Boxing day sees the 37th Bobby Dazzler take place at Meadowvale Drumaness and what a great game it should be, Ballyvea and Castlewellan Town like Man Utd v Liverpool has a certain ring to it and are no strangers to Dalzell cup finals having met each other on 4 previous occasions in the boxing day showpiece. At the minute Ballyvea hold sway with 3 wins to the town’s 1 win although Ballyvea’s victories were back in 1977, 79, and 89. Clearly there is little to choose between the teams on recent form so, as town manager John Burns said in local press reports it will be who wants it more that will prevail.
Castlewellan have their problems though, out are Barry Travers who suffered a bad accident at work, out is Daniel Morgan through suspension and rated only 50/50 is talismanic midfield giant Dean Anderson who will be given every chance to prove his fitness for the big day. Add to that the loss of last season’s player of the year Aidan Burns who has been drafted into the Down team for the McKenna Cup competition. In many other seasons this loss of personnel would have proved disasterous but with young talent coming up through the ranks all the time these vacancies can be filled with good back up.
The town will look to an experienced goalkeeper and back four to curb the undoubted threat of Burden and McConnell. Michael Watson is still one of the very best keepers in local football, a couple of his saves in the semi final were out of the top drawer and he inspires confidence in those in front of him. Connor Stratton and Ruiari McArdle form a formidable central partnership and in the absense of Travers it would seem likely that the two wide men will be Conal Corrigan and Aidan Kelly although Colm Flanagan Paul McGrady and Donal McKibben give them options in this area. In midfield a lot will depend on the fitness of Dean Anderson, the big man has been out for a couple of months now due to a recurring back problem and at the moment is rated only 50/50. If Dean doesn’t pass a fitness test the midfield should be made up of 4 from Sean Russell, Nial Toner, Colm Flanagan, Donagh Steele and Donal McKibben, up front I would expect Paddy Keown and Liam McKibben to start leaving Stevie Trainor to enter the fray as an impact sub.
So plenty for the managers to ponder over, lets just hope for our sake that they come up with the right formula. If Castlewellan use the big pitch the way it should be used there is no reason why they cannot make it three Bobbys in a row. They will have to take any chances that come their way as I was very impressed with Ballyvea’s rearguard in the semi against Killough, they were organised and got the ball out of the danger area quickly, as usual though it will all boil down to who wins the midfield battle and can provide the most ammunition for their forwards. Lets hope its a good advert for the Newcastle League and good luck to the boys in green! UTT
Aidan Kelly
Connor Stratton
