hedger_14
ICC Chairman
End of Year Update
First Division:
Well were racing to the title. A draw at home to Carrick was the only time weve dropped points since our loss against Dergview earlier in the season. McNamara has finally found his feet in this division, scoring 6 goals since the start of October. Corbin-Ong after some criticism by myself for his poor start to the season has responded superbly, showing why he is the best defender in this division. Smith hasnt been quite so emphatic recently, with only 4 league goals in the last 3 months. The same has happened to Johnny Breen, who also is on 8 goals now in the league. We made another huge signing in English striker, Ryan Noble who has already scored 3 goals in 4 games. Welsh U19 midfielder, Steven Esau looks like a huge talent as well and will be a big part of our run to the end of the season and the next few seasons as well.
Steel & Sons Cup:
Well we went on to win the competition although were less than impressive. We had a 4-4 draw in the quarter-final against Wakehurst and we just edged them out on penalties to progress. Queens University werent able to upset us in the Semi Final as we strolled to a 1-0 win thanks to Martin Kehoes goal. Dromana were the other finalists and we should have completely dominated the non-league team. We were poor throughout the game though as after 90 minutes, it was still 1-1, Doyle cancelling out Ritchies goal earlier in the game. It looked like we might have been upset when McDonagh scored just before the end of the first half of extra time, but McGrane equalized early in the second to force the game to penalties. The decision to bring Martin on after the goal paid off as he saved 2 of the opposition shots as Breen, Harte and Thompson all scored before Corbin-Ong finished it off for a 4-1 penalty win. This competition really meant nothing at all though so its no big deal.
Irish Cup:
We had a tough game first up against fellow 1st Division side rivals, H & W Welders. It was Victor-Calceido who shone though as his double helped us to a 3-1 lead after Colm Smith scored early in the match. Verner scored his second of the night with 14 minutes to go to put the visitors in with a chance but Keanes 91st minute free kick found its way into the top right corner of the goal. We now play Tobermore Utd away from home in the 4th Round. This will be a very important match for us, with the Cup being the one competition other the league that I actually want to do very well in.
Intermediate Cup:
Knockbreda put up a good fight as they forced the game into extra-time after a 1-1 draw but from then, it went downhill for the home-side as Keane, Smith and Hobson-McVeigh all scored to steal a 4-1 win after extra time. We now have another game against H & W Welders to see who will progress pass the 3rd round.
League Table:
Code:
| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |
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| 1st | | Dundela | | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 16 | +24 | 37 |
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| 2nd | | Carrick | | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 24 | 13 | +11 | 24 |
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| 3rd | | Ballinamallard Utd | | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 22 |
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| 4th | | Dergview | | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 21 |
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| 5th | | Institute | | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 20 |
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| 6th | | Glebe | | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 20 |
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| 7th | | Tobermore Utd | | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 18 |
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| 8th | | Coagh Utd | | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 15 | +3 | 18 |
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| 9th | | Limavady Utd | | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 21 | -4 | 18 |
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| 10th | | Loughgall | | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 25 | -9 | 18 |
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| 11th | | Larne | | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 21 | -9 | 18 |
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| 12th | | H & W Welders | | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 15 |
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| 13th | | Bangor | | 14 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 22 | -8 | 13 |
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| 14th | | Warrenpoint | | 14 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 28 | -17 | 4 |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|Transfers:
Ryan Noble This guy is a star. Much better than Breen and at 21, he still might have some potential left in him. The former Sunderland striker has already showed what hes capable of with some strong performances already this season. Bit surprised though that Linfield picked this guy up on trial but decided not to sign him, as he is a leading star for the premiership. Their loss though.
Steven Esau He looks like a solid midfielder. His unambitious personality means that he will likely stay at our side for a while but the downside is that he might not reach his massive potential. He could be playing for Wales in the future but that depends on how he progresses at this club. Despite our horrible training facilities, others seem to be making a fair bit of progress still so there is hope in our training. Despite being only 19, he will be a fixture in the starting XI, miles ahead of our next best central midfielder.
Mid-Season Top Player:
Johnny Breen Despite slowing down, hes still been very reliable and can score goals when theyre needed. Hes currently topping the First Division goal chart with 8 goals and hell be looking to at least double that tally by the end of the season.
Also on another note, Nizhniy Novgorod are on a 15 run unbeaten run going into the mid-season break. Unfortunately, 11 draws while only winning 10 games has meant theyre only in 4th place in the Second Division. Liechtenstein have also been very impressive as well, defeating Lithuania and Latvia in their World Cup Qualifiers to put them in 4th in their group. They also defeated Luxembourg in a friendly.
(Premier Division is the top one, haha). But yeah. Really not liking Dergview though. Defeated us again. And we somehow lost to a non-league team in the Intermediate Cup after beating our rivals in the third round again (on penalties as well 
