The Irish News: Wednesday May 12 2010: Bradley: Derry the call to progress
ANTRIM manager Liam Bradley has predicted that Derry will defeat Armagh on Sunday and go on to reach this year’s Ulster final.
“Derry haven’t lost a Championship match in Celtic Park since 1994 and I definitely think they will beat Armagh come Sunday.
“I would also fancy them against Monaghan. I really fancy Derry to get to an Ulster final,” said the Saffron boss.
Bradley’s two sons, Paddy and Eoin, will both be lining out against the Orchard county at the weekend.
It’s now 10 years since Paddy Bradley made his Championship debut against Cavan on May 14, 2000.
During his decade with the Oak Leafers, the former Allstar has failed to win an Ulster medal.
Liam Bradley was asked if he thought this could be the year when Paddy and Eoin would help Derry claim their first Ulster title in 12 years.
“I certainly hope not,” came the prompt reply.
Speaking with his Antrim cap on, the Glenullin man said: “I hope it is going to be our year. But if we weren’t going to win, then I would want them to win.
“It would be brilliant if it was an Antrim/Derry final.”
Mallon ready for a new challenge
BRIAN Mallon has no problem with adversity. He experiences it every day.
An Armagh footballer, he works as an accountant for Barrett’s Concrete, a company set in the heart of county Tyrone.
“They are good football people and there is always a bit of craic about the football,” he says cheerfully.
The 26-year-old clearly enjoys the workplace banter which can be as vicious and unforgiving as anything on the football field. It should probably come as no surprise then that Mallon loves this time of year.
“We are all playing football to play Championship football, not Division Two football in the National League. Any footballer would tell you that.
“This Championship game in Derry will be a huge battle. There will be that intensity and the Championship fever that we haven’t experienced this year to date.
“We are all looking forward to it,” he said.
Mallon was interviewed before he made his way into the launch of the ‘My Armagh’ campaign, a fundraising initiative that is seeking to provide the Orchard county with the financial backing to run teams, complete the Athletic Grounds, and develop a state-of-the-art training complex
QUICK QUIZ
1. Who are the reigning All-Ireland GAA Senior Club Football champions?
2. Which Scottish boxer is known as 'The Tartan Tornado'?
3. Who did Manchester United beat in the first all-English Champions League final?
4. Who did Serena Williams beat to claim her first grand slam tennis singles title at the 1999 US Open?
5. Which country is the reigning Olympic Polo champions?
6. How many clubs did Sir Alex Ferguson manage?
7. Which Premiership Rugby club plays its home games at Sandy Park?
8. Where was the British Open due to played this year before it was cancelled?
9. Who is the youngest singles final winner at the US Open?
10. Who won the 2018-19 title in Belgian football's top tier, the Jupiler Pro League?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
BIRTHDAYS
Andrew Coltart (golf) - European Tour and former Ryder Cup player, born 1970.
Mark Foster (swimming) - Former swimmer specialising in 50 metres butterfly and freestyle, who carried the flag for Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics, born 1970.
Jim Furyk (golf) - American Ryder Cup player and 2003 US Open champion, born 1970.
Mike Weir (golf) - Canadian former Masters winner, born 1970.
Graeme Dott (snooker) - 2006 world champion, born 1977.
Rob Key (cricket) - Former Kent and England batsman, born 1979.
Darren Randolph (soccer) - West Ham and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, born 1987.
Marcelo (soccer) - Real Madrid and Brazil full-back, born 1988.
Frenkie De Jong (soccer) - Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder, born 1997.
Morgan Lake - (athletics) - 2018 Commonwealth Games high jump silver medallist, born 1997
ON THIS DAY
1859: Mayonaise won the 1000 Guineas by 20 lengths - a British record for a classic.
1945: Alan Ball was born. Ball was the youngest member of England's World Cup-winning side in 1966 and was also a manager with Portsmouth, Manchester City and Southampton. He died in 2007, aged 61.
2006: Former world featherweight champion Naseem Hamed was jailed for 15 months after admitting a charge of dangerous driving.
2010: Fulham were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final in Hamburg.
2011: Kenny Dalglish was appointed as permanent manager of Liverpool on a three-year deal.
2016: Roberto Martinez paid the price for Everton's Premier League nosedive when he was sacked with one game of the season still to play.
2016: Ireland's Shane Lowry wrote his name into the history books with a tournament-record 29 shots through his last nine holes on day one of the Players Championship at Sawgrass, giving him a share of the clubhouse lead.
2017: Chelsea clinched the Premier League title as Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to secure a 1-0 win against West Brom.
ON THIS DAY
May 12 1945: England World Cup winner Alan Ball is born
Alan Ball never grew taller than 5ft 6in but he become a giant of the game regardless.
Lancashire lad Ball was rejected by both Bolton and Wolves due to his small stature before Blackpool signed him up as an apprentice in 1961.
He made his Blackpool debut at the age of 17 and was a regular in the side by the 1963-64 season when still a teenager.
His performances caught the eye of Alf Ramsey and a year later, Ball was the youngest member of England's squad for the 1966 World Cup on home soil.
Ball played a key role in England's second goal in the final, scored by Martin Peters, before starring in extra-time when it was from a Ball cross that Geoff Hurst fired in the famous shot which struck the underside of the bar and bounced down - Soviet linesman Tofiq Bahramov awarding the goal.
Ball died at the age of 61 after suffering a heart attack on April 25 2007.
QUICK QUIZ answers: 1. Corofin, Galway; 2. Josh Taylor; 3. Chelsea; 4. Martina Hingis; 5. Argentina (won in Berlin in 1936, the last time polo featured at the Olympics); 6. Four (East Stirlingshire, St Mirren, Aberdeen, Manchester United); 7. Exeter Chiefs; 8. Royal St George's; 9. Tracey Austin (won in 1979 aged 16 years and 8 months); 10. Genk.
