WEEKEND PREVIEW
A notice before we start, the Ladies are having a bun sale upstairs on Saturday, so there will be be tasty snacks and warm drinks available for all. With 6 of our 8 teams playing at home and the 4s having no game, most of the club be about so its the best place to be for pre-Christmas dinner banter!
South Antrim v Mossley
The 1sts will look to put 2 disappointing weeks behind them as they welcome struggling Mossley to FSL. Mossley sit bottom, with just 1 point from 4 games. By contrast, South sit mid table on 6 points. The lads hope to have Chris Redpath available, subject to a fitness test, but still miss drag flicker Adam Glass. Nathan Gamble and James Brown will battle it out for flicking duty in his absence. This is the 3pm hit off.
South Antrim 2nds v Cookstown 2nds
The 2s are fresh off the back of their Irish Junior Cup victory, which saw them be the only non-IHL Club’s Junior side to qualify for the Quarter Finals, so well done lads. They entertain Cookstown 2nds at home this weekend at 1pm. With Neil Wilson recovering his goal scoring touch this could be a tight game, last time these sides met, Cookstown, then the hosts, came away with a 5-3 victory. Key to nullifying Cookstown’s potent attack will be centre back pairing, Phil Spaughton and Jack Moore.
South Antrim 3rds v Mossley 4ths
The only away game this weekend, the 3rds travel to Glengormley for a 1pm hit off against Mossley 4ths. Captain Sloan will be looking for Jonny Taylor to lead by example in midfield, using his attacking ‘nous’ to create chances. South won the home leg of this encounter 1-0, thanks to a George Glass short corner. In the league, Ashley’s men have slipped of top spot in Junior 4 to Annadale 2s, who lead them by a point, but have played to extra games.
4ths v No Game
No game for the 4ths, but we hope to see plenty of them around the ground on Saturday as many of this team make up the Balcony Banter Brigade, famous for their ‘Man-Bun’ chant.
South Antrim 5ths v Mossley 5ths
A 1pm home game for the 5ths, home this week is Wallace’s smurf turf, just a short walk away from FSL. Trevor will hope to halt the slide in form the team is suffered. Bringing Ian MacElhinney drop from the 4ths has added more experience and stability to the side. These side met in the cup at the start of the season, South winning on that occasion 3-0, thanks to a Peter Davis double and a John Massey strike. I think both of those players have been called up to higher teams though.
South Antrim Ladies v Parkview Ladies
This Senior 4 battle hits off at 2.30pm on the far pitch at FSL. The Ladies sit midtable in 4th, but are only 5 points off the top and 2 points off Parkview, this week’s opponents, in second. Promotion is very much still and achievable target. They will look to improve upon their 3-0 away loss to side in October. Key will be Vicky Donaldson, their leader scorer.
South Antrim Ladies 2nds v Portadown Ladies 3rds
The 1pm hit off on the far pitch at FSL. The girls sit in 5th place in Junior 7, just 2 points off 2nd, but getting the points this week will be tall order, they face league leaders Portadown, who have won every game, bar a hiccup last week when they lost to Owls 2nds. If Owls can do it, the Southies can do it. After all, they beat Owls twice.
South Antrim Ladies 3rds v Banbridge Ladies 4ths
The 4pm slot on the far pitch goes to the Ladies 3rds. They sit 1 point adrift at the bottom of the table, with 7 games in hand. This week they face 2nd placed Banbridge 4ths. Despite their lack of experience, bar Captain Carol Redpath, the girls have not been trounced as one might expect of a newly formed side, they have been competitive and haven’t lost by more than 2 goals. Stick at it!