03/11/2026
U16 National Cup RD 3
Balllyhar 3 - Croom Utd 2
It was an almighty cup battle at Murt Scott Park on Saturday as a gutsy performance from our U16s, right up to the final minute put us in the next round of the National Cup competition.
The visitors from Limerick started strong with our boys taking a while to work their way into the game. Croom struck the first blow, when sloppy midfield play from Ballyhar led to a break down the left. A long range shot was well saved by the outstanding Ewan Myers in goals but Croom pounced on the rebound for an early lead after just 8 mins.
This was a real old school tough cup tie, with strong, physical battles all over the park. Our lads settled and responded on 19 mins, after some tenacious tackling from Jack Duggan dispossesed Croom in midfield and he slipped Josh Nelligan in down the left hand channel who struck a fine finish across into the far corner to make it 1-1. 10 mins later Ballyhar took the lead, when Daniel Ryan pressed the right back, won the ball, turned him, and let fly with a shot from a tight angle that the keeper just couldn't hold onto too. 2-1 Ballyhar. Croom tried to pull one back before the break, but our defence of Joshua O'Sullivan, Alex Finn, Daithi Allen and Darragh O'Sullivan stood firm.
H/T 2-1
Croom ramped up the pressure in the 2nd half and after a steady first 15 mins, it was all hands on deck to defend against wave after wave, with our hard working midfield of Luke, Danny and Ruben slowly losing shape. On at least 3 occasions Myers in goals bailed us out, with some great goalkeeping keeping us in the lead. But with 10 mins left, our luck ran out. A cross from the right wasn't cleared and from the scramble the ball was scooped into the roof of the net. 2-2
The lads had defended superbly for long periods, under a load of pressure but kept going. Then in the final minute, a ball was pumped forward for Charlie Curran to chase, their keeper way came out to clear it, but hit the ball in the direction of Daniel Ryan just inside the halfway line. With all of 35 yards out, he hit it towards goal with all he had left as a Croom defender desperately tried to stop it. He swung a leg at it and missed, and the ball crossed the line to spark a pitch invasion from our bench. 3-2 Ballyhar.
The 60 seconds left turned even longer, when Croom were awarded a free kick just outside the box. But the wall stood firm, took the hit and managed to clear it... the ref blew the whistle, and Ballyhar enter the 4th round draw for the National Cup. F/T 3-2
A tough hard fought Cup tie, won by a resilient and determined Ballyhar group, led by captain Daithi Allen, rock solid Alex Finn, a hard working Luke Bartlett and MOTM Ewan Myers in goals.
Thanks also to the Croom United players and management for a great cup tie and referee Tom Kerrisk for overseeing proceedings.