WEEKEND PREVIEW
South Antrim 3rds v Mossley 4ths
The 3rds can win the league with a point away to Mossley. This Mossley 4ths side sits in 3rd so it won't be an easy game. Hopefully George Glass is on form up front and likewise for star player Peter Davis in centre back.
I believe this is the last game for the club this season. So a huge thanks to everyone on committee for organizing and to all you paying members for playing!
MIDWEEK ROUND UP
South Antrim 5ths 7-3 Portadown 3rds (I.McElhinney x2, A.Glass Jnr x2, M.Bell, J.Cochrane, S.Geary)
The 5ths performed far better than their 4th XI counterparts against Portadown 3rds on Wednesday night. Ian McElinney started the scoring by turning in a Jamie Cochrane rebound. Portadown equalised before South went ahead via Adam Glass Jnr after a Portadown short broke down. Portadown equalised again just before the half. In the second half South ran away with it, with Adam Glass Jnr getting a second, Maurice Bell scoring his first goal in 13 years, a Jamie Cochrane reverse, a second for Ian McElhinney and Shane Geary scoring a goal worthy of all the praise he has been receiving. Ports got one right at the death to make the final score 7-3.
South Antrim 3rds v Portrush 2nds
The 3s need at least a point to keep their title hopes alive. However, they did lose to Portrush 4-2 just 3 weeks ago. This one is at Prospect Hill on home turf, Ashley will demand a win.
South Antrim 4ths v Portadown 3rds
The 5ths beat this Portadown side recently, wouldn't it be embarrassing for Gaz's 4ths to lose? Also a home game tomorrow.
South Antrim 5ths v NICS 3rds
NICS 3rds started the season well but then fell to pieces falling down the table from 1st to 4th. No better time for the 5ths to play them. Trevor Wallace is considering selecting himself as centre forward after his goal midweek. Yet another home game.
South Antrim Ladies v Parkview Ladies
Semi final of the Senior 4 League cup lays in wait for the ladies tomorrow away to Parkview. Captain Elaine Aiken is hoping for a vast improvement over last weekend's 6-0 drubbing.
South Antrim 2nds v Lisnagarvey 2nds
Ian's men end their season with a home game against league leaders Garvey 2s, easy. If you boys don't get 3 points here the club will be very disappointed in you.
South Antrim 3rds v Campbellians 2nds
Annadale 4ths have finished their season on 41 points, Ashley's men have 37 and have a possible 9 remaining to take top spot in Junior 4. They can't finish any lower than 2nd now but that's not what they want, they want the trophy. They can get 3 of the 5 they need tomorrow if they Campbellians 2s away. Nail-biting finish to the season.
South Antrim 4ths v Belfast Harlequins 3rds
The 4ths have all but secured 6th spot in Junior 5, unless the 5ths win every game and the 2 teams swap league positions. To help the 5ths out on their position, the 4ths would need to beat Quins 3rds who sit just 3 points behind our 5ths in 9th place.
South Antrim Ladies v Kilkeel Ladies
On the day of the club dinner the Ladies couldn't have gotten a worse draw in the Intermediate Plate semi-final; an away tie to Kilkeel, what's worse is that its in the late slot, 4pm! Looks like there will be a fair few dinners going cold.
South Antrim Ladies 3rds v North Down Ladies 5ths
The Ladies 3rds got a wonderful draw in the Minor Plate semi final. A 1pm home tie to North Down 5ths. Plenty of time to get ready for the dinner!
Remember to bring your ballot ticket stubbs to the dinner! 7pm Dunmurry Golf Club.
South Antrim v Belfast Harlequins
The Anderson Cup has ditched the 9-a-side format and returned to the classic rules. In the opening round South have drawn Quins at home, the scene of that heartbreaking 3-2 loss 3 weeks ago. South are without several players but the team is ready to go.
South Antrim 4ths v Lisnagarvey 6ths
Gaz's men face Garvey 6ths away tomorrow. No South team has won a game against their cross town neighbours this season. A win for Garvey 6ths would see them rise above the 4ths.
South Antrim 5ths v Portadown 3rds
Somehow the 5ths still have 6 games to play. They start again tomorrow after 4 weeks off away to Portadown 3rds. Hopefully Trevor can motivate his team after so long off to go on and win against a team that has stuffed them the last few times.
South Antrim Ladies 1sts v Lurgan Ladies 3rds
The Ladies face Lurgan 3rds in the Quarter Final of the Intermediate Cup at home at 2.30pm. Elaine's girls have had a while on the sidelines too, not having playing in 3 weeks, so will be a bit rusty at the start.
South Antrim Ladies 3rds v Ulster Elks Ladies 4ths
The Ladies debut season rolls on as they play the home leg of their fixture against Ulster Elks 4ths, in the away leg, they won 1-0, their 1st EVER win. Let's hope they can repeat the feat.
Please remember to return Ballot tickets to your captain. Some super prizes are on offer, such as a signed Ulster rugby top and a signed Northern Ireland football top. You'd be silly not to enter!
WEEKEND PREVIEW:
South Antrim 2nds - Mossley 2nds
The seconds travel to Glemgormley to face Mossley 2nds in a must win clash to stay in Junior 1. Mossley current prop up the table but the seconds aren't far ahead. Ian Glass will hopefully have a few of the 1sts fringe players on hand to give some support. Neil Wilson and Darren Hutchinson have just one goal separating them in the competition for 2nds top goalscorer, so keep an eye on those two.
South Antrim 3rds - Portrush 2nds
Ashley Sloan's promotion train stops in Ballycastle tomorrow to face Portrush 2nds. 2 points ahead of Annadale in 2nds place and with 2 games in hand, Ashley's men can probably afford a slip up between now and the end of the season but no one wants that. In stark contrast to the 2nds top goalscorer race, this one is not close. George Glass is ten ahead of this closest competitor. Congratulations George!
South Antrim 4ths - Ballymena 1sts
Another South team taking M2 north bound is the 4ths who travel up to face Ballymena 1sts. The 4ths sit 4th whilst their opponents sit 2nd. George Glass' 10 goal lead is nothing compared to Junior's 21 goal lead in the 4ths top goalscorer race. Is any one even surprised?
South Antrim Ladies 3rds 2-1 Mossley Ladies 4ths (R.Sullivan, D.Heasley)
The 3rds continued their catch up of league game with a 2-1 win over Mossley in Junior 7 tonight. Both Rachel Sullivan and Danielle Healsey's goals were from short corners. these 3 points lift them to within 2 points of Mossley and hopefully soon off bottom position.
Club Reminders:
Please return all ballot tickets to your team captain. Obviously sell them first.
Remember to contact Willie Junior to book your place at the end of season dinner.
South Antrim 2nds v Lisnagarvey 3rds
Ian's men can go joint with Bann 2nds in 6th place should they win, likewise, should they lose, tomorrow's opponents Garvey 3rds will go joint with South. This is the 1pm hit off tomorrow.
South Antrim 3rds v Annadale 4ths
A top of the table clash in this 6 pointer. Winning this will not only be 3 points gained but also 3 points Annadale can't get to keep their hold at the top of the table. Another home game at 2.30. Hopefully George Glass will smash home a few and take Ashley's men 1 step closer to silverware.
South Antrim 4ths v NICS 3rds
Also at home, 4pm, the 4ths end the action against NICS 3rds. NICS 3rds is a team they are yet to beat this season, after several attempts (4-1 loss and a 2-1 loss), surely this time they'll win? NICS sit 1 pplace and 5 points about South in the table currently but there are plenty of games to play yet.
South Antrim Ladies v Ballynahinch Ladies
I believe this is the Ladies last game of their league campaign. The ladies scraped a win last win last week against Malone with half a team. Hopefully Elaine will have more regulars available to her this week. Also a home game.
South Antrim Ladies 3rds v Hollywood Ladies 2nds
The only away game of the day. The Ladies 3rds still prop the table up in Junior 7 but there is plenty of games to play for them. Most of the other teams have only South to play to complete their season, South have 7 games backlogged thanks to late entry to the league. 7 games to get 8 points to get them off the bottom.
South Antrim v Belfast Harlequins
South's final league team takes place tomorrow, at home (3pm) to Belfast Harlequins. After this game, their relegation fight in our of their hands and the pressure is on North Down to get results. Should South win, Newry drop into the trouble and would need results too. Unfortunately for South, Newry and North Down have to play each other, meaning one is likely to get to safety.
South Antrim 3rds v North Down 4ths
Black meets white as South take on North (who are geographically further south) in Junior 4 at home at 1pm.
Ashley Sloan's men are playing catch up after a disastrous winter in which 4 games were cancelled. 7 points off top, with 4 games in hand, South look to keep pace with Annadale at the top. George Glass has been knocking them in for fun recently and his season tally stands at 16.
South Antrim 4ths v Antrim 3rds
Graeme Alister's promotion dreams are a distant memory now, they need to keep winning to keep 4th place ahead of Portadown 3rds, who are 3 points behind with 3 games in hand. Hopefully Junior has his shooting stick with him tomorrow to add to his 24 already this season.
South Antrim 5ths v Derg Valley 1sts
Derg concede. Trev must have sent some threats.
South Antrim Ladies 1sts v Malone Ladies 1sts
This is a Minor Plate match, that's all I know.
South Antrim Ladies 3rds v Owls 2nds
The 3rds sit rooted to the bottom of the table, however they have 7 more games, and since the 2nds are finished, they could take some reinforcements along with them. It won't help in the long run though, they been relegated since day one. Still would be nice to get a good league position.
South Antrim - Instonians
Despite having lead from day one and having just 2 games left and only losing one of their opening 16, Inst haven't secured the league title. South could pull off a major coup if they take points off Inst, opening the door to Kilkeel to pinch it. Its a big ask, but hey; 07/09/05. Away at Shawsbridge, 2.30pm hit off.
South Antrim 3rds - Kilkeel 3rds
This is a messed up league, South were top for so long, but have barely played since Christmas so sit 5th with 4 games in hand to reach Annadale who are 7 points ahead. Kilkeel sit just below South, one point behind but have played 5 more games. Ashley will hope his team haven't lost the spark after so long out of action. His first obstacle is getting a team together to travel to Kilkeel for a 1pm game.
South Antrim 4ths - Portadown 3rds
I don't think the 4ths have met this Ports side this season. The 5ths have lost both encounters, but they don't have Junior. The can jump into 3rd should they win.
South Antrim Ladies 2nds - Ards Ladies 5ths
This the Ladies final league game, they are currently 3rd, a win would see them go into second. Depending on other results between now and the end of the season they could either stay second or tumble down the table to 6th.
South Antrim Ladies 3rds - Portadown Ladies 3rds
Portadown 3rds, I believe have won the league with 4 games to spare. Our 3rds were relegated on day one, so top versus bottom. Bring it on. This is the only home game of the weekend.
After Wednesday's win over North Down, South will look to carry some confidence into this game. A cruical game for the guys as they can leap frog Mossley and Newry into 7th, depending on how Newry fair against Raphoe that is, and be just a point away from NICS in 6th, who face Kilkeel away tomorrow. Nervy times to be South supporter. Much to be positive about though as they've really improved in their last few games and scored 4 goals from open play against North Down. This game is at 2.30 away in Glengormley.
South Antrim 2nds v Kilkeel 2nds
South narrowly beat out Kilkeel 2nds in the League cup 3-2 at the start of the year but haven't met in the league yet. The game is away in Kilkeel at 1pm so you never know what team Ian Glass will have to travel with, you also never know what team Kilkeel will put out at home either. A tough one awaits Ian, but his lads have been hitting new heights recently so finger crossed. Kilkeel sit one place below South, just 2 points behind. A must win game.
South Antrim 4ths v NICS 3rds
Graeme Alister's men progress in the Minor Cup with a win away in Stormont at 2.30pm. Though that will be hard as in their previous meeting, Service strutted to a 4-1 victory. Never write of Gaz's army they are capable of playing great hockey, and with Junior in the side they can be counted on to score goals.
South Antrim 5ths v Mossley 5ths
Also away in Mossley, they are the headline act at 4pm after the 1sts crowd warm up. they've beaten Mossley 5ths twice season, scoring five without conceding. Despite this, Mossley sit 4 points ahead of South in the table and 2 places higher. Ian McElhinney has been back among the goals recently, hopefuly he can bag a few more.
South Antrim Ladies v PSNI Ladies
The great chance for the Ladies to progress in their plate competition, they've beaten PSNI 4-0 at the start of the year but then lost the 2nd meeting 1-0. Hard to say how this will go but Elaine's girls will give it everything. They're still looking an umpire if anyone is gunning for the Clubman of the year award.
South Antrim Ladies 2nds 3-3 Ulster Elks Ladies 4ths (E.Rennie, R.Sullivan x2)
The girls were in action tonight and got themselves a draw away in Jordanstown. This keeps the 1 point cushion Elks have over South in 3rd place in Junior 7. Since Elks have 2 games in hand, South really could have done with winning this one to stand a chance of the promotion playoff spot.
South Antrim Ladies 3rds v Saintfield Ladies 3rds
On the back of last weeks whooping by the 2nds, the 3rds will look to bounce back in the Quarter final of the Minor Cup. They have drawn Saintfield 3rds, from midtable Junior 8, a league below. Since our girls are actually supposed to be in Junior 8, there no telling should win this one.
