https://www.irishfa.com/news/2026/october/clearer-water-irish-cup-third-round-recap

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c6x2wgwpkp4wt

Nb there are a number of pitch inspections today with the women's irish cup final already postponed- https://www.newsletter.co.uk/sport/football/northern-ireland/games-hit-as-irish-league-fixtures-postponed-off-storm-boelo-weather-warning-9307385

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cmglwndpe1dgt

Glens to host Larne in round two of BetMcLean Cup - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cqx2950dle09o

I see some beautiful nerds have been working away on this and have released a browser version of this from 96/97! So much nostalgia! Just having a wee quick sim here but this is class. My xbox controller seems to work fine.

OpenSWOS: Sensible World of Soccer 96/97 rebuilt in C, with online multiplayer, free on PC, Mac, Linux, the Amiga and in your browser : r/SensibleSoccer

Was just looking at something there the other day about people in England being priced out of the premier league. Was thinking how much I roughly spent last season following cliftonville. I can’t remember the prices of certain things but I had rough guess.

Season ticket £190 - covered 18/20 home games in the league

New shirt £55
Cliftonville jacket £45
Cliftonville hat £10

Away trip to Gibraltar Total £505 excluding spending each day which was probably about £60 a day so maybe close to £700.

Flights £260, very expensive because we only booked them like a week before. The Latvian flights the year before were nearly £400
Travel insurance £10
Hotel £190 for 3 nights
Match ticket £22.50
Supporters bus Malaga to Gibraltar and back £20

Away games and cup games excluded from season ticket. Attended roughly 19 away or cup games 25/26 with a couple below the £15. £275 total roughly.

Food and drink all season. A rough estimate here but I would say every other game I would have a feed or a tea and would have a few pints on a Friday evening if we played. That’s probably about say £150 on food and then maybe say £100 on drink over the year within the grounds.

Travel to these games, mostly get a lift but would say maybe low enough at about £60.

In total I had probably spent close to £1600 following cliftonville last season which included attending about 40 games which is pretty mad when calculating lol. Obviously when we don’t qualify for European football this would drastically reduce the amount spent.

I’d say you could get away with spending about £600 if you attended most games, didn’t buy club gear or food/drink. And of course no European trips
. Would be curious to see how much anyone else has spent and if it’s more than this. Also hopefully my maths adds up.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/crd9301y8g2xt

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/crd9301y8g2xt

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c83vqw40dz9zt

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c83vqw40dz9zt - sportsound

Just appointed from what Ive read as Glens new manager. Im not reading good things about his track record. Why do we always appoint people with shite or no proven ability. FFS.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cknv0zg9d4jnt - report & highlights

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cknv0zg9d4jnt - stream

Any chance this oil tanker fire outside the ground will affect the match going ahead tonight?

Coming up from Newtownabbey so don't want to be arsed travelling up if its off.

Cheers

Ballymena United are pleased to announce that Len O'Sullivan has joined the club on a short term deal.

Having left Ross County this summer, the 22-year-old left back joins United to add to the rank and file in his position, with both Matthew Clarke and Micheál Glynn dealing with injury issues.

The Irishman began his career in his home country, including spells at Wexford and Bray Wanderers, but following a period of time training with Crystal Palace, he joined Glenavon in 2024. O'Sullivan enjoyed an impressive eighteen months at Mourneview Park, leading to the move to Ross County and he went on to make 34 appearances for the Dingwall outfit.

Manager Oran Kearney wished to outline the reasoning for bringing Len in at this time:

"It's well documented we've had issues with injuries in the left back position and with Shane McEleney moving on, it freed up the space to bring in Len. He knows the league and had a good stint in Scotland. He's keen to get going and importantly, he's ready to go straight away."

Oran added:

"Ross County were keen to keep him, but I think he wanted to come back closer to home. He's been training with Cork City, but I remember from his time at Glenavon that he's a fit and energetic lad and he's ready made to come straight in."

Len will wear the number 25 shirt and will be available for selection for Saturday's game with Crusaders at the Showgrounds.

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𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝗱 (𝗪/𝗖 𝟭𝟭/𝟭𝟬/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲)

Lady members win on Sports Bond

After a few weeks which saw male members dominant on Sports Bond, this week saw an almost complete clean sweep of the prizes by lady members.

Maurice Anderson's agency had a Major £50 win with Dawn Galloway (A2910). Dawn is a daughter of the late Don Stirling, who was Ballymena United secretary for many ye

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𝗠𝗰𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 🤝

Ballymena United are thrilled to announce that Caoimhin McConnell has signed a multi year contract extension.

McConnell arrived at United this summer, initially as a trialist, following a stint in the USA. After impressing on trial, Caoimhin signed permanently for the Sky Blues and since breaking into the team has put together a string of

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𝗦𝗸𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 #𝟱: 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗿

This week Sky Blue Rewind hears from a hometown hero who scored twice on his senior debut against this week's opposition, Cliftonville, back in 1970

Dessie Orr grew up in Chichester Park in Harryville and trod the well worn footballing path of numerous young players of his era from Harryville Primary School to the Intermediate School f

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𝗦𝗸𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 #𝟰: 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁 𝗗𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱

As the cliché says, form goes out the window in a derby so this week Sky Blue Rewind takes a look back to a game in Coleraine where a Ballymena team upset the odds on the Ballycastle Road back in 2000. Two-goal hero on the night Scott Drummond shares his memories with Johnny Doak for Sky Blue Rewind.

Born in Glasgow, Scott Drummond ar

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𝗦𝗸𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 #𝟯: 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗠𝗰𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻

As United prepare for a trip to the North Down coast on Saturday, Sky Blue Rewind looks back almost forty years to the day when Ballymena enjoyed a 1-0 victory at Clandeboye Park against Bangor in mid-September 1986. This week Johnny Doak chatted to the goalscorer from that day, Davy McAlinden....

After the euphoria of the early 1980s,

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𝙎𝙏𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙀 ⌚️

Ballymena United can confirm the Deadline Day signing of defender Kodi Lyons-Foster, who arrives on a short term loan deal from Coleraine.

The 29-year-old Englishman joins the Sky Blues for the first half of the Boyle Sports Premiership season, with his loan spell lasting until January to give United a further option in their defensive

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𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗡'𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 🙌

Ballymena United are pleased to announce the signing of attacking midfielder Finley Thorndike from Crusaders.

The 24-year-old Englishman arrives on Warden Street as part of a swap deal with Crusaders that sees Donal Rocks move in the opposite direction.

Thorndike made over thirty appearances for the Crues following his signing last s

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𝗦𝗸𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 #𝟮: 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗰𝗔𝘃𝗼𝘆

Sky Blue Rewind goes us back almost fifty years to relive a landmark visit from Glentoran to the Showgrounds through the eyes of Ballymena's goalscorer on the day, Billy McAvoy.

Born and brought raised in Greyabbey, Co Down, Billy McAvoy's senior football career kicked off at the tender age of sixteen playing for his local side Ards.

"

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𝗦𝗸𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 #𝟭: 𝗗𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘆

With the season opener at Linfield fast approaching, Johnny Doak caught up with the last United player to score a winner for the Sky Blues in a League game at Windsor Park.

When Dom Melly's goal gave Ballymena United a 1-0 win at Windsor Park in October 2004 - few would have thought the wait would continue for almost 22 years for a rep

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𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗮 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱

Ballymena United is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Balmer as the Club's new Ticketing Lead, a key role as the Club continues to build on a hugely successful period of growth in matchday and season ticket sales.

Michael's appointment comes, following the successful transition to TicketCo as Ballymena United's official ti

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𝙍𝙊𝙊𝙈 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝘼𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍 𝙊𝙉𝙀 👀

Ballymena United are pleased to confirm the signing of Michael Leetch, who joins the Club from Ballyclare Comrades.

The nineteen-year-old Ballymena native arrives at his hometown club from Ballyclare, with whom he enjoyed a fruitful three and a bit seasons to begin his career in the senior game. Leetch spent a decade with Ballymena Un

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Ballymena United Football Club

The Showgrounds. 30 St. Patrick's Link, Town Parks, Ballymena, County Antrim, BT43 7FU

02825 652049

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