Bobby Dalzell Cup semi-final
Ballynagross 0 Drumaness Mills Reserves 1
By Ronan Scott
DRUMANESS Mills Reserves manager Stephen Boyd has described the team’s qualification for the Bobby Dalzell Cup final as a huge moment for the club.
It took an extra time goal from teenager Rory McQuoid to earn Drumaness their place in the final of this season’s Bobby Dalzell Cup, and the win has left the team and the fans buzzing ahead of the festive clash on December 26.
Stephen said: “Getting to the final on Boxing Day, that people in Drumaness have watched since the early 1990s as a yearly tradition, is huge.
“It is always at Drumaness and is a big part of the Christmas festivities in Drumaness. However, it is bittersweet that the game will not be at Meadowvale this year, but we will certainly make sure that our presence in the final will be felt and this game will now become a bigger part of the Drumaness Christmas calendar than it ever has been!”
Last Friday night, Stephen Boyd’s team took on past Bobby Dalzell cup winners Ballynagross and they knew it would be a big challenge.
Stephen said: “Heading into Friday night’s game I knew that we were clear underdogs simply because as a team, as Drumaness Mills Reserves, we have had no experience of a game of this magnitude.
“However, we do have some great experience within our squad that we could tap into.
“We have players who have played in Steel and Sons Cup finals and other Amateur League finals.
“So, for me it was a case of reminding those lads exactly who they are and what they can bring to the game.
“It was also important for me to reassure our young lads who are still playing U-17 football that they belong in this team and that those senior players need them as much as the young lads need them.”
Having defeated Celtic Bhoys in the quarter-final, a team that they had not beaten during Stephen’s tenure, the mood was good.
The Drumaness team are young this season, but they are a confident side.
The game was close throughout, and neither side could get a goal.
“The way the game unfolded thankfully did not surprise me.”
In the rest of the story Stephen Boyd suggested that after a number of injuries during the game playing conditions should be looked at. Read the full story now.