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A bitter cold morning turned into a bright, but still cold, afternoon at Billy Neill playing pitches on the the road to Comber.  The Duns took on St Teresa's who play their home games at Whiterock Leisure centre in West Belfast.  St Teresa's new to the Amateur league this year play their games in 3F but with this being their start point to life in the Amateur league it can in no way reflect the level at which they play their football.  With the Duns knowing little about the side it was going to be tough to get a prediction on the days game.  Well the Duns got their answer 2 minutes into the game when a ball over the top saw Captain Scott Mallon leave his man to go meet the ball only for Marty Polly to get a flick on in the wrong direction over the advancing Scott Mallon to the feet of the young Teresa's forward who found himself in acres to turn and chip the ball over Marchie, who was doing his best to  close the young forward down, and finish in the back of the net.  Wake up call for the Duns, or maybe not as ten minutes later they found themselves two down from a bizare goal from the Teresas winger, who went for a long cross from practically the corner flag for the ball to end up in the top corner at the back post, 2-0 St Teresas.  This momentarily give the Duns the kick in the arse they needed as they found themselves begining to grip the game more and more which resulted in them having a number of chances only for them to be wasted, a Marty Polly shot destined for the top corner somehow found the back of the head of one of the West Belfast mens head to narrowly go over the bar.  Another chance saw young Mark blast one from a couple of yards out straight into the arms of the away keeper.  Another number of missed shots and off the line clearances started to make it look like it was never going to happen for the home side today.  The first half came and went and at the start off the 2nd a moment off madness saw young Fitsy take a full force kick at one of the Teresas lads who had advanced passed young David.  Being left with no choice the ref give him his marching orders with the Duns being left with no complaints on the matter. So 2 down and now a man down with 40 minutes to play you would have been forgiven for thinking the Duns where dead and buried, but if your a Duns player you know its never over until the final whistle and the boys will always give you your all right to the end. The extra man let St Teresas play the ball about more but regardless of that the Duns actually picked up their game and pressed and presurised the away side a lot more than they had in the first and the extra man never told that much on the game.  The Duns fought hard, not to mentin with each other on occasion, and found themselves with a game on their hands when with 15 minutes left who other than Marty Polly found a bit of space to rifle it past the Teresa keeper.  2-1 and a game on our hands.  The Duns continued to push as well did St Teresas and with only two minutes left on the clock a cross ball found Jamie Thompson in he box who scuffed his shot only for Mart Polly (again) to pop up at the right place at the right time to slot the ball under the keeper at the near post to equalize with only minutes to spare.  Full time came and Dundonald found themselves back in the game with it now going to extra time.  An uneventful extra time came and went with the Duns now in a penalty shoot out to make the 3rd round of the Templeton Cup.  With both Captains choosing the pecking order up popped Vice Captain Ryan Ward to start the proceeding which went as follows

Wardy hard and low to the right under the keeper, GOAL, 1-0

St T hard low to the left, GOAL, 1-1

Craig McCormick mid height to the left, GOAL 2-1

St T hard low to the right hits Marchie but skids in to the back of the net, GOAL, 2-2

Ross Mc hard low right in but only just, GOAL,3-2

St T High and left smashing penalty, GOAL, 3-3

Willie Todd mid height left, Goal, 4-3

St T big lad hits high up the middle and goes inches over the bar, NO GOAL, still 4-3

Marty Polly who else low to the left bang, GOAL 5-3

 And the Duns from an unbelievable handicapped position find themselves digging out a mission impossible to deservedly beat St Teresa's in a fantastic game to progress into the 3rd round of the Templeton.  A game that in no way produced the best football from Dundonald but showed the the character and grit of the team that played right to the end and finally got out what they put in.  Excellant the day lads great achievement and time to step up and make an account of ourselves in both the next round and the rest of the league. 

Keep her going boys

 Dundonald where expecting a very tight game the day at Billy Neill from one of the early pace setters in the league and thats exactly what they got.  The game kicked off with the Duns coming out of the traps fastest.  The Duns narrowly shaded the possesion in a compact first 15 minutes and when the ball fell to big McCormick 15 yards out he had no hesitation in teeing up and executing a jumping sideward bicycle kick which saw the end result in the top left hand corner of the Swifts net.  Good start to the game from the Duns and 1-0 up.  Like so many other times this season the goal seemed to invite Dundonald to sit back which inevitably brought the Swifts back into the game who until the half probably had the better of the play.  Dundonald failed to build on their early goal and 5 minutes before the half Bangor saw one of their efforts hit the under side of the bar which bounced the ball back out and into the arms of the waiting Marchant.  A well organised Bangor back four give the Dundonald boys limited chances in the first half whos only chances came from crosses and a few headers which maybe should have been a litlle bit better.  Right on the stroke of half time Swifts got a free kick right on the 18 with a few half hearted calls for penalty but the referee who had a good view was having none of it.  A smashing low effort from Bangor saw Marchant get done excellantly for it to blast him on the chest and very unluckily spin awkwardly and find its way eventually into the net and resting in the side netting on the wrong side of the Dundonald post, 1-1 and deservedly so.  Both defenses contained the oppostion well and with both sides only mustering 2 or 3 shots each in the first half.

Second half and again it was Dundonald who started the brightest and with big Craig blasting one over the bar from 7 yards out the Duns started to wonder if they where ever going to find that second goal.  With young Blaine McMillen constantly in the middle of the play he on a few occasions found himself being hit with a few rash tackles from Mallon and Ward.  Another Swifts player who was having a good game was a fella called del who was picking his passes well, but after a super tackle from Ward Juniour who went through the ball a 100mph, fairly, it resulted in Del being upended and injured with the end result of the lad having to be helped off the pitch for his final part in the game.  This proved to be a big blow for the Swifts and the Duns pushed on in search of the winner which looked increasingly illusive.  Big Craig McCormick again found himself in a great shooting opportunity when he pulled the trigger from about 15 yards out going for accuracy rather than pace, it looked liked it was sailing into the top right and with big Craig already with one hand in the air, the Bangor keeper pulled off a great save tipping the ball round the post.  Big Geordie held the ball up well and with the newly introduced duo off Smith and Thompson, Dundonald where finding a little bit more space in the Bangor defense.  Thompson found himself in a great position after taking the ball past, the Swifts Captain and former Duns player, Tony Mac only to miss a one on one with the keeper at a tight angle.  Dundonald pushed on with the Swifts getting little joy against the Dundonald back four and no notable chances against the Dundonald net in the second half.  With 5 minutes to go Dundonald found themselves with a great attacking opportunity with a free kick 25 yards out from the Bangor net.  Young Wardy curled one to the far left hand corner only for the keeper to come out and punch a catchable effort into the path of young Ryan Smith on the edge of the box, Smith picked his spot and sent his effort to the keepers far left, bobbling past a mellee of players on the way, to eventually find the inside of the post and into the back of the net.  The Duns celebrated ecstaticly for the reason that the Swifts had put up a great fight and proved to be very hard to break down which made the winner seem that much more important.  With 1 minute left on the clock Ward seniour over stretched for a tackle and pulled a muscle in his leg, he stayed down and the ball rolled out for a corner to the Swifts right at the death.  With no more subs Ward had to go to the sideline before he was allowed back on which meant the Duns where a player down with a corner in the dying seconds.  To the Duns relief the corner found itself plant firmly onto the head of Duns Captain Scott Mallon to clear it at a crucial time.  The resulting clearance proved to be the last action in a very tight game and a very big 3 points to the home side which they needed to get themselves back into the mix as far as promotion is concerned. You probably couldnt have had any complaints about a draw as both teams battled hard and found it hard to break each other down, cancelling the other out on the majority of occasion.  But with that said I feel the Duns had done enough the second half to shade it and deserved their three points, a tight game with few chances with the result marginally going the right way.  A good win lads lets keep it going.

 With seemingly eeryone beating each other this year in 3D two previous wins in last years title campaign counts for nothing especially after a win over Albion Star who evn though have had mixed results are a very strong side.  Saintfield turned up at Billy Neil with a few new faces who without a doubt have added to there squad this year.  The game started with Dundonald getting off the blocks quicker.  Putting the Saints back four under pressure from the start.  The new look Saintfield defense held up well and dealt fairly competently with the Duns attacking opportunites.  20 minutes in and young Fitz popped up to scored a smashing goal from the left hand curling it into the far right post.  One thing that i havent mention so far is the Saintfield keeper.  I dont know how its possible but the young fella was both the best and worst player for the Saints.  He balls up all the simple things then when it mattered he seemed to unknowingly get an ear, ankle or bum cheek in the way of the Dundonalds efforts, it could have been and probably should of been a lot more than 3-0 nil only for 5 or 6 off the line clearances not too mention the young keeper getting blasted by the ball every other minute only for it to cannon off him to go wide or over.  2nd half Marty Polly put the Duns 2 up and with Ward Snr chopping down anything that came his way (fairly) it was always going to end in 3 points for the home side.  Ward Juniour unfortunately didnt continue his form of scoring in every game hes started for Dundonald this year as he was one of the unlucky punters who continued to see his efforts get blocked by a very lucky keeper who knew little about the majority of his saves.  With young Ward getting increasingly frustrated with missed opportunities he got the shepards hook for Jamie Thompson, who made that final impact on the game throwing himself at a corner for it to connect well of his head and hit a Saintfield player on the way in.  Was tempted to call this as an O.G. but Jamie begged me in the car park after the game to give to him so feeling sorry for him I reluctantly agreed. Deserved three points and a great performance all round with special mentions to young Fitz for his two good goals with one being unfortuanelty offside, Anto for his tireless workrate and Wardy for probably his best performance in a Dundonald shirt sweeping up everything at the back.  A good performance which is needed to carry the title hopes on for this year after a rocky start.

Cant say too much about what happened down at Larne as i was one of the many who where unable to travel down for the Halloween showdown in the next round of the Junior Shield.  The Duns had a lot of players missing and only had 9 players an hour before they where due to leave, a few phone calls later and some the youngsters filled back in again as well as a full 90 for manager Brian Lawso Law.  From what i hear we lacked a bit of pace at the back to which the St Comgalls boys fully capitalised on which was disheartening forn the Dun who where fully in the game an hour into it at 1-1.  A few long balls and busted lungs later the St Comgalls boys ran out the deserved winners.  Good luck to them in the next round from all at Dundonald FC

Dundonald outplayed the Bangor men in every area the day and went 4-0 ahead in the 1st 25 minutes.  2nd half saw a bad habbit Dundonalds creep back in, they took the foot off just like at 4th, when they thought the job was done.  Bangor pulled 2 goals back to make it 4-2 but the sight of young Ward coming on and scoring after 5 weeks out give big Craig McCormick the energy to get himself forward and get one himself , after setting the 1st 4 up to make the final score 6-2.  Next round the Duns have a difficult tie against St Teresas away.

 Dundonald outplayed the men from Comber today but continuously failed to convert their efforts into goals scored.  Comber reverted to playing the long ball and hoofed absoloutley everything from the back.  The game went into extra time at 2-2 but Marty polly saw the Duns into the next round with a fine strike in the box to give the Duns a deserved win.

With the return of Todd, Fitsy, Dinger, Scott, Marty Polly, Chippo, Anto, Smicker and the new boy Ross 4th were always going to get a game today and thats exactly what they got.  In the first half Dundonald should have been coming in at the break no less than 10 goals up.  It was wave after wave of attack on the 4th goal and even though it was 3-0 at half time Dundonald were very dissappointed as they missed chance after chance hitting the woodwork no less than 4 times.  With a Penalty just after the half this put the Duns 4-0 up and coasting, thinking the job was done Dundonald took the foot off the gas and started to get sloppy as everyone seemed to want to get forward to have a dig and more and more people forgot about coming back to do their defensive duties.  With this 4th found an opening outside the Duns box and a snap shot resulted in the ball bouncing past the rooted Duns keeper Neil, who had nothing to do for 70 minutes, and into the net to make it 4-1.  The wind picked up drastically and two long throws into the box from the new 4th substitue found new boy Ross only for it to lob off him and over keeper Neil into the young lads own net 4-2.  An identical throw not even two minutes later found a random head in the box only for it to again lob over Neil who was again rooted to the spot and into the net 4-3 and a game on our hands.  Two minutes later young Anto restored a bit of normailty by cooly slipping the ball under the advancing 4th keeper to take the score back to 5-3.  To 4ths credit they never gave up and even though Dundonald where still seeing better chances and possesion 4th scored another with 5 minutes to go to take the game and final score to 5-4.  A cracking game that almost slapped Dundonald in the face for not killing it off when they had chance after chance to.  A few lessons from this game need to be learnt as the focus and discipline went out the window when we thought it was over, but overall, the 1sts 70 anyway, an excellant days work from the boys of Dundonald. 

The Duns today saw the worst squad shortage that they probably experienced in a long long time.  With Iveagh being one of the main contenders for the league it was important to have a strong squad out but it wasnt to be.  With the 1sts also missing a lot of players they ravaged an already light 2nds squad to fill in for boys who were out.  On the missing list where

Ward Juniour - cracked ribs from Albion game

Todd - Flu

Fitsy - Flu

Dinger - Holiday

Scott - Getting married

Marty Polly - called to the 1sts

Chippo - called to the 1sts

Ross orderly - called to the 1sts

Jakey - Working

Anto - Flu

Smicker - Working

Andy Weir - called to the 1sts

This left Wardy (Snr) and big Craig McCormick as the only two of the usual starting eleven,  the 2nds then had to play 3 keepers, two managers, and Dundonalds youngster to make up the team.  Unsurprisingly Iveagh proved to be too strong for the extremely weakened Duns.  Big Jacob filling in the day inbetween the sticks deserves a lot of credit for keeping the score down as he made some excellant saves, as well as some last minute tackles in the box from Ward.  The side who went out to face Iveagh played to what they had but truth betold Iveagh ran out worthy winners, on the downside with a full squad I would fully expect Dundonald to have picked up the 3 points, so this is a very eargerly awaited game for the return at Billy Neil, so that the Duns can give a true account of themselves and Iveagh a proper match.  Should be a cracking game so look out for that one in the future.

A game that Dundonald controlled from start to finish but with no strikers available Dundonald found themselves wasting there chances that came with their high percentage of possession.  Downshire will come away from that game wondering how the hell they mangaged to get any points never mind all 3.  A very poor performance from the official ref again and again frustrated the away side as he continually gave Downshire everything and Dundonald nought.  The worst decision of the day resulted in Downshire getting an equalizer afetr Willie Todds 2nd half goal, the Downshire winger took the ball 2 foot over the side line which resulted in everyone stopping for the throw, but to everyones amazement the referee waved play on, even though he had a clear view of the incident and would have needed to have the eyesight of Stevie Wonder not to have seen it go miles over the line.  The greatful Downshire winger took off with the ball having a clear run as the Duns defence had stopped for their throw, he picked his spot to cross and found his mate unmarked to nod the equalizer.  Dundonald cant blame the Downshire winner on the ref as a throw back to the Duns keeper saw Big Neil stop the ball take two touches then fall over the ball as the Dowshire forwards closed him down.  The Downshire forward chipped the ball in to secure the points, two shots two goals.  Dundonald continued to press with the better possesion and play but failed to find the equalizer before the whistle, a bitter taste but it happens.

Dundonald expected a very hard game today from the only team to take 3 points of them last year and thats exactly what they got.  A scorching day at Billy Neill would prove a real test to the fitness levels of some of the players today who found it hard to keep the energey levels of the game to the required standard.  The day started with no less than 5 2nd team players including, Marchant, Bell, Campbell, Orderly and Chippo finding themselves carted off to the 1st team with the side depleted through holidays and injuries.  None the less the Duns still had a strong enough side with the return of McCormick and Ward to the back four.  With kick off under way it looked to have been Albion who were faster out of the traps but for all there pressing they never seemed to be able to find the final ball for any clear cut chances at Big Neils Goal.  Five minutes in and Jamie Thompson found himself with only the keeper to beat from all of 6 yards only to blast it off the advancing Albion stopper, and see the resulting ball go wide for a corner.  Two minutes later and Thompson missed another golden opportunity to put the Duns in front when he again missed from close range.  Albion to there credit kept up there pressure and seemed to attack in droves of 4 with the midfield getting high up the pitch to help their front men.  This high pressure caused both Ward and McCormick to give the ball away in silly places to put the Duns under unneeded pressure.  Ward still on the back of the flu looked a shadow of himself the day and very uninterested in being involved in the play but on one of the few occasions when he did come short to recieve the play he found Fitsy on the left wing with a 20 yard pass who skipped past the Star right back before curling it in with the ouside of his boot past the advancing Polly straight to the ever aware Chris Ward who so far this season has had the neck of being in the right place at the right time to slot the Duns into the lead with a classic poachers goal from 5 yards.  Again like the week before the goal seemed to be the que for Dundonald to take the foot off the gas and let Albion back into the game who where seeing a lot more of the ball by this point.  It was around this part of the game that saw both young Craig at left back and the Duns influential play maker Marty Polly in the middle both go off with injuries.  The Duns brought on 1st team reserve goal keeper Ryan Lavery on for Polly and young Mark for his debut for young Craig.  With Albion pressing high up the pitch this caused a very controversial penalty for the away side, with Albions man of the match Penty making a run wide into the box it resulted in Ward making a sweeping tackle from the back round the player hitting the ball first of the Albion mans shins then rolled out for what he thought was a by ball.  This was not to be the home ref awarded a penalty to what in fairness probably did seem like a foul from where he was standing, but with myself being the guillty party I can put my hand on my heart and say I won that ball fairly making connection with the ball before the man, so I wont be giving myself Donkey Of The Week (Jakey) no matter how high the demand.  Albions Captain and Mouthpiece John stepped up to calmly tuck the ball to the keepers left handside sending big Neil the wrong way in the process, 1-1 and unfairly in my eyes but such is football. 

With the half fast approaching young Ward Juniour found himself in a scuffle with Albions number 4 in an off the ball incident which flared a lot of tempers resulting in a few handbags coming out.  With the ref having award with the guilty parties the game concluded for the 1st half of action.  The second half seemed to be a real test of fitness for a lot of people with a lot of the boys looking very very tired and drained in the afternoon sun.  To Albions credit they seemed to be a little more up for the game and seemed to want it a lot more than Dundonald did.  With Albions midfielders geting a lot of space in the final third of the pitch it seemed to beg the question why werent they beeing tracked back by the Duns midfield and with holes starting to appear in the back line it seemed that Albion may get the much needed momentum to finally break down the Duns defense to get a goal from open play.  The Duns dug in and soaked up everything that Albion had to offer with Dalton having to do the donkey work and get back and fill in the wholes that where being left due to Duns central midfielders reluctance to track their men back.  The Duns took a big big blow literally when young Ward took and elbow to an already cracked rib which seen him go down in a great deal of pain.  The Duns hitman who is currently leading the goal chart with 5 goals in 3 games looks like he may be out for a matter of weeks which will be a big loss to the 2nds if this is the case.  Young Scott came on upfront for the injured Ward and to be honest the rest of the game was played from box to box with both side seeing as much of the ball as the other without that final killer ball.  Last touch of the game saw young Fitz curl a lobbing effort to the top left hand corner to the waiting arms of the Albion keeper who had enough time to deal with the threat.  Drawing with a much improved Albion side is only to be taken as a positive as they will be one of the top sides this year and having played them with a lot of boys out things can only get that little bit easier for the return leg.

Starting Line Up: Neil, Todd, McCormick, Ward, Craig, Dalton, Polly, Mallon, Fitsy, Ward, Thompson

Managers Man Of The Match: McCormick, settled back into his old ways and took control after a minor hick up at the start

Donkey Of The Week: Lawso for giving a penalty that never was

Goals: Wardy

A sunny day in Newtownards resulted in the Duns coming away with a deserved win against an unknown 1st Bangor side.  5 minutes before kick off manager Dee Caughey had to switch regular full back Ward with new signing Craig as apparently not being quite over the Flu Wardy started to be sick even before the warm up.  With Chippo and young Ross today going with the 1st Team it give room for new boy Todd to start along with young Craig.  Dundonald started the brighter and it was in the first 5 minutes young Anto had an effort superbly cleared off the line after he lobbed the keeper only to see a defenders flying mid air boot be the difference of being a goal up.  Not long after Ward found himself in front of the keeper after a great through ball from Thompson only to snatch at it and hit it wide.  Bangor pressed back and saw a lot of their play being worked from midfielder Blackey who won everything in the Air yesterday.  Again Dundonald pressed on and it was Marty Polly who missed a golden opporunity to take the lead snatching at a cross and ending up on his arse, the resulting ball fell to Thompson who swivel and lobbed the ball just over the keeper and bar.  A few more missed opportunities and it was starting to look like it was going to be one of those days for the Duns until Anto put a dangerous ball accross the face of the box which narrowly missed Polly and Thompson but not Ward who came sliding in at the back post to see the ball over the line and the Duns go in front.  The goal seemed to have a numbing effect on the Duns who took their foot off the pedal and when an error at the back of the Duns defence saw the Bangor forward gifted with an opportunity he took it greatfully to pass the ball into the Duns net to make it 1-1.  half time and the Duns are quietly confident of taking all 3 points if they can start taking their chances.  The second half started where the first left off with the Duns repeatedly missing chances at the Bangor end.  Credit to the Bangor keeper who seemed to have a combination of good saves and a hell of a lot of good luck which seen shot after shot hit him in places he didnt even know he had with balls spinning back to him in vital moments and efforts repeatedly roll past the wood work.  With 20 minutes to go Ward again popped up at the right place at the right time to slot another cross face pass from Marty Polly into the back of the net to see the Duns finally take a deserved lead.  Ten minutes later young Ward again showed his positional instincts where bang on when he popped up to convert another pass from Polly into the Bangor net to complete his Hattrick on his League debut for Dundonald.  Another highlight of the game was the impressive performances from the other 2 new boys Craig and Willie who both look like theyll fit in superbly with the boys from Dundonald.  Overall a good days work but definately a need to be more clinical when in front of the opposites sides net, put it down to rust but the base layer of the team looks good and dangerous if we are ever lucky enough to have a full squad to pick from which has happened so far this term but a good start all the same.

MOTM: With Young Wardy banging in 3 on his league debut he has his name on it again this week but solid performances again from Polly and Todd

DONKEY: NONE

GOALS: WARDY X3

Starting Line Up  Big Neil,Todd, Dinger, Marchie, Craig, Ryan, Marty, Scott, Anto, Jamie, Chris

Subs Wardy Jacob

First of the gracious in defeat side of me would like to say well done to Moat Park Rangers the day as they deserved their win, they pushed more and done the simple things better well done lads.

 Now the bad loser in me would like to say your first goal was offside, we where without 8 of our 11 regular players and definatley feel that I should have had a free kick for that last one yous scored, anyway always next time.

An hour before kick off the day saw Dundonald with only 9 players ready to go, missing in action where Orderly, Smith, McCabe, Thompson, Chippo, Pricey, Polly who had to go off, and off course the big lad at the back, with at least 7 of them being guaranteed starts if available.  The game started very evenly with both sides having chances and matching each other for attacking play, a big blow for Dundonald came 10 minutes into the game when work horse Polly who is very important to the Duns midfield had to come off with a thigh injury which he had been carryining from the middle of the week.  This saw stand in Ryan Walker who was only meant to be there to watch the match the day fill in to make up the numbers of Dundonalds depleated squad.  The big man worked his socks off but was at times chasing shadows with the game being at quite a fast pace.  Through out the half Ward juniour made a constant nuissance of himself muscling players of the ball to turn and get decent efforts in from distance.  A mistake at the Moat defence nearly gifted young Ryan Campbell a goal when he picked up a loose ball only to fire over the bar from close range.  Moat had their chances to when Gavin Campbell pulled a few wide once finding himself in good positions.  Half time came with neither side taking control of the game but with the Duns very obviously off the pace and missing some important players.  The second half started a bit brighter for Moat Park and when Jamie Johnston picked up a through ball from an offside position 5 yards in behind the Duns defence he was delighted to see that for some strange reason the Dundonald Ref waved play on which took everyone of the Duns defenders by surprise as they all stopped for the blatant off.  Jonston slotted the ball past big Jacob to make it 1 nil to Moat Park.  5 Minutes later Ward juniour foundhimself recieve a long ball on the lefthand side of the box which he controlled turned and hammered, on the bounce, into the top right hand corner dipping over the keeper on its way in, great debut goal for the young lad.  At the opposit end saw Dinger winning 90% of the headers and Wardy seniour make some solid timed tackles to soak up the Moat threat.  Jakey Dalton found his match in Jamie Johnston who give the right back a hard time the day but not without Jakey making some nice tricked up back heeled passing of his own.  A few chances went spurnned for the Duns when on no less than 3 occasions free kicks in promising positions ended up in either row z or low off the wall.  Moat Parks change of keeper saw La La come out and Gavin go in which seemed to boost Moats attacking flare, this again increased when Kirkwood came on with 20 minutes left to go.  The Duns by this stage looked tired and happy to take a draw but with no less than a minute on the clock a mis communication between Bell and Mallon lead to the ball being flicked on for the advancing Moat Forwards which lead to another dubious goal when Ward went to turn and clear and was flattened by Moat Parks La La who picked up the loose ball and slide it into the bottom corner to give Moat Park Rangers bragging rights about Ballybeen estate.  Overall a very poor performance from Dundonald who looked tired and uninterested at times.  Hopefully this will be rectified once the normal squad returns to see the Duns play anywhere what there capable off.  Fair Play MPR yous deserved it the day well done lads.

Managers Man Of The Match: Chris Ward

Donkey Of The Week: JB

GOALS: WARDY

Starting Line up Big Neil, Jakey, Bell, Wardy, Marchie, Fitsy, Polly, Mallon, Anto, Ward, Campbell,

Subs:Walker, Scott,

 A warm day at Billy Neill got even more heated when the Duns hosted 53rd OB 1sts from the Shankill today.  I think its fair to say that this will be the 1st and last meeting of the two sides.  Theres a lot of good footballing teams from the Shankill who get on with doing what their good at, playing football.  Unfortunately 53rd arent one of these teams and seemed more concerned with leaving the foot in, swinging elbows, lashing out and generally just acting like a bunch of squealing cry babies.  Especially Bubbles who can be seen in our slabber watch section who seemed to think he was two foot taller and 5 stone of muscle heavier than he actually was (NUMPTY).  Anyway back to the report.  The Duns had the worst possible start when normal centre back 'The Rock' ignored the calls of the keeper from the kick off to leave the ball and glanced it passed him to the rushing 53rd forward who thankfully slotted home in the first minute to make the Duns defence look quite silly.  No time to feel sorry for themselves the Duns picked themselves up and got on with it and found themselves level 1 minute later when the outstanding Marty Polly slipped young Anto in to pass the ball into the net under the advancing keeper.  2 minutes played and it was 1-1.  The Duns got a hold of the game and looked the better side time and time again playing the ball in behind 53rds slow defence and it was one of these balls that saw Marty Polly convert a 1 on 1 with the keeper to see the Duns take the lead.  With 53rd squealing the place down at every chance a perfectly good goal was ruled out 30 seconds after it been given when coach and todays first half ref JB took the high road and instead of dealing with a chorus of cries for an hour changed his decision after Manager Caughey told him to give the off (which it wasnt) unlucky Jamie it should have stood.  Jamie Thompson didnt have to wait long though on again capitilising on the lack of pace of the 53rd defence, he found himself with a 1 on 1 which of course came with the cries of unfounded off side calls from the 53rd line, which he cooly placed through the keepers legs and into the net Duns 3-1 53rd 1sts.  53rd twice saw some nice passing put their forward through near the end but twice the danger was cleared by Ward with some good 50/50 challenges, which of course came with the usual shouts of Penalty,No Chance but worth a shout.  With a few more late challenges and swingining elbows having come and gone the half time whistle saw the Duns come from 1 down to leave at the half 3-1 up.

 Second half and nothing changed in either way of subs or style of play except for a 53rd official taking charge of refereeing.  At times 53rd did press and played some nice through balls but time and time again it fell for the Duns defence to pick up the scraps and clear the lines.  Both sides looked fairly even in the second half with the Duns always looking dangerous on the long ball.  53rd had a few chances to with a couple of efforts going wide of the mark. 15 minmutes in saw the arrival of Pricey for the tireless Ryan Campbell upfront.  As the game went on both sides tired with the Duns probably being the guiltyier (if thats a word) of the two for slacking off, and playing deeper at the back instead of chasing out.  This gave 53rd a chance of playing higher up the pitch and with 5 minutes left a floating corner saw from 53rd came off the unexpecting Jakey to bounce back into his own net and for that son your gettin DONKEY OF THE WEEK.  The game fizzeled out but just enough time for 53rd to put another purposely wreckless tackle in on captain Scott Mallon leaving him in agony on the full time whistle.

 Thanks for the memories 53rd (1STS) but its boys like yous who give the Shankill a bad name, if they start a league for slabbering yous are a cert for top spot.

 Another win for the Duns keep her going boys

Managers Man Of The Match: Marty Polly

Donkey of the Week: Jakey for his OG

GOALS: Anto, Jamie, Marty

Starting Line Up Neil, Jakey, Wardy, Rock, Dinger, Anto, Marty, Scott, Ross, Ryan, Jamie,

Subs: Pricey

Dundonald made the away trip to Purdysburn for their second pre-season friendly against last years 3F runners up Donard Hospital.  Dundonald where using this opportunity to find their new starting 11 as their still finding their feet with whats practically a new team. The new manager was able to get a look at new players and and maybe decide who best to replace McCormick, Irvine, Scott and Gabby from last years title winning team who have all bar Scott, whos traveling the globe, joined Sirocco Works FC this year. 

 The game started well for Dundonald who quickly looked the more threating side and so it proved 10 minutes in when young Ryan Campbell played a delightful 1-2 back heel back into the the path of the advancing Chipp, who cooly slotted the ball past the Donard Keeper to make it 0-1 to the Duns.  Donard pressed on and with Donards Ryan Smith causing a lot of trouble for the Duns defence it looked like they might sneak back into the game after a couple of near chances where spurned.  Just as the pressure was incfreasing at the back for the Duns the impressive youngster Chippo popped up in the right place at the right time again to slip a low ball under the Donard keeper to bring the away side 2nil up.  As time went on Donard again looked even more likely of getting back into the game when again Ryan Smith eluded dinger to put himself once again in front of goal, fortunately for the Duns Smiths shooting boots where left in the changing rooms who missed another opportunity to pull Donard back into the game.  The Duns worked hard through out and no more so then with some solid defending by Marchie at left back who missed little in the air.  With half time fast approaching Caughey made some tactical changes switching Dinger and Ward and putting Ward on man for man with Donards Smith to cut out the tricky runs from the forward.  Half Time and the Duns put in a solid display from Mallon and Polly making thereselves felt in the middle, Chippo and Ross tireless running at the full backs, Thomson and Campbells continued off the ball runs pulling the defence apart, not too mention the hard work the Boys at the back had put in especially against Donards tricky Ryan Smith.

Half time changes: Jakey for Marchie - Fitsy for Ross - Pricey for Campbell and Big Neil for Big Jacob.

 Donard made a lot of changes at half time with some very good players coming on even though they surprisingly took off their biggest threat Smith.  With the second half kicking off Donard came into the game more and looked a lot more dangerous than they did the previous half.  Donards new forward line consisting of Freddie McDole and the impressive nippy number 11 worked tirelessly on getting in behind the Duns defence.  The number 11 looked very comfortable on the ball and on another day may of had a a couple of goals from outside the box.  Experienced Ward had to play right on the young lads heels to try and stop his impressive link up play.  One thing to be mentioned is that half time sub South African keeper Jacob who came on for big neil came into todays game with this as his first and only ever game of football hes ever taken part in and even though he entertained us with his constant funny quotes at the back which he shouted repeadly (FOCUS FOCUS FOUCUS, WATCH THE BALL WATCH THE BALL WATCH THE BALL & ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY) The big man done very well twice stopping two point blank shots with his outstretching 9ft arms.  A few dodgey moments from Jacob no more so than when he picked the ball up from 2ft out side the box but overall a very good performance from the new boy.  With Pricey coming on upfront he put himself about well challenging for everything and pulling off some nice touches and tricks, not bad for the normal first team keeper.  Young Fitz found himself back in the thick of it playing in front of the back four with Donard now playing higher up the pitch.  With experienced defender Whin covering left back now this left Dinger Ward and Jakey to Switch the marking between them on the left side where a lot of play came from.  As the game went on both teams tired which became evident when normal work horse Mallon, not looking, laid a ball of from a free kick straight back the way to a Donard player and then uncharacteristically didnt even have the legs to chase back.

The Duns took what Donard had to throw at them an battled back just as hard and with ten minutes left to go Donard forward Freddie McDole found himself steam rolled by the advancing man mountain keeper Jacob in a fair clearance of the ball which left McDole in a heap and the wind knocked out of him (Rather you than me Freddie).  Last minute and last chance of the game fell to Donard with a long ball into the box saw an airial scramble on the line with Ward just narrowly heading the ball past his own post for a cornern which was resulting cleared and saw the the fulltime whistle come for some very tired players.  Great game against a good side which gave the Duns a good account of what to expect this year in 3D. 

Man Of The Match: Chippo

Donkey Of The Match: Scott Mallon for the worst lay off free kick ever

Goals: Chippo x2

STARTING LINE UP Neil,Whin, Dinger, Wardy, Marchie, Chippo, Scott, Marty, Ross, Ryan, Jamie,

SUBS: Fitsy, Jakey, Pricey, Jacob