Ballymena United

Ballymena United
Basic data
Surname	Ballymena United Football Club
Seat	Ballymena , Northern Ireland
founding	1928
Colours	light blue-white
president	John Taggart
Website	ballymenaunitedfc.com
First soccer team
Head coach	David Jeffrey
Venue	Ballymena Showgrounds
Places	5200
league	NIFL Premiership
2019/20	10th place
home Away

Ballymena United is a Northern Irish football club based in Ballymena . The full name is Ballymena United Football Club. The Showgrounds stadium holds 5,200 spectators. The club colors are light blue and white.

history

founding

The initiative to found a football club came from local business people and football enthusiasts, who in April 1928 shared the conviction that Ballymena should be represented by a team in the top division, the Irish League. Since a place in the league had become vacant with the elimination of Barn FC, a team was hastily put together to play their first league game against Belfast Celtic as Ballymena FA in front of the full ranks of the Ballymena Showgrounds . But the reigning champions had clearly not come to Ballymena to distribute gifts, so that the league debutant suffered a 3-0 defeat.

Ballymena achieved their first countable success only five days later with a 2-2 on a foreign pitch against Larne FC , whereas they had to wait a few weeks before the club finally won 2-1 against Ards FC first victory succeeded. The first season ended in sixth place in the 14-team league.

This already respectable performance on its own was overshadowed by the success in the national cup competition. Less than a year after it was founded, Ballymena was already in the final of the Irish Cup after eliminating well-known competitors on the way with Glentoran FC , Broadway United and Coleraine FC . In the final they met the seemingly overpowering Belfast Celtic FC . But the miracle took place: They beat Celtic 2-1 and were able to celebrate their first title in the very first attempt. In recognition of this achievement, the trophy was finally transferred to the club's property, where the trophy is still kept.

Early years

In the next two years, Ballymena succeeded in each of the feats of moving into the cup final, but both times had to let Linfield FC go first. But even in the league they had established themselves in the top third from the start. But the team's success was soon marred when, in 1934, a dispute over financial issues finally ended with the club's dissolution. Even if the club was re-established immediately afterwards under the new name Ballymena United FC , the team was initially unable to build on the previous successes. While United was able to finish the first two seasons in tenth place in the table, they found themselves at the end of the 1936/37 season with only four wins in 26 games even in the bottom of the table.

With the shock of what is probably the worst season performance in the club's history to date, the team fought their way back into the ranks of the top teams in the following years, even if they had to deal with sensitive defeats against Derry City and Belfast Celtic . As runner-up in the 1938/39 season they finally reached the cup final again, but had to admit defeat to Linfield for the third time within a few years .

But just a year later, in the Irish Cup final in 1940, the Sky Blues had the opportunity to improve their yield in cup finals, which finally succeeded with a victory over Glenavon FC and the second cup triumph in the history of the young club. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War , Ballymena United had to leave the showgrounds to the army for military use in the summer of 1940 and the top division of Northern Irish football had to cease operations.

post war period

Before the league operations of the Irish League could be resumed after the end of the war in the 1946/47 season, United took part in the Belfast & District League the year before . And United won their first title in the very first year. With a 2-0 win in the final against Linfield FC , the club made the County Antrim-Shield's victory perfect, something no team outside of Belfast had achieved before. In addition, the first post-war season of the Irish League ended in third place in the table and much seemed to indicate that the Sky Blues could continue at the same point where they had left off before the forced break due to the war. In the years that followed, Ballymena United did not really come closer to its goal of establishing a permanent counterweight to the Belfast superiority in Northern Irish football, after a rather mixed performance.

However, United benefited from the departure of Belfast Celtic FC from the Irish League in 1949, as they could bring in addition to the new player-coach Billy McMillan also other former Celtic players in the north of Antrim . Not least thanks to these newcomers, the club was finally able to overcome its interim low in the 1951/52 season. This was evidenced impressively with the renewed win of the County Antrim-Shields after a 2-0 against Cliftonville FC and the total of already sixth finals in the Irish Cup, but where Glentoran retained the upper hand with a 3-1. The following year, Ballymena United was able to adorn itself with a very special title after a 3-0 final victory over Crusaders FC in the Festival of Britain Cup, as this competition took the place of the Gold Cup on the occasion of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the " Great Exhibition " was held only once. In the following five years United was denied further such successes. Due to a growing mountain of debt, the club was soon faced with existential difficulties. In the end, one was even forced to go public with appeals for donations in order to secure the existence of the association.

In 1957, Alex McCrae was hired as the new coach, a native of Scots who had previously gained experience as a player at clubs such as Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough . And with McCrae, the success came back to Ballymena, because in his first year he won the Irish Cup with the team and finished the season third in the table. That now legendary team that defeated the eternal favorite Linfield 2-0 in the cup final in front of 24,000 spectators in 1958 is still considered the best selection that has ever competed in the light blue dress for United. In the following year, they made it into the final of the Irish Cup again - for the eighth time. But after a 1-1 draw, the Sky Blues lacked the luck necessary to defend their title in the replay (0-2 against Glenavon FC ).

1960s and 1970s

In 1960 Alex McCrea was replaced by Geoff Twentyman , a long-serving Liverpool FC midfielder who led the team to win the Ulster Cup in his first season at the showgrounds. But Twentyman was unable to make a big hit: In the 1961/62 season, United had already come close to their first championship, but in the end had to make do with third place, just two points behind Master Linfield and Portadown FC .

After Twentyman's resignation in 1963, his successors struggled in vain to build on the club's successful past. The "Braidmen" sank noticeably in the league mediocrity and the victory in the Ulster Cup in 1961 should remain the only title Ballymena in the 1960s. Like almost a decade before, it was up to Alex McCrae, who returned to coach the Ballymena Showgrounds in 1969, to lead Ballymena United FC into more glorious times. And McCrae had no time to waste. In the 1969/70 season, the Sky Blues reached the cup final, but again lost out against Linfield 2-1.

But apart from the sporting events, the club went through turbulent times at the beginning of the 1970s. Not only the transfer of the talented goalkeeper and later Northern Irish national goalkeeper Jim Platt for 7,000 British pounds to Middlesbrough and the sale of the showgrounds to the community made headlines. Added to this were the political events and the increasing intensity of violence in Northern Ireland, which did not leave the club completely untouched. The fact that a bus carrying Ballymena supporters was attacked and set on fire after an away game against Derry City in September 1971 sparked a controversial debate over the safety of teams and fans in the province, which ended almost a year later the withdrawal of Derry City from the Irish League stood.

In 1971 McCrae announced his resignation from coaching, allegedly after his salaries, which were perceived as too high, came under criticism within the club. Arthur Stewart took over the reins of the club in his place. At the beginning of his tenure against Ards FC, Stewart celebrated victory with the team in the City Cup , which was still being held at the time . Not least thanks to the goals of Jimmy Martin, they reached the semifinals of the short-lived Texaco Cup in 1972 , in which teams from all over Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland participated. This was the end of the line for United against Scottish club Airdrieonians FC .

In the 1973/74 season, the Sky Blues had once again advanced into the final of the Irish Cup, where they met once again on Ards FC . But luck was on the opponent's side, as so often before, as Ards took revenge for the final defeat in the City Cup three years earlier with a narrow 2-1 win over Ballymena. United were more successful in the Gold Cup that same year when they won the final against Glentoran FC 3-2 thanks to goals from McFall, Orr and Brown. The title defense in the Gold Cup final against the arch rivals from Coleraine should not succeed the club in the following year, they had to admit defeat 1: 2. And so the title win in 1974 was the only one of this competition that was finally discontinued in 2001, although at the beginning of the 1980s they still reached the finals twice.

Arthur Stewart was fired in 1976 after five years of service due to increasing unsuccessfulness. He was succeeded by Eddie Russell, a member of the glorious team from 1958. Right from the start, Russell made a contribution as player-coach with a goal that Ballymena with a 4-0 final triumph over Distillery for the first time in 25 years again the title in the country Antrim-Shield got it. Apart from that, Russell's tenure was not a lucky star. A fire destroyed parts of the showgrounds and the subsequent reconstruction work forced the club to play its games on a practice field until the end of the season. After 13 league games without a win, Russell finally lost the trust of the club's management and was replaced after less than a year by Scottish Billy Johnston.

In the cup final in 1978 they were once again defeated by feared opponents Linfield FC with 1: 3, who were able to make their double perfect as champions of the Irish League. It was thanks to this fact that Ballymena United was allowed to compete on a European level for the first time in the club's history despite the defeat. However, the premiere in the European Cup Winners' Cup against Belgian participant KSK Beveren was only moderately successful, as they lost 3-0 in both matches in the first round. In the following year, Alan Campbell took over the coaching position, who should succeed during his tenure in forming the team into a unit, so that they did not even have to fear comparison with the heroes of 1958.

1980s

In his first year at Ballymena, Campbell led Ballymena United FC to the runners-up in the 1979/80 season. This success was tantamount to a ticket to Europe, where in the UEFA Cup with FC Vorwärts Frankfurt, the fifth in the table of the former GDR Oberliga was waiting, which after a surprising 2-1 home win in the first leg was still clearly 3-0 away was subject. Due to a serious traffic accident involving Alan Campbell at the beginning of the 1980/81 season, his assistant Ivan Murray had to take over command of the showgrounds on an interim basis until Campbell had recovered from the consequences of the accident. Although this stroke of fate threatened to overshadow the current season, the Sky Blues showed incredible morale from the start. In addition to winning the Irish Cup, where they defeated Glenavon FC 1-0 in the final , they also crowned the season with third place in the Irish League.

Well-paid transfers of well-known Ballymena players to England, on the one hand from Gerry Mullan to Everton and on the other hand from Nigel Worthington , who later became the national coach of Northern Ireland, to Notts County also improved the club's financial position. In addition, the fans were offered a real treat in terms of sport with the encounter against the Italian cup winners AS Roma in the first round of the European Cup Winners' Cup . After they had to admit defeat to the million-dollar troops at home, as expected, 2-0, they finally lost 4-0 to the Italians in the second leg, which in no way detracted from the “Braidmen” success of the season.

With the final takeover of the coaching position by Ivan Murray in early 1982, however, disillusionment quickly returned in the ranks of the light blues. Unlike in the previous year, the team was back in the middle of the league. Murray found no adequate recipe against the team's failure and was replaced in early 1983 after just under a year in office by the former training director of Crusaders FC , Ian Russell. But even Russell could not force success despite the return of goalkeeper Jim Platt to the team and came barely six months later with his resignation before the dismissal. Platt, the first national player from the ranks of United since 1933, took over the helm as player-coach and promptly brought the Irish Cup back to North Antrim on May 5, 1984 after a 4-1 win over final opponent Carrick Rangers . However, this success did not prevent Platt from moving from Ballymena to arch-rivals Coleraine , where he was to do successful development work over the next five years.

As a result, Alan Campbell, a well-known face, returned to his previous place of work in June 1984, but did not remain in office and dignity significantly longer than any of his predecessors. The new season began with a false start. The elimination against the Maltese team Ħamrun Spartans, which was not previously considered a favorite, in the European Cup Winners' Cup brought the club a lot of malice. The press rated the defeats in the first and second leg and the overall result of 1: 3 not wrongly as "the most embarrassing result in the club's history". With the tragic death of his defensive talent Brian Crockard, the club also had to cope with a heavy blow in the 1984/85 season.

With the resignation of Alan Campbell after the 1984/85 season, Jimmy Brown took over as coach, who had the fortunes of Ballymena in hand for two full years, but was able to show the only success a final participation in County Antrim-Shield, where one against Distillery Got the short straw with 1: 3. After a humiliating loss to Larne FC in September 1987, Brown's time at Ballymena was up. The coach of the reserve team Alex McKee was chosen as Brown's successor, who together with his assistant John Garrett finally managed to bring the fighting spirit of the Sky Blues to new life. With the victory over Larne in the final of the Irish Cup, which most probably only remembered because of Vince Magee's 1-0 goal with the hoe, the "Braidmen" held the cup for the sixth time in May 1989 in their hands. The subsequent participation in the European Cup Winners' Cup against RSC Anderlecht resulted in a debacle, as the Belgian club gave its opponent a lesson in football and promoted United out of the competition with an overall result of 10: 0.

1990 to 2008

In order to initiate the reform of the Irish League with an included promotion and relegation mode, the league leadership decided in 1993 to determine the participants of the "Premier League" to be redesigned from 1995 after the seasons 1993/94 and 1994/95 by means of a point system, at which u. a. athletic success should be taken into account. Since the redesign of the league also included halving the number of previous first division clubs, many of the 16 clubs were faced with the question of relegation for the first time. Much should now depend on the results of the next two years. Jim Hagan, who had replaced Alex McKee as coach of the Sky Blues in 1991, promptly got off to a bad start and had to take his hat off during the 1993/94 season.

His successor Tommy Jackson could not change Ballymena's poor performance and was released from responsibility after only a few months. But even the enormous wear and tear of coaches, during which in October 1994 Gary Erwin was appointed the fourth coach in less than three years, did not lead to the expected trend reversal at United. Despite a memorable victory over Linfield FC , who played an unfamiliar outsider role at the time , the new man was fired six months later. Based on the knowledge that Ballymena would not belong to the newly designed Premier League, Alan Fraser, who was signed at the end of the 1994/95 season, was given sufficient time, unlike his three predecessors, to rebuild the team for the First Division. The trust placed in Fraser paid off, as United made the leap back to first class as champions of the First Division in 1997 after only two years of abstinence.

Ballymena succeeded in relaunching the Premier League, which has now expanded to 10 clubs, thanks to a furious autumn season, which culminated with the advance into the final of the Country Antrim-Shield against Cliftonville FC , where the club ultimately failed on penalties. With the commitment of striker Glenn Hunter from Crusaders FC at the end of 1997, the club seemed to have taken over financially, which apparently also rubbed off on the performance. If the newcomer was still one of several contenders for the title at the turn of the year, the competition was noticeably lagging behind from this point on and the season finally ended in fifth place. Although coach Alan Fraser had led the club back into the Premier League and was able to re-establish it as a fixture there, he was dismissed in 1999 after losing the cup semifinals against Portadown FC . The defeat left a bitter aftertaste, however, because Portadown was subsequently crowned cup winner without a fight after Cliftonville FC, who were intended as final opponents, had been disqualified for playing an ineligible player.

But with Fraser's successor Nigel Best, the club got into difficult waters at the turn of the millennium. On the last day of the 1999/2000 season, Ballymena was only able to pull its head out of the loop and avoid the relegation playoff only by luck and the better goal difference. After there was no improvement in sight in the following season either, the club parted ways with Best in December 2000 on the occasion of a devastating defeat against Newry Town . But the former Ballymena player Kenny Shiels took over the coaching position one month after Best's dismissal could not stop the renewed crash into the First Division. As in the previous decade, Ballymena United only managed to get back up as runner-up in the First Division in 2003 at the second attempt, with the Sky Blues benefiting from the repeated expansion of the Premier League from 12 to 16 clubs. In the promotion season you also reached the final of the County Antrim-Shields and the final in the Ulster Cup.

Reinforced by striker Nigel Jemson, who came from Nottingham Forest , the "Braidmen" settled back in the top half of the Premier League in the first season after being promoted and even qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup in the end . With a respectable 0-0 against the Danish representative Odense BK , Ballymena initially surprised, but only to then go down in the second leg in front of a home crowd with 7-0. At the end of the 2004/05 season, Kenny Shiels finally had to leave the club after a botched semi-final in the Irish Cup against the underdog from Larne . Under the direction of Tommy Wright, the former national goalkeeper of the Northern Irish national team , the team showed consistent performance in the following years, but did not get beyond the solid average.

2008 until today

In the 2007/08 season, by finishing sixth, the Sky Blues clearly missed their goal of being at the top of the table and qualifying again for a European competition. Only shortly after the end of the season, coach Tommy Wright took the consequences and submitted his resignation. Although initially assistant coach Jim Grattan seemed chosen to succeed Wright, Roy Walker was finally introduced as the new coach on May 20, 2008 after the Northern Irish Football Association (IFA), as Grattan's current employer, refused to give his approval.

A week earlier, Ballymena United had already qualified as a participant in the IFA Premiership , which was turned inside out and reduced to 12 teams . The start of the first season of the reorganized House of Lords of Northern Irish football went anything but as desired for the club. After a 1: 5 defeat in the league opener against Cliftonville , the Braidmen found themselves right at the beginning at the bottom of the table. And they shouldn't give up the red lantern anytime soon: After seventeen games, Ballymena had three points on the points account. Even in the cup competitions of the 2008/09 season, the club had nothing to laugh about. The early failure in County Antrim Shield after a shameful 1: 6 bankruptcy against Glentoran FC was followed by an early exit in the 5th round of the Irish Cup by a narrow 0: 1 defeat against eventual cup winners Crusaders FC , although one was in the round had previously eliminated local rivals Ballyclare Comrades .

Even the TV premiere of the club could not help the players at first, as they had to admit defeat 2: 3 in the match against Newry City FC, which was broadcast nationwide for the first time via Sky Sports . It wasn't until the end of November 2008 that the Sky Blues achieved something of a turnaround. With an impressive streak of seven wins in nine games, the light blues were able to give up the red lantern for the first time. The other weeks, on the other hand, went back to normal. With only two wins since March 2009, including one against rivals Coleraine FC , Ballymena staggered towards the end of the season. United was finally saved with the 10th place, the worst placement since the resurgence in 2003, just before relegation.

The answer to the unsuccessful season was given by coach Roy Walker with a massive restructuring of the team. No fewer than ten players had to take off their hats in the summer of 2009. Walker didn't stop at prominent names either, as well-deserved players such as Neil Taggart, Gavin Melaugh and Captain Albert Watson were also eliminated.

successes

• Irish Cup : 6
  • 1928/29, 1939/40, 1957/58, 1980/81, 1983/84, 1988/89
• City Cup: 1st
  • 1971/72
• Gold Cup: 1
  • 1974/75
• Ulster Cup: 2nd
  • 1960/1961, 1980/1981
• Festival of Britain Cup: 1
  • 1951/1952
• Irish League First Division: 1
  • 1996/1997
• County Antrim Shield: 6
  • 1947/48, 1950/51, 1975/76, 1979/80, 2012/13, 2015/16
• Steel & Sons Cup: 1st
  • 1995/96
• Louis Moore Cup: 1st
  • 1952/53
• George Wilson Cup: 2nd
  • 1989/90, 1990/91
• League Cup: 1
  • 2016/17

European Cup balance sheet

season	competition	round	opponent	total	To	Back
1978/79	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1 round	KSK Beveren	0: 6	0: 3 (A)	0: 3 (H)
1980/81	Uefa cup	1 round	FC Forward Frankfurt	2: 4	2: 1 (H)	0: 3 (A)
1981/82	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1 round	AS Roma	0: 6	0: 2 (H)	0: 4 (A)
1984/85	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1 round	Hamrun Spartans	1: 3	0: 1 (H)	1: 2 (A)
1989/90	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1 round	RSC Anderlecht	00:10	0: 6 (A)	0: 4 (H)
2004	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1 round	Odense BK	0: 7	0: 0 (A)	0: 7 (H)
2017/18	UEFA Europa League	1st qualifying round	Odds BK	0: 5	0: 3 (A)	0: 2 (H)
2019/20	UEFA Europa League	Pre-qualification	NSÍ Runavík	2-0	2: 0 (H)	0: 0 (A)
		1st qualifying round	Malmö FF	0:11	0: 7 (A)	0: 4 (H)

Legend: (H) - home game, (A) - away game, (N) - neutral place, (a) - away goal rule , (i. E.) - on penalties , (n. V.) - after extra time

Overall record: 18 games, 2 wins, 2 draws, 14 defeats, 5:52 goals (goal difference −47)

Web links

• Official homepage of Ballymena United FC

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Archive link ( Memento of the original from June 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Malcolm Brodie: 100 Years of Irish Football. Blackstaff Press, Belfast 1980.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Archive link ( Memento of the original dated July 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Steve Bradley: Football's last great taboo? ESPN Soccernet: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=325744&&cc=5739
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ ^{a b c d} Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ BBC NI, May 20, 2008: Walker named new Ballymena boss - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/irish/7410229.stm
9. ↑ http://irishpremierleague.com/news130508_2.htm