Hogmanay hope for Ballynahinch

Hogmanay hope for Ballynahinch

21 December 2011

BALLYNAHINCH are hoping to lift hockey’s Senior Two Cup for the second time in three seasons on New Year’s Eve.

But standing in their way is a PSNI side which is chasing the locals on two other fronts.

Both sides have made it to the final of the All Ireland Hockey Challenge trophy and both Ballynahinch and the PSNI are neck and neck at the top of Senior League Two.

The New Year’s Eve final at Stormont which starts at 1pm promises to be a real cracker and both finalists know they will have to be at their very best to lift the trophy.

Ballynahinch skipper Mark Graham says his players will treat the police side with the respect it deserves and wants the locals to play to their full potential in front of an expectant crowd.

Ballynahinch have already defeated the PSNI in a league game but skipper Graham knows that counts for absolutely nothing ahead of the eagerly-awaited final showdown.

“We know we have to be at our very best come final day and the players will require little motivation ahead of such an important game,” said Mark.

“The players effort since the start of the season has been really magnificent and the fact we have so many young guys in the team means we can hurt the opposition with our pace,”

Having been relegated from Senior One at the end of last season, Ballynahinch have hit the ground running since the Senior Two Cup and Senior Two league campaign kicked off.

The locals breezed through their group games in the cup competition and defeated Portrush with a David Ross (inset) goal in the semi-final.

Ballynahinch sit proudly at the top of Senior Two and while a possible league and cup double is on the cards, you won’t hear anyone at the club mentioning anything about it.

The players are taking things one game at a time and apart from the recent blip when they were defeated by derby rivals Saintfield, it’s been a case of so far, so good.

With the final drawing near, Ballynahinch’s skipper knows his side must play well and while he’s acutely aware of the threat posed by his team’s cup final opponents, he knows the PSNI won’t be treating his Ballynahinch side lightly.

Skipper Graham added: “All I can ask my players to do is do themselves justice and show people how well they can play. We are all looking forward to the New Year’s Eve final and hope it will be a great game.

“Momentum is a great thing sport in any sport and we have done really well recently, both in the league and cup competitions.

There is a great spirit in the camp and with competition for places really healthy everyone is performing at a highly consistent level.”