrone collect Anglo Celt

Ulster Senior Football Championship Final:
Tyrone 1-18 Antrim 0-15

Antrim’s fairytale run in the Ulster Championship came to an abrupt end in Sunday’s provincial decider at Clones, which the Red Hand won by 1-18 to 0-15.

In truth, the game was over inside 12 minutes, by which time the All-Ireland champions had already established a 1-8 to 0-1 lead.

Man of the match Séan Cavanagh, who started at midfield in the absence of Enda McGinley, scored a goal in the 11th minute which had Liam Bradley’s young side facing an uphill battle.

Cavanagh finished with 1-4, while Paddy Cunningham cobbled together a remarkable personal tally of 0-11for the underdogs.

While Antrim were outplayed, they did have their chances, and Cunningham could have sneaked a vital goal just before the break to reduce the deficit to something more manageable, but he opted to fist over after Tony Scullion had made the opening.

Tyrone led by 1-8 to 0-5 at the break – Joe McMahon and Tommy McGuian scoring a brace of points each in th opening 35 minutes – and they made the better start to the second half. Antrim, who were brilliantly led by Cunningham, did come with a late charge, but Tyrone were always able to keep them them arm’s length.

The All-Ireland champions claimed their 11th Ulster title, while Antrim’s wait for a provincial title will go on for another year at least.

Related:

- Video: Ulster GAA President Tom Daly pays tribute to Antrim before handing the Anglo Celt to Brian Dooher
- Video: Tyrone captain Brian Dooher addresses the crowd after receiving the cup
- Video: History, colour and nostalgia at the 2009 Ulster Finals in Clones
- Video: Tyrone’s Sean Cavanagh scored five times from play in the Ulster Final
- Video: Tyrone’s vice-captain Ryan McMenamin had an eventful day in Clones
- Video: Antrim captain Paddy Cunningham gave the fans plenty to shout about by scoring 11 points

Nicky Rackard Final – Just Reward For Eoin

A big congratulations must go to Eoin Elliott who expertly refereed the Nicky Rackard final at Croke Park last Saturday against London and Meath. Eoin was ably assisted by his team of umpires, Martin Campbell, Hector Cassley, Vincent Casey, Sean Magee and Johnny Sayers. This was a well deserved and prestigious honour for Eoin, his team, the All Saints club and the county. The All Saints Club are very proud of you Eoin.

Juvenile Hurling Notice 09-07-09

Na Naomh Uile – Iománaíocht na n-Óg

(All Saints – Juvenile Hurling)

 

U12 Ground Skills Competition

Well done to our U12 hurlers who took part in the Feis na nGleann ground skills blitz last Thursday. We were a bit slow off the blocks in the first two matches, losing to strong Glenarm and Glenshesk sides, but the lads regrouped and finished off well by beating Sean Stinson’s  and narrowly losing to eventual competition winners, Randalstown, by a goal and a point.

As stated before, this is a young squad and most opposition sides at this level are taller and stronger. However, when the lads concentrated on going for the ball they showed that they are a match for the bigger teams and that size is no substitute for hunger, passion and skill.

 

This Week’s Fixtures

Thursday 09^th July – U12 League v Sean Stinson’s at home.

Players should be at Slemish Park for 06:30pm.

 

Summer Hurling Programme

Fixtures – Please refer to the attached fixture list for U12 and U10 matches and blitzes. Dates for a couple of matches which were called off earlier have still to be sorted; we hope to arrange these sometime in August.

Summer Camps – Cúl Camps cost £30 per child; Premier Electric U10 camps cost £15 per child. Application forms and further details can be downloaded from the North Antrim Website: http://wwwnorthantrimgaa.com.

 

Juvenile Hurling Training Times

Wednesday nights

P2 –P4 – 06:30 – 07:45 

P5 – Y8 -06:30 – 08:00 – Training will be held as normal on Wednesday 15^th July.

 

Congratulations

Eoin Elliott will referee the Nicky Rackard final at Croke Park this Saturday between London and Meath. We wish Eoin and his team of umpires, Martin Campbell, Hector Cassley, Vincent Casey, Sean Magee and Johnny Sayers the very best. This is a well deserved and prestigious honour for Eoin, his team, the club and the county.

 

Coaching Course for Parents

It is great to see so many parents getting involved with coaching. You are doing a great job. Your time and effort is appreciated by team mentors and the children.

Following enquires by some parents we are considering running a coaching workshop. The purpose is to identify the basic skills of hurling and show how these can be taught to children. We hope therefore, that parents will feel more confident when helping at sessions and when encouraging children to practise their skills at home. This will be an informal event where coaches will share lessons learned from their experience of coaching youngsters and we hope parents will teach the coaches a thing or two as well. If you are interested, speak to one of the coaches or contact Paddy (07708878968) and we will organise a time that suits.

Summer Hurling Programme and Fixtures

 

 

Under 12 “Go Games” League and Championship
Date	Opposition	Venue	Competition
Thu 09th July	Sean Stinsons	Home	U12 League
Sat 25th July	?	To be arranged	U12 C’ship
Wed 29th July	Glenariffe	Away	U12 League
Sat 15th Aug	Blitz	To be arranged	U12 Blitz
Sat 05th Sept	Glenavy	Home	U12 League
To be arranged	Glenarm	Away	U12 League
To be arranged	Glenshesk	Away	U12 League
Under 10 and P7 Championship Blitzes
Sat 12th Sept	Blitz	TBA	U10 Championship
Sat 19th Sept	Blitz	TBA	P7 Championship

 

 

Summer Camps
Date	Age	Venue	Camp
13th – 17th July	U8 – U14	Ballycastle	Cúl Camp
13th – 17th July	U10	Randalstown	Premier Electric
20th – 24th July	U8 – U14	Cushendall	Cúl Camp
27th – 31st July	U10	Cushendall	Premier Electric
03rd – 07th Aug	U10	Dunloy	Premier Electric
03rd – 07th Aug	U10	Loughguille	Premier Electric
10th – 14th Aug	U10	Ballycastle	Premier Electric
17th – 19th Aug	10 – 14	Garron Tower	GAAKit.com

 

Check:  http://www.northantrimgaa.com for more details

All Saints add Féis na Gleann Cup to Trophy Cabinet

North Antrim Senior Football Féis Final:
All Saints Ballymena 1-12   St Mary’s Rasharkin 1-10

All Saints added another piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet following a hard fought 2 point win over St Mary’s Rasharkin on Friday night.

Both sides were missing a few key players, but the quality of football served up by both teams was excellent, with the game flowing from end to end.

The first half was a tense enough affair with both sides missing good chances in front of the posts, in particular Liam Cassley and a Rasharkin midfielder both missing excellent goal chances from close range.  Although All Saints net-minder Micky O’Kane must be credited with a good save to deny Rasharkin a major.

Rasharkin continued to make surging runs from midfield and they weren’t to be denied for a second time, as the big midfielder made no mistake in slotting the ball into the top corner of the net to give his side a 3 point lead approaching half-time.

However, points from Paddy Logan and Peter McCann ensured that there was just the minimum between the sides at the interval, 1-03 to 0-05.

In the second half, a rejuvenated All Saints side took the game to their opponents and a number of sweeping moves from defence created some great chances for the forwards however the finishing at times left a lot to be desired.

All Saints were not to be disheartened as they continued bombarding their opposition defence and deservedly took the lead following a great run by Joe Rafferty who saw his shot rebound off the crossbar but Liam Cassley was on hand to palm the ball into the net.

The Ballymena men followed this with points from Peter McCann and Owen O’Kane to open up a 3 point lead with 5 minutes of normal time remaining.

Due to a number of injuries, the referee signalled that there were to be 4 minutes of injury time, but All Saints were not to be denied and held on for a gallant 2 point victory.

Best on the day for All Saints were Seamus McAfee and Andy Kelly in defence, Paddy Logan in midfield and Liam Cassley and Peter McCann up front.

A special mention must go to All Saints midfielder Paddy Logan who deservedly picked up the Man of the Match award following a fine display of high fielding and long range scores.

All Saints: Micky O’Kane, Joe Rocks, Seamus McAfee, Rob Curley, Micky McCarry, Andy Kelly, Damian Kelly, Paddy Logan, Keith Miskella, Joe Rafferty, Tiernan Walsh, Liam Cassley, Conor Crilly, Owen O’Kane, Peter McCann.
Subs:  Paul McCann for M McCarry, Ryan Lyness for K Miskella, Brian Watt for J Rocks.

All Saints would also like to thank Glenarm and the Féis na Gleann Committee for a very well organised event.

Related:

- Photo Gallery: Feis na Gleann Final
Below is a video clip of a point from Paddy Logan in the Final:

Big Day out in Clones for Eoin, Aidan, Jack & Sean

Eoin Campbell, Jack McDermott, Aidan Campion (all St Brigid’s) & Sean O’Rawe (St Colmcille’s) recently represented their School, Club & County in the Cumann Na Bunscol game at half time of the Ulster Football Semi-Final between Antrim and Cavan.

The four boys who represent the All Saints club at U-12 level are all very talented and committed footballers. Well done to the boys on this very special occasion.
The Club is very proud of you all.

Below is an interview Eoin Campbell done with Jerome Quinn after the game …

Half-time Stars from Jerome Quinn on Vimeo.