2009 Spring Review and Summer Preview

Balaga Tongo find themselves on the cusp of a new season in footy.ie Wednesday medium standard football. Participating in their first footie league last season, Balaga finished up with 24 points from 14 games and in 4^th position. An early surge saw the Tongolese team at the top of the table but a run of poor mid-season form, following the horror injury to goalkeeper Damo Kennedy, resulted in points lost and what could of been a title challenge faded away, culminating in the routing received in a high profile 6 pointer against the upsetters, a match where defensive linchpin Graham Deano the Rock Deane suffered a horrific broken ankle.


Highlights of the season were of course some great attacking football which saw the team notch up over 60 goals. Christmas signing, playmaker and freekick specialist Rory Browne went on the win the official league MVP award, as well as the FC Balaga Tongo in house MVP award. Eoghan Webz Kennedy continued his prolific goal scoring record in the Cucumbers colours and picked up the FC Balaga Tongo Golden Boot award with 16 goals to his name. Stephen Stefán The Rat Parker ,another Christmas signing, made a big impact on the team and produced some memorable match winning performances, scoring 9 goals in the process. Phil O Driscoll was another good performer adding a touch of class to midfield and occasionally the Balaga front line. The last of the Christmas signings was John JD Duggan who was the most consistent defender of the season and managed to grab 8 goals from his thrilling runs up the wing.



Kevin Broderick, Tom O’Callaghan and Graham Deane all fought hard for the cause throughout the season and although they all individually played very well on occasion, they sometimes lacked the defensive organization and positioning awareness needed. This left their goal tender Damo Kennedy without protection, especially at the start of games. Damo himself had a solid season in between the sticks and came back very strong after his concussion which was a crrredit to him. An improvement is needed though, with the backline conceding over 50 goals in the 14 games and not picking up one cleansheet. O’Callaghan will be looking to have a more settled backline for the forthcoming season and the onus is on the captain to get the right formation.

With Deano and J.D. out with injury and summer trips respectively, transfer rumours were rife with John Owens and Andy Herbert looking like likely introductions but these were not possible and Balaga Tongo management moved before the end of the Spring season to sign David W for the Summer. With a squad of 8 rather than 9, this should result in more continuity in the team. David W himself is a colleague of O’Callaghans from his Dnet days in CIT. A hardworking player who is not afraid to get stuck in David W should fit right into Balaga and add an extra edge to the squad.




With some familiar teams from last season are present again, ie the Upsetters and Rosies. But the league is filled with mostly new ones, Mercer, Premier Auto Parts, Bare-Arse-Alona, Callas Cowboys and douglas mortgages make up the 8. Nothing is known about these 5 teams but if Balaga can get going from the start it shouldn’t matter too much!!!

Talk of a Balaga Tongo 11-a-side team did not materialise yet... but players are there and a place to play is needed!