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Match Report · Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Posts: 131

Muckley bring out the silverware for their 50th Anniversary

As 1st Knocknamuckley BB prepare to celebrate their 50th Anniversary they can look proudly upon their trophy cabinet after a wonderful year of sporting achievement that saw the company land seven trophies, possibly their highest ever trophy haul, and certainly their highest for many, many years.

The first trophy of the season was won in Novemeber. Knocknamuckley were invited to participate in the Lurgan Battalion Volleyball Tournament, and gladly accepted. The tournament was seen as a chance to give some of the younger players some experience, and was coached by two of the senior boys. The young team grabbed their chance to impress with both hands, and came away from Lurgan with the trophy.

The next trophy came in rather more confusing circumstances. The U-15 football team managed to get to the final of the Portadown Battalion 5-a-side Tournament, only to suffer the disappointment of loosing on penalties to 7th Portadown. However, it came to light a number of weeks later that one of the Portadown players, who had played a key role in their performance, was in fact over-age, and so the trophy was awarded to the Knocknamuckley side, who were indeed deserving winners.

The Portadown Battalion Cross Country has always been a competition dominated by Knocknamuckley, however, has held little success for the company in recent years, having not won the competition in any of the last five years. It meant that the cross county victory this year must rate as one of the most pleasing wins of the season. Knocknamuckley turned up with a large team, all of whom gritted their teeth and showed great determination to grasp a great victory, winning one race, having two second place finishes as well as one boy coming in in third place. So it was with a great amount of satisfaction that the trophy was taken back to its home at Knocknamuckley again this year after a long wait.

The chess team were next to win a trophy, retaining the Irish title which they won last year, with some comprehensive victories along the way, and actually came very close to earning an all Knocknamuckley final, but the B team were narrowly defeated in the semi final.

Knocknamuckley had to wait a long time for their next victory to come along, but when it did, it was followed quickly by further successes. The U-18 Football team got to the final of the local BB Sevens competition, which is now to the forefront of BB football in the Lurgan and Portadown area. Having underperformed in last seasons competition they made sure not to disappoint this year with a dominant performance at Mourneview Park to become the first team to win the sought after trophy twice.

This season now reached its climax with two Northern Ireland Cup Finals. The first of these saw the U-18 football side attempt to follow up their BB Sevens win with a Northern Ireland Cup victory to complete an impressive double. The Northern Ireland Cup is a competition that Knocknamuckley have only won once, and there was a great hunger to emulate the team of 17 years ago and bring the trophy back to Muckley for only the second time. This hunger was evident on the pitch, as Knocknamuckley produced a wonderful display in both attack and defence to overcome an impressive side from 3rd Kilkeel.

The season finale was held at Knocknamuckley as the volleyball team took on Portrush. Volleyball is another sport which Knocknamcukley have a proud tradition in, and the match drew a big crowd. The spectators were treated to a powerful display as Knocknamuckley out performed their opponents and retained the Northern Ireland Cup, to complete an astonishing seven trophy haul.

As well as the trophies mentioned above Knocknamuckley also performed in a number of other sports. The Golf and rugby teams both performed well in their respective tournaments, while the U-15 Tug-of-War side finished as Runners Up in the Portadown Battalion. The table tennis team only just missed out on retaining their Irish crown, finishing as runners-up, and the Badminton side ended their long, winless run, reaching the NI Cup semi-final.

All the reports of these performances and many more can be found on the official website: www.knocknamuckleybb.co.uk