30th Apr 03. 150,000!! - The visits on this site never cease to amaze me, especially over this last season - although I'd imagine 60,000 hits in the last 6 months had more to do with Andy Smith & Co than it did my literary prowess ;-) Anyway, many many thanks to the lot of you, it certainly makes it a lot easier to update the bloody thing when you know somebody actually wants to read it! (Over two and a half years now ...... how time flies when you're enjoying yourself :-)
2 days, 18 hours and 15 minutes to go .......................
Last night's game? - Find out how it went ........ Fear-Us style ;-) HERE
29th Apr 03. Scum 1 Glentoran II's 1
Oh what a load of SH*TE that linfield team are - if anyone was ever in any doubt whether Uncle Fester should stay at the swamp or not you now have your answer :-) He's the best manager the Glens have had for YEARS!! With the average age of the Glentoran youngsters tonight under 20 they gave the scum a lesson! It took a dodgy penalty kick decision from referee Herbie Barr to give the scum a share of the spoils for Christ sake, Darren Fitzgerald even had a goal disallowed! In the end though the Second's had to be content with 1-1 courtesy of a Michael 'Doc' Halliday goal (again!). They'll be disappointed I know, but sure they were probably still a wee bit tired from their game with that other big club Portadown Reserves last night ;-) Lucky enough there were only 200 linfield supporters there to see it, maybe there was a good film on. I wonder should we start putting out a Glentoran Ladies side to make it fairer ;-) Next up - 'Clean Sweep'!
29th Apr 03. Mon the Seconds! - Since the scum only seem able to beat our first team once every 18 games or so, it'll be interesting tonight to see how they fare against our second eleven! Mssrs. Fitzgerald, Keegan, Riches, Kilmartin and Hunter, add Chris Walker and I reckon Michael O'Neill, a string of Second's players who didn't feature in last night's 4-2 win over Portadown Reserves at the Oval, and the scum might even fancy their chances of closing that ... errr.... 27 point gap in the league!! Well, ok - maybe not, but at least it's an opportunity for them to keep the score down :-)
Tell you what too, seein the season's near over I'll take a photograph of the scums support and consider giving a prize for whoever guesses the closest number. You won't need your shoes and socks off that's for sure :-) Here's a big clue
28th Apr 03. Sobered up yet? - Could they not just give us the Irish Cup? I don't think my body could take another weekend like that one quite so soon! The sooner the 'LIVE' TV's are taken out of the Oval upstairs bar the better ;-)
Anyway, another wee cup squeezed into the Oval Trophy cabinet, I expect the accounts will now show a loss again next year given the amount of silver polish we're gonna need!
What about tomorrow night then - are you all going? I hear the scum refused a request from the Glens to switch the game to tonight, they reckon they'll cash in more if it's played tomorrow, and I'm quite sure they'll want to do us no favours at all with the 'Clean sweep' looming large! Frankly if I wasn't such a diehard I'd save my seven quid entrance fee and buy a red, green and black jester hat and rosette at the Ballymac on Saturday, why should those b******s cash in on our success?
..................... AS THEY WILL AGAIN AT THE WEEKEND!!!!
27th Apr 03. Glentoran 0 Omagh Town 0 - Plenty of photo's of the Glens lifting the Gibbo coming later this week.
Oh my head ........................!
25th Apr 03. Omagh Town game - Well, well, well, who'd have thought way back in October last year, when 'Mac the Mouth' HERE was labelling us all bigots and thugs, that we'd get the opportunity to lift the Gibbo right in front of the gabshite at the Oval! Better still, his bum chum Beacom the 'ballix' and the IFL's Simple '12 points -ooops' Semple HERE will almost certainly be there too for the party! Payback time!! God, this season just gets better and better :-)
I think we'll get to see the guts of our Cup Final side tomorrow too, Coyler won't want his players to get too rusty, and I reckon he'll rest most of them at the swamp on Tuesday night.
No matter, tomorrow the Gibson Cup comes back to the Oval, we don't actually get it till after the game but then again who the hell cares! GLENTORAN FC - CHAMPIONS, mine's a bottle'a bud by the way, see yez all upstairs in the bar :-)
24th Apr 03. 5,500 - that's how many tickets we've been allocated for the Final.
Glens AGM - It's AGM night tonight folks, a chance to hopefully find out how the Glens are REALLY doing. Bear in mind, the 'accounts' doing the rounds in some of the local rags lately are actually for the year ended March 2002! The 2002/03 numbers have yet to be released, but I'd like to think we'll be given an inkling as to just how much of that £958,151 we've clawed back in over a year. Wouldn't you?
Update, 9.00pm: Hardly anything worth telling you about. Stafford Reynolds and John Parkinson were elected to the Board of Directors unopposed, after Alan Crowe withdrew his application for re-election. When pressed about the new ground all we got were assurances that things were ongoing between the Club, Architect, and Project Manager - when there's anything in concrete (pardon the pun ;-) it'll be released. As for the accounts, the fact we were approving the figures from 2 years ago made it all seem a wee bit pointless. I asked when a report of year 2002/03 would be available to shareholders, and was told ASAP - but they couldn't promise me that would be this June when the accounts are actually due. It was then explained of the various cost-cutting exercises and major policy changes made since the 2002 accounts, and I was given the assurance we would see a big improvement when the new figures eventually were released.
So there ya go ...... everybody's got their happy heads on again with the team on such a high. Funny old game isn't it ;-)
23rd Apr 03. Cup Final Morning - Admission to our disco on Cup Final morning is now FREE. See the banner above.
Larne go up - The 16 clubs that will make up next seasons Premier League have all but been settled. Larne's 1-1 draw away to Bangor yesterday secured them the fourth and final automatic qualifying place, alongside Dungannon Swifts, Ballymena United, and Limavady United. That draw also means Bangor now go into a play-off with the bottom finishing club in the current Premier League (Newry, Crusaders or Glenavon) for the final spot. Some lovely bus trips next season!
22nd Apr 03. Potadown 3 Glentoran II's 0
Is it just me or does anyone else think that half one kick-off's are a friggin ballix!!
Anyway, regardless, the future looks very bright indeed. The Glens played their second eleven today with the inclusion of Michael O'Neill and a half fit Chris Walker, and up until the 70th minute more than held their own. No Andy Smith, Mark Glendinning, Darren Armour, Scott Young, Darren Lockhart, Gary Smyth, Paul Leeman, Colin Nixon, Andy Kilmartin, or Tim McCann, but still it was the usual stuff. Hit the woodwork twice, forced the keeper into half a dozen remarkable saves (got him named 'man of the match') and generally looked the better side. The resolve of this new bunch is certainly there, the clinical finishing has yet to come .......... believe me though, from what I've seen I'm in no doubt it will. Don't go away for the next five years :-) By the way, last chance - YEEEEEHAWWW ......... let's hear it for the HILLBILLIES
21st Apr 03. Portadown game - Another nothing match - for us anyway! All about keeping sharp if you ask me, Gary Smyth and Locky will be missing this one through suspension, Darren Armour may also sit it out, given more time to recover from a slight knock. On the plus side we have Michael O'Neill back from a two game ban, and big Chris on the way back from injury. By and large I see the team which ended Saturday's match at Coleraine starting tomorrow, Walker and O'Neill added to the squad with A N Other. Once again I reckon Coyler would settle for a draw and a clean bill of health come the final whistle - although having witnessed some of the antics from Portadown this season, a clean bill of health would be an unexpected bonus! I'd be interested to know who'll be refereeing this one, I fancy there'll be a few guys in red shirts out there with a score or two to settle! Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Kick-off as you know is 1.30pm.
Ballymac's bus leaves at 12.15pm, all of you are welcome to come along :-) Other buses can be found at the link above.
Remember you need a ticket, if you don't have one don't go. You cannot get one at the ground, nor can you pay cash.
Match betting: Portadown 6/4, Glentoran 6/4 and a draw 9/4 - All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
20th Apr 03. Big Wooly's back - Chris Walker is back in line for a place in the Irish Cup Final! The ankle injury which threatened to end his season a month ago was put behind him yesterday, as he put in a full 90 minutes for Glens II's in a 5-1 romp over Dungannon Swifts Reserves. Who knows, with Gary Smyth suspended he might even get a game against Portadown on Tuesday!
19th Apr 03. Coleraine 2 Glentoran 2
Forget the scoreline, the Glens were 2-0 up and strolling this one, when with 20 minutes to go the manager made a few changes after Gary Smyth and Darren Lockhart picked up cuts, and probably with an eye also on the Cup Final in two weeks time. Coleraine then got one back with 10 minutes left and equalized deep into injury time as the Glens defence caught a few rays in the Spring sunshine. If the Glens had needed to win this one they surely would have.
4/9 outright with TOALS in two weeks time looks good to me! Match report has now been moved HERE
18th Apr 03. Coleraine game - Interesting stuff eh? Ironic, that the team who stand in the way of an historical 'clean sweep' by the Glens in two weeks time, line up at the Showgrounds tomorrow in a dress rehearsal! How much relevance you wish to place on the result of this game though is entirely up to you. For the record, the sides have met three times already this season, and the Gens remain unbeaten - indeed we have yet to concede a goal (2-0), (0-0), and (1-0). We go to Coleraine tomorrow already crowned 2002-03 Premier League Champions, 2002-03 Irish League Cup Winners, and 2002-03 County Antrim Shield Winners. Coleraine are destined to finish third in the League should Portadown win just one more game, and they have already qualified for next seasons UEFA Cup by virtue of reaching the Irish Cup Final. Not a lot at stake then? Individual players won't think so. They'll know that if they impress in this one they could well be in line for a start in the May 3rd showpiece. Psychologically of course a decisive win for either side could be an advantage, but I reckon both camps would be fairly happy with a 0-0 draw and a clean bill of health come a quarter to five. As for me, I see this as just another chance to get pissed and have a sing-song, the pressure now off for two weeks. After winning the League given the rollercoaster season we've just had, I for one am gonna friggin chill out and enjoy myself! I suggest you do too :-)
Ballymac's bus leaves Wilgar Street at 1 o'clock folks, you're all welcome to come along. Check the link above for others.
Match betting: Coleraine 8/5, Glentoran 6/4 and a draw 11/5. - Some early Irish Cup Final betting. To win it outright the Glens are 4/9 and Coleraine 7/4. A more comprehensive list will be out next week. All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakrs
17th Apr 03. I hear the Irish Cup tickets are gonna be a tenner, concessions will be 5 or 6 quid. They'll probably be going on sale after the Easter holidays.
Suspensions - Gary Smyth and Darren Lockhart have been suspended for one game apiece from Monday in the latest list of IFA suspensions. Both players will now be unavailable for Easter Tuesday's match at Portadown.
Teams - Not that it'll be of much use to you, but the teams from each of the countries we could face in Europe have just been posted on the UEFA website - Take your pick from Romania (ROM) down to Rep of Ireland (IRL)!
16th Apr 03. UEFA Draw - More news on our Champions League qualification. First of all the draw for the qualifying rounds will be held on Friday 20th June, should the Glens progress to the 2nd qualifying round it will be played the week immediately after the first round second leg, making 4 games in 4 weeks. The same applies to the third stage but with 2 weeks between the legs. UEFA have also told me the draw will be seeded, by my calculations that means we will face a team from one of the following countries:
Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus, Finland, Latvia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland, Belarus, Lithuania, and wait for it ........ the Republic of Ireland!! Not as bad as first feared, but still a few stinkers to avoid!
15th Apr 03. How about a week in sunny Kazakhstan! - Don't laugh, that's just one of the many obscure countries lined up as possible opposition for the Glens in the first qualifying round of the 2003-04 Champions League! Such exotic destinations as the Faroe Islands or Azerbaijan are some of the other tasty appetizers to get your juices running for what I hear will be two legs over the 16th and 23rd July!.Check out the full list HERE
Just while we're on it - the BallymacGSC European Ballot is just out. For a quid you get the chance to win return travel,
all accommodation, transfers, and match ticket to wherever the Glens end up (Cyprus and Malta are also in the hat by the way)! Rest assured, BallymacGSC will be there wherever it is, and you could be too. Get your ballot at Coleraine this Saturday, or from any member of the club right up to July 1st. Failing that you can buy them online from me here at the site - just drop me an EMAIL ............... Go on - you could do with a break ;-)
You don't even have to go - when the winner's drawn on Tuesday 1st July.there's a choice of £250 cash instead !
14th Apr 03. Portajoke! - Kick-off at Shamrock Park on Easter Tuesday is 1.30pm! There are 850 tickets for Glentoran supporters for Portadown's NEW STAND ONLY, No terracing. They will cost £6 adult and £4 concession - of which we have only been given 100. I have been asked to stress that if you do not have a ticket, do not go, you will NOT get in without one and there won't be any on sale at the ground. They will NOT be on sale at the Oval either, you can purchase them at Connswater Shopping Centre from 9am Thursday morning till 9pm Friday, and thereafter at Westbourne GSC.
13th Apr 03. INSTITUTE 0 GLENTORAN 4 - So how was your day?
It had everything, a real sunny afternoon, great craic on the bus, great food and a sing-song at the 'Inn at the Cross, banners, drums, flares, a real carnival atmosphere as thousands packed into the tiny YMCA ground in anticipation of the Championship ......................... then Tim McCann goes and friggin spoils it with a goal in the first minute!
Match Report has now been moved HERE folks
11th Apr 03. 'Golden' brat for the Oval? - Press speculation is saying that the Glens are interseted in just sacked bluedog Lee Feeney. Is this somebody's idea of a bad joke? I certainly hope so!
Bus full - Ballymac's bus for Institute tomorrow is full. Our usual visitors are welcome to come along as usual, but rather than be disappointed I'd advise others to contact some of the other clubs at the bus link above. Sorry :-(
Also, don't forget we're leaving early - 11.30am
Institute game - 4-1, 5-1, and 6-1, you would be forgiven for thinking this game's a formality given those were the previous three scorelines between the two sides! For all the so called 'shock' results Institute have had this season, the Glens are the one team that's always seemed to have the measure of them - let's hope that continues tomorrow. The last time we were up here though we actually fell behind, I remember it well, the game was about 15 minutes old when out of the blue Stute's Paul McLaughlin hit a real cracker of an overhead kick, a really superp goal - 10 minutes later though normal service was resumed (Match report). That game was way back in October, when incidentally, Institute had their biggest gate in their history. I think we can safely say that record's about to go! The Glens allocation of 2,000 tickets are already all but gone, they went in three days, but don't let that deter you if you haven't been able to get one. Institute have only sold about 300 or so of their 1,000, the rest WILL be on sale at the ground, trust me, nobody who goes up there will miss this game. On the playing front I hear there are one or two of them a wee bit 'iffy'. I'm sure though whoever comes in the manager will have them well focused on the job in hand - Institute have proved in the past they are NOT the sort of side you can take for granted.
So, the stage is set, sleepy little Drumahoe is in for quite a day isn't it - I hear even the sun's supposed to be out. When you consider where we were back in October when the Andy Kilmartin affair broke, when everyone and their dog was revelling in our misfortune, when certain gutter press journalists were openly wringing their hands at the thought of the Glens season 'over' before it had began. I can still see those individuals gloating now, lining up back then to give TV interviews, a thinly veiled sneer written all over their face.
Well where are they now?
No doubt when Gibbo surely lands back at the Oval the sneers will have conveniently gone, replaced with a charade of back-slapping and handshakes while inside each and every one of them are absolutely gutted! Bitter pills are hard to swallow aren't they. In all the emotions that are surely soon to come my friends .................... let's not forget.
Match betting: Institute 6/1, Glentoran 2/5 and a draw 3/1 - All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
They think it's all over HERE
10th Apr 03. Gibbo for Omagh game - The Gibson Cup will definitely NOT be at Drumahoe this weekend. The Premier League trophy will be presented after the Oval game with Omagh Town on April 26th - That's if the Glens have won the title by then of course ;-)
Cup Final Disco's booked - as are our first FOUR buses! It's the only place to be on Irish Cup Final morning, music, beer, balloons, face-painting, funny hats and much much more, all kicking off around 11.30am. You'll probably be able to reserve your admission and bus ticket as usual - stay tuned for more details :-)
Is it too early yet or should I start taking the piss out of Marty Quinn ;-)
BTW - Most of the Ballymac are off to North Down GSC's 'Player of the Year' dinner on return from Institute on Saturday night, so I'm afraid there's nothing special on at the club, cant be helped - was arranged ages ago. Sorrrrreeeeeey :-)
9th Apr 03. Glentoran II's - will play Linfield Swifts at the Oval AGAIN this Saturday! The sides drew 0-0 there at the weekend, so with only 6 games now left to play the Glens are 6 points clear in the 'South' section, both sides having played the same number of games. The eventual winners will play the winners of the 'North' section for the Reserve League Title - at the moment that looks to be either Cliftonville Olympic or Institute II's.
Saddam Hussein - has just given a TV interview. He said "To prove I am still alive, Portadown were total sh*te on Saturday" The British Government said - "That could have been recorded months ago" :-)
8th Apr 03. Ticket information - Right, Institute tickets are out. They can only be got at the Oval - today until 2pm, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10am till 4pm, and on Thursday night between 6pm and 9pm.
There's always the cheap seats ;-) Although there are only 3,000 tickets available for Saturday's game (Institute have 1,000), I reckon there's nothing to stop you going down and watching it 'free' from the hill behind the goal, it's probably the best view at the place anyway!. I've emailed Institute to find out what the score is, soon as I know ........
Update: OK, here's what I'm told. Institute have 1,000 tickets right? Well word is they don't expect to sell half that many, so the likelyhood is there'll be plenty for sale on the day. No matter - there's still nothing to stop you going down and viewing from the hill anyway! My advise? If you can't get a ticket go anyway, you'll still see the game one way or another.
What a Quote! - ''Once again, a minority have dragged football through the mire here just when we are engaged in a campaign to get people back onto the terraces and stands'' Jim Boyce - IFA. ....... Campaign? - Is he takin the piss?
There's only one minority in football here Jim, and you're in it!! There are none so blind as those who will not see!
Fear-Us - generously offers his own thought's on events at Mourneview Park last weekend - have you got an hour! HERE
7th Apr 03. Dosvidanya!! - Any hopes the scum had of landing mighty Barcelona as a money-spinner in this seasons Inter-DODO Cup have been well and truly scuppered today. The draw's just been made, Northern Ireland's representatives must travel to Belarus in the first round on June 21st, then to Croatia if they win...... on the 12th of July! Ain't life a bitch :-)
3.15pm. YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING! - Saturday's game at Institute has just been made ALL TICKET!
Worse still, we're only getting 2,000! Health & Safety have once again intervened, and that apparently is THAT! I'm told there's nothing we can do about it - Institute will be gutted too. The tickets aren't even out yet, but when they do they'll be on sale at the Oval only (probably tomorrow or Wednesday) and will go like hot-cakes! They're to be priced £5 and £3, all for the terrace, if you're there early enough for a seat in the stand it'll cost you an extra quid. What an absolute shambles!
The people running football in this country are a bloody disgrace, firstly we had last weeks joke of Mourneview Park for a potentially explosive Irish Cup Semi-Final - look what happened there, and now this. If the IFL had gotten their finger out and arranged this fixture TEN DAYS AGO when we all knew who'd qualified for the top six, at least we'd have had more than 4 friggin days to buy them!! I could rant on about these fools all day but it's all been said before - the sooner the whole bloody lot of them are away the better :-(
Make a day of it! - Well what's the plans for Saturday? Here's an idea - The Inn at the Cross Hotel (about 3 miles before you hit Drumahoe), have offered to look after us if we wanna go down early. They're opening their function room, which can accomodate 400 guests, and decking the place out in Red, Green and Black ribbons for the day. There'll be plenty of cold beer and they're laying on a warm buffet or carvery for just a fiver a head. Bear in mind there'll be no beer available at the ground as the social club has been closed.
As for Stute themselves, it's the last 'home' game of a very successful season for them so they're intent on having a good day too. With this in mind the Health & Safety people have already been to Drumahoe. Engineers have been busy working at the YMCA ground, and by the time Saturday comes round I'm told there'll be room for 4,500 people at the Stadium, up to 1,500 accomodated on the hill outside!
So make your plans, get down early, get a feed and a few pints, then hopefully cheer the wee Cock n' Hens on to the title!
Get into practice for ANOTHER Irish Cup Final on May the 3rd :-)
Riot at Mourneview? - What the papers didn't show - HERE
6th Apr 01. £590.00! - Thanks to BallymacGSC.com the Half n' Half for the Linfield game has now been claimed. Tom Skelly of Comber never heard the winning number at the Oval that day, but when his son read here on the Ballymac site that it hadn't been claimed he urged him to check again, and low and behold he had the winner!!! Congratulations Tom, mine's a bottle'a bud ............... ya lucky ******* ;-)
Portadown 1 GLENTORAN 6 !
Had to move the full match report to HERE folks, got a wee bit carried away :-)
So, yet another Irish Cup Final to look forward too, this time against Coleraine who thrashed Mac the Mouth's Omagh Town 5-2 in the other semi. There's the small matter of the green invasion of Drumahoe next week to come first though, keep some room on your bus for Gibbo by the way ..................... I hear he's comin home ;-)
5th Apr 03. Good Luck the Wee Glens :-) Come on Glens, just 90 minutes away from yet another fantastic day out in May, the Ballymac Cup Final Disco's on stand-by, and the wig and war paint are at the ready ........ over to you lads ;-)
4th Apr 03. Institute it is! - Fixtures are finally out folks and it's off to Institute as we thought. Full list HERE
Portadown game - Well what's there to say about this one? Irish Cup, Clean Sweep, Pride, Atmosphere, Revenge, History, Passion ........ err....... Mickey Collins sent off .......... just another Saturday really :-)
Everybody's available bar Big Chris - LET'S DO IT ! Le Jeu Avant Tout
The Ballymac bus leaves for Mourneview at 1.30pm, be sure to check the link above for others as most are leaving early.
Match betting: Glentoran 13/10, Portadown 2/1, and a draw 21/10 - All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
Ready to party? - Fear-Us certainly is! And he's letting Laverty know it this week! BallymacGSC even get a mention this time (with absolutely no coaching from me ;-) Read the latest rant HERE
3rd Apr 03. Right - Fixtures! - OK, last time, and this 'apparently' is from aul Harry Wallace himself ! Harry says trust him, the new fixtures will be released tomorrow morning - we'll just have to wait and see......... Don't hold your breath ;-)
Glentoran II's - match this Saturday has changed, they will now play Linfield Swifts at the Oval with a 2.30pm kick-off. Handy that isn't it - when you consider the scum have no game and could put their first team out!!
Were the Seconds to win the game it would put them 6 points clear at the top of the Reserve League South with a game in hand. The wee Glens would then be well on course for yet another title, as the Swifts would only have 5 left to play!
2nd Apr 03. Interesting - Thought you might be interested in this extract from an email I got second-hand, it's from Mourneview Park today regarding our visit there on Saturday, primarily the subject of access to the Social Club:.
"The IFA - which is supposed to be organising the whole thing, has issued decrees and counter-decrees regarding lots of issues. The line I've been told this morning is that the Social Club (which does not belong to Glenavon FC) has been told to close, but it intends to open, and that the supporters' clubs inside the ground have been told that they may open, but only to their members (who probably won't be able to obtain tickets to enter the ground anyway!)"
Sorry I can't be of more help.
Glenavon FC
Sounds like the IFA are well in control to me, that's certainly cleared a lot of things up ;-)
O'Neill banned - If we do win the League in the first game of the final five, it'll have to be without Michael O'Neill. The midfielder has been suspended for 2 games from this coming Monday, meaning of course if there's a Cup replay next Wednesday night he'll miss out on that too.
1st Apr 03. I took the April Fool prank offline at 10 o'clock tonight - 218 of you I got ................. VERY impressive !!
Northern Ireland - Under 21's got beaten 6-2 at the Oval tonight by Greece! Yes the future looks very bright :-(
Irish Cup Betting - Betting's just out folks for the weekend Irish Cup Semi. The Glens are 13/10, Portadown 2/1, and a draw 21/10.(all over 90 minutes). To win the Cup outright, the Glens are now 8/11 and Portadown are evens.
Remember too - in Irish Cup matches you can do a single bet - All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
