Ballinamallard United F.C.
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Ballinamallard United Football Club is a semi-professional
Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club playing in the
NIFL Championship The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championshi ...
. The club, re-formed in 1975 after being dormant since the 1960s, hails from
Ballinamallard Ballinamallard or Bellanamallard (Flanagan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 172. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,340 people in the 2001 Ce ...
, near
Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...
,
County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...
, and plays its home matches at
Ferney Park Ferney Park is a football stadium in Ballinamallard, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the home stadium of Ballinamallard United. It was first used by Ballinamallard United in 1975, when the club was founded. History Since 2006, Ferne ...
. Club colours are all royal blue (home), and all white (away).


History

During 2008–09 and the first part of 2009–10, the club played at
Holm Park Holm Park is a football stadium in Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Armagh City F.C. The stadium holds 3,000. It is also used by Windmill Stars F.C. History Holm Park was built after Milford Everton were unable to continue u ...
, the home of
Armagh City Armagh City was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland. Boundaries This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Armagh in County Armagh. It was the successor constituency to the Armagh City constituency of the Parliament of ...
, while Ferney Park was brought up to Championship standard. The club's first match back at its own ground was on 5 December 2009 in its first ever major cup quarter final against Portadown in the League Cup. In February 2011 the club reached its first ever Irish Cup quarter final when it defeated Lisburn Distillery 4–2 after a 6th Round replay at Ferney Park. On 31 March 2012, the club secured promotion to the top flight of Northern Irish football for the first time in their history. A 3–2 win over Bangor secured the 2011–12 IFA Championship 1 title, and promotion to the
2012–13 IFA Premiership The 2012–13 IFA Premiership (known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of Northern Ireland's national football league in this format since its inception in 2008, and the 112th season of Irish league foot ...
. They became the first team from
County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...
to play senior football. In their first season in the Premiership the target was to avoid relegation. However, they surpassed all expectations, finishing 5th in the table. They secured a 2–2 draw at Ferney Park in their opening Premiership fixture against Dungannon Swifts, and their stand out results during the season included a 1–0 away win over eventual league champions
Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay. The original Palm Bay estate was ...
at
Solitude Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think, or rest without distu ...
in September 2012. They also defeated reigning champions Linfield twice at
Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual rent ...
, 3–1 in October 2012 and 1–0 in the post-split match in April 2013. In their second season 2013–14 they finished in 10th place, three points above Warrenpoint Town in the play-off place after going unbeaten in their last 6 games of the season. No play-off was ultimately needed that season. In their third season 2014–15 they finished in 9th place, 2 points above Dungannon Swifts in 10th and 9 points above Warrenpoint Town in the play-off place. The club also made history by reaching its first ever major cup semi final when it beat Glentoran in a penalty shootout in a Wasp Solutions League Cup quarter final at Ferney Park. In the 2015–16 season the Mallard's recorded their first ever win at
The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
beating
Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
0–2 and they also recorded their first ever win at
Shamrock Park Shamrock Park is a football (soccer), football stadium in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Portadown F.C. Shamrock Park was previously used for stock-car racing, but this has since been discontinued. The stad ...
and The
Ballymena Showgrounds The Ballymena Showgrounds is a football stadium in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is home to Ballymena United F.C. and Ballymena United Allstars F.C. It is owned by Ballymena Borough Council. In addition to men's soccer a variety ...
winning 3–0 and 2–1 respectively. The Mallard's
Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...
campaign was a disappointing one going out in the 5th Round on penalties to
Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...
after surrendering a two-goal lead in the second half. They reached the Quarter-Finals of the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
before being knocked out by eventual finalists
Ards Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin color ...
in another penalty shoot out. The Mallard's contested a thrilling end to the season with
Carrick Rangers Carrick Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1939, hails from Carrickfergus, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Taylors Avenue which is known as ...
and Warrenpoint Town with Ballinamallard beating Carrick 1–0 on the final day and Warrenpoint beating
Dungannon Swifts Dungannon Swifts Football Club is a Northern Irish, semi-professional football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1949, has risen from the Mid-Ulster league to the top tier in Northern Ireland since its election to the ...
1–0 meaning Carrick would automatically return to
NIFL Championship 1 The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national association football, football league in Northern Ireland. Cl ...
and Warrenpoint Town would contest the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off and the
Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of al ...
side would be safe. However, in the 89th minute at Taylor's Avenue
Carrick Rangers Carrick Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1939, hails from Carrickfergus, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Taylors Avenue which is known as ...
equalized through Mark Surgenor meaning that Carrick would still be automatically relegated to the
NIFL Championship 1 The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national association football, football league in Northern Ireland. Cl ...
but that Ballinamallard would now contest the play-off and Warrenpoint Town would be safe in 10th place. The drama took yet another turn when in the 94th minute of the game at Taylor's Avenue in the final minute of stoppage time, Miguel Chines scored a stunning bicycle kick to win the game for
Carrick Rangers Carrick Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1939, hails from Carrickfergus, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Taylors Avenue which is known as ...
meaning in fact that they would be safe prompting wild celebrations from the Carrick supporters meaning now that Ballinamallard would be automatically relegated to Championship 1 and Warrenpoint would contest the play-off. In the final turn, Warrenpoint Town conceded a controversial penalty in the dying seconds of their game with Andrew Mitchell putting it away to make it 1–1 now automatically relegating Warrenpoint Town and Ballinamallard United contesting the play-off with
Institute An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...
where they managed to beat the
Drumahoe Drumahoe () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies to the east of Derry. It is home to Institute F.C., an NIFL Championship football club. The busy A6 road from Belfast to Derry passes through the townland. I ...
side 2–1 away from home and drew 3–3 at
Ferney Park Ferney Park is a football stadium in Ballinamallard, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the home stadium of Ballinamallard United. It was first used by Ballinamallard United in 1975, when the club was founded. History Since 2006, Ferne ...
to secure the club's premier league status for the 2016–17 season. On 13 May 2016 it was announced legendary manager, Whitey Anderson, would be leaving the club after over ten years service.
Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...
assistant coach Gavin Dykes was appointed as his replacement. The Mallards went on to secure 10th place to guarantee their 6th season in the
NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...
. On the 30 March 2019 Ballinamallard United reached their first ever
Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...
final by beating Warrenpoint Town in a penalty shoot-out. Striker Ryan Campbell scored the winning penalty. In the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
on 4 May, they lost 3-0 to
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
.


Current squad


Honours


Senior Honours

*
North West Senior Cup The North West Senior Cup or North West Cup is a senior football competition in Northern Ireland run by the North West of Ireland Football Association. Senior and intermediate teams from the North West FA's jurisdiction (which covers County Lon ...
: 1 **2019–20


Intermediate Honours

* Irish League Second Division/IFA Championship 1 : 2 **2002–03, 2011–12 *
IFA Reserve League The NIFL Development League (prior to 2016, the NIFL Reserve League) is an intermediate Association football league in Northern Ireland consisting of the reserve teams of the twelve NIFL Premiership clubs. Current members (2021–22) * Ballymena ...
: 1 **2012–13† *
Irish Intermediate Cup The Irish Intermediate Cup is a Northern Irish football competition for teams of intermediate status, including NIFL Premiership reserve sides. It is a straight knock-out tournament and is currently sponsored by McCombs Coach Travel. The curre ...
: 1 **1994–95 *
Fermanagh & Western Intermediate Cup The Fermanagh & Western Intermediate Cup was an intermediate soccer competition in Northern Ireland run by the Fermanagh & Western Football Association. It was introduced in 2009 as the first-ever intermediate competition within the Fermanagh & ...
: 1 **2010–11 *Fermanagh & Western League Championship: 4 **1925–26, 1957–58, 1997–98, 2001–02 *Fermanagh & Western Mulhern Cup: 3 **1954–55, 1988–89, 2010–11 *Fermanagh & Western Reihill Cup: 4 **1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1995–96 † Won by Ballinamallard United II (reserve team)


Youth Honours

*Harry Cavan Irish Youth Cup: 2 **2001–02, 2005–06 *IFA Youth League Cup: 1 **2011–12


References


External links

*
Ballinamallard United Statistics and Results at the Irish Football Club Project
{{NIFL league Association football clubs established in 1975 Association football clubs in Northern Ireland NIFL Premiership clubs Association football clubs in County Fermanagh 1975 establishments in Northern Ireland