SEASON 2005/06

Davy Clegg is the new National Champion, following his final victory against No.1 Seed, Kenny Beggs. The match was scoreless but Clegg held his nerve in the shoot-out to win 2-1. It is the 3rd time Clegg has won the title, his previous victories being in 1987 & 1988. The pair had earlier met in the Veterans Final, which Beggs won 3-0, but Clegg recovered well to turn the tables on his old rival in the Open. Adam Scullion won impressively in the Under-15 final, beating Judith Morrison 4-0, while last year's U15 Champion, Peter Morrison (now too old for that category) beat his brother, Andrew, in the U19 final. Eoin Adams won the Plate, beating Peter Morrison 2-1.

Action from the Open & Junior Finals at the 2006 NI Championships

UTV to Film Barbarians Aug 29th 2006
The latest Barbarians Meeting was a practise night for this weekend's National Championships. UTV reporter, Chris Moore and his producer also paid a visit, regarding some filming they wish to do for a short broadcast about football in Northern Ireland. They hope to use Colin Perry's home stadium.

Subbuteo Stars Set for Big Flick-Off Aug 22nd 2006
Telegraph Report on the transfer of four top English Premier League players to the recently renamed club, San Siro Worthing Fivestar, sponsored by Nicky Chappell who produces the San Siro Table Football stadia.

Italian Visits Barbarians Aug 1st 2006
Ezio Orru, of Italian club Cagliari Calcio Tavolo, made a guest appearance during his holiday in Northern Ireland. He took part in the Barbarians' 7th Ladder, winning three matches to finish 2nd, his only defeat being to League Champion, Kenny Beggs. Joe McRoberts was 3rd, followed by Eoin Adams, which was enough to secure 2nd place in the Championship Table

Donal Convery scores against Ezio Orru

Beggs Makes it a Barbarians Hat-trick July 24th 2006
A turnout of 10 people made for an exciting evening's play for the 6th Ladder, which Kenny Beggs won on goal-difference, ahead of Davy Clegg. With only one Ladder remaining, Beggs cannot be caught in the Championship Table, and so becomes the Barbarians League Champion for the 3rd time.

NITFA Voted Best Website June 28th 2006
Thanks to members of the Subbuteo Players Forum who have voted www.nitfa.org.uk the best UK & Ireland Club Website for 2005/06.

5th Barbarians Ladder June 26th 2006
The 5th Swiss Ladder of the Belfast Babarians' season. 1st Kenny Beggs, 2nd Davy Clegg, 3rd Alistair Morrison. Ladder 5 Results

Table Football Helps Build Houses in Guatemala June 24th 2006
Twenty-two players took part in a sponsored Table Football competition organised by Belfast's Alistair Morrison (pictured) at Belvoir Parish Church. The event was a fund-raiser for a group going to Guatemala with Habitat for Humanity to build houses. Alistair's Report

FISTF World Cup June 17th/18th 2006
Eoin Adams, Northern Ireland's only representative in Germany, was knocked out at the group stage. Italy's Efrem Intra beat Malta's Massimo Cremona in the final. Italy are the World Team Champions again, following their 3-1 final victory against Belgium.
Eoin's Results | Full Results

Adams & Beggs To Sign For Yorkshire June 6th 2006
Eoin Adams and Kenny Beggs will transfer to Yorkshire Phoenix for FISTF events next season. Their current club, Irish Premier League, has struggled to field a full team, which has prompted their decision to join fellow countrymen, Trevor Cummings & Stuart Mcilroy, at the growing Yorkshire club.

UK & Ireland Internationals May 27th/28th 2006
Only three nations entered this year's UK & Ireland Internationals in Dundee. Northern Ireland were represented by Kenny Beggs, Stuart McIlroy & Eoin Adams. Being a player short, they didn't stand much chance in the team event, although Scott Fleming, from the host club, filled in unofficially as their fourth player. England and Scotland finished on equal points, with England just edging it on a better games won/lost ratio.

Stuart McIlroy, Eoin Adams, Scott Fleming & Kenny Beggs

Beggs Individual Runner-up
There was some success for Northern Ireland in the individual event, with Kenny Beggs reaching the final, only to lose narrowly 2-3 against England's Chris Thomas. It was their second meeting of the day, having previously drawn 1-1 in their group, which Beggs topped ahead of Greg Dand, Chris Thomas, Chris Wrigley & Steve Bennett, before beating Martin Hodds in the Q/F and Robert Ramsay in the S/F. Northern Ireland's Eoin Adams and Stuart McIlroy, unfortunately, did not get through the group stage. Eoin drew 1-1 with Mike Parnaby, lost 0-1 to Gareth Christie & 1-3 to Mike Burns. Stuart drew 1-1 with Martin Hodds, lost 1-2 to Robert Ramsay & 1-4 to Peter Thomas.

Belfast International Grand Prix May 13th/14th 2006
David Fraikin of Belgium took the Individual title, beating top seed and favourite, Massimo Cremona of Malta, after a sudden-death shoot-out in the final. He is the 2nd Belgian player to win the Belfast Grand Prix, following in the footsteps of last year's winner, David Ruelle. Fraikin's club, Hennuyer, won the Team Grand Prix, beating English Premier League 3-1 in the final. Team Results | Individual Results | Report | Photos

Beggs Wins 4th Barbarians Ladder May 8th 2006
The 4th Swiss Ladder of the season was topped by Kenny Beggs. Barry Spence finished 2nd, his only defeat coming against Kenny in the first match. Eoin Adams was 3rd but still tops the Championship Table, having played one event more. Ladder 4 Results

South Queensferry IO & GP April 29th/30th 2006
(also known as: Janitor's Subbuteo Sabbotage)
Eoin Adams went out at the group stage of the International Open on Saturday, losing 1-4 to Scotland's Mike Burns and 1-7 to England's Chris Thomas. Mark Gauci of Malta beat Austrian, Robert Lenz, in the final. Eoin fared better in Sunday's Grand Prix, qualifying from his group due to a last gasp winner against Allan Manson. Both players lost to group winner, Delphine Dieudonne. Eoin then went out to Matt Lampitt in the barrage round. The final saw Austria's Erich Hinkelmann pull back a 2-goal deficit to beat Belgian, Nathan Dupont, 3-2 after extra time. IO Results | GP Results

Cummings Retains Phoenix Title Apr 26th 2006
Trevor Cummings retained the Yorkshire Phoenix Super League title. He completed his league double in emphatic style after only dropping one point all season, and beating nearest rival Mike Parnaby 8-3 and 4-0. The Northern Irishman also won the club's first ever cup event, beating Parnaby 2-1 in the final, with the winner coming two minutes from time.

Spence Wins 3rd Ladder but Adams Leads Championship April 24th '06
Barry Spence won the 3rd Swiss Ladder of the Belfast Barbarians' season, although Eoin Adams, who finished 2nd on the night, went top of the Championship Table. A win and two draws for Peter Morrison clinched 3rd spot in the Ladder. Surprise result of the night saw Judith Morrison beat her father, Alistair, 2-0. Ladder 3 Results

Outdoor Subbuteo in Sunny Bangor April 23rd 2006 Bangor Subbuteo League took advantage of the good weather and held their latest meeting outdoors. Robert Corbett & Brian Moore are pictured.

Joe Tops 2nd Barbarians Ladder March 20th 2006
Only five players were at the latest Barbarians' meeting but the revised format, using the Swiss system, made for a competitive evening. Joe McRoberts topped the Ladder with maximum points, following victories over Kenny Beggs, Eoin Adams, Davy Clegg & Jim McCullough. Joe & Kenny head the Championship Table on equal points after two sessions.

Beggs Wins Dunmurry Open March 18th 2006
Kenny Beggs and Gary Moore met in the 2006 Dunmurry Open final, only three weeks after their North Down Open final which Beggs won on shots - and there was little to separate the top two seeds again in Dunmurry, although this time it was settled during normal time, with Beggs scoring the only goal midway through the 2nd half. Moore pressed for the equaliser with dangerous wing attacks but Beggs' packed defence remained solid and he hung on to defeat the holder. Full Results

Other winners were Stephen Rodgers (Veterans), Andrew Morrison (Youth), Peter Morrison (Juniors) & Joe McRoberts (Plate).

Brian Lifts End of Season Shield March 13th 06
The Bangor Subbuteo Club season came to a end with the last few league games and a North Down Shield tournament, which Brian Moore won with a 4-0 final victory over Daniel Kirkwood.

Clegg Ends Season With League Cup Victory March 12th 2006
The 2005/06 season in North Down Subbuteo League came to an end on Sunday. With Neil Hanna having already clinched the League Championship two weeks ago, the main focus was on the League Cup. Davy Clegg was victorious, although he was pushed all the way by the Rodgers brothers, needing a golden goal to beat Paul in the semi, before a narrow 1-0 victory over Stephen in the Final. Results

Guimaraes Wins Mons March 4th/5th 2006
Portugal's Vasco Guimaraes came back from 0-2 down at half-time to beat Spain's Carlos Flores in the Final of Mons Major, the biggest event on the FISTF Calendar. Results

Brian Is Bangor League Champion March 5th 2006
Brian Moore has won the 2005-06 Bangor Subbuteo League. He wrapped up the title on Sunday with four victories, 2-0 v Daniel Kirkwood, 4-1 v Robert Corbett, 5-0 & 3-0 v Anthony Moore. He is 20 points clear of 2nd placed Robert Corbett with three games to spare.
Results & Table

Hanna wins North Down League Feb 27th 2006
Neil Hanna has been crowned the North Down Subbuteo League Champion for season 2005/06. He completed his league programme unbeaten gaining 13 wins and 3 draws, scoring 30 goals and conceding only 1. Joe McRoberts is guaranteed runner-up spot for the second consecutive season. Results

North Down Open 2006 Feb 25th 2006
Northern Ireland's Kenny Beggs beat Gary Moore from Rep of Ireland in the Open Final. The score was level at 1-1 after extra-time, with Kenny eventually winning 3-2 in a shoot-out. Website | Newspaper Article | Results

Beggs also won the Veterans, beating Davy Clegg 1-0 in the semi-final & Nicky Moore 2-0 in the final. Belfast's Andrew Morrison won the Under-19 event and finished runner-up to Stuart Mcilroy in the Plate. Full Report & Photos

Action from the 2006 North Down Open in the Borough Gym, Bangor

Barbarians Begin New Format Feb 20th 2006
Nine people (four from the Morrison family) made it to the first night of the new format league. A 4-round Swiss Ladder was topped by Kenny, with Joe 2nd and Donal 3rd. The system worked well and an enjoyable night was had by all. Results

Beggs Wins Irish Premier League Feb 11th 2006
The much delayed final meeting of 2004/05 took place in Tallaght, Dublin. Northern Ireland's Kenny Beggs is the League Champion and Dublin's John Moore won the Cup, beating Davy Clegg of Donaghadee, in the final. Results & Table

Neil Close to North Down Title Feb 6th 2006
Neil Hanna moved a step closer to the North Down League Title with a 1-0 win against Davy Clegg and a 0-0 draw with closest rival, Joe McRoberts. Victory in his two remaining matches on Feb 27th would clinch the title. Results & Table

Anthony Wins Bangor League Cup Feb 5th 2006
Anthony Moore has won the League Cup at Bangor Subbuteo Club. He led 1-0 until the dying seconds of the game, when Robert Corbett equalised to take the game to a shoot-out, which Anthony won 2-1.

Manchester Grand Prix Jan 28th/29th 2006
Four Northern Ireland players attended the Manchester Grand Prix. Kenny Beggs & Eoin Adams were part of the Irish Premier League side which reached the Team Quarter-Final, while Trevor Cummings & Stuart Mcilroy, represented their local Yorkshire Phoenix club.

IPL Team Reach Quarter-Final
IPL lost 1-3 to Hennuyer of Belgium but beat North West (Wales) 3-0 to get through the group. They then eliminated Belgian club, Templeuve United, 2-1 in the Barrage Round before going out to Murcia of Spain. Hennuyer beat Murcia in the Final. IPL Team Results

Individual Open
Only Kenny took part in Sunday's Individual Open. He beat Austria's Sandler 3-1 and drew 0-0 with Steve Hawkins of England. Hawkins also beat Sandler 3-1, which meant there was a tie for first place. Kenny won a shoot-out to top the group and go straight into the Last 32, where he lost 0-1 to England's Kaspar Bennett with the last kick of the ball.

Eric Verhagen beat Massimo Cremona 2-0 in the Final.
Results (Excel) | Results (Word) | Photos

Neil & Joe In North Down Title Chase Jan 30th 06
Seven members turned up for the latest round of NDSL matches. Neil Hanna and Joe McRoberts both had good nights in the league while their League Cup meeting resulted in a 1-0 win for the Joe. Results & Table

Barbarians Low Turnout Jan 23rd 2006
Despite North Down rearranging their scheduled meeting to accommodate the Barbarians, only five league members and one guest were were able to make it. This limited the league fixtures which could be played. Fixtures | Results

Brian Wins Caddell Cup in Bangor Jan 15th 2006
Brian Moore won the Caddell cup after a penalty shootout against Daniel Kirkwood. The league cup final  will see Robert Corbett take on Anthony Moore, who beat Brian 2-1 in the last match of the group stage to qualify for the final.

Full Turn-Out in North Down Jan 9th 2006
A full turn-out for the first time this season enabled 15 league matches to take place. Neil Hanna continued his good form, winning two and drawing one to go 5 points clear of nearest challenger, Davy Clegg, who drew twice. Joe McRoberts won three and drew one to go 3rd. Next meeting Mon 30th Jan.

Kirkwood Reaches Bangor Final Jan 8th 2006
Daniel Kirkwood has reached his first final - the Cadell Cup - at Bangor Subbuteo Club, where he will play current League leader, Brian Moore. A 1-1 draw in the last group match between Daniel & Brian was enough to see them both through to the final.

Barbarians Pre-Christmas Clubnight Dec 13th 2005
Nine players were at the latest meeting. Kenny Beggs leads by one point ahead of Barry Spence. Davy Clegg & Stephen Rodgers are a further five points behind in 3rd & 4th, with Davy just edging it on goal-difference. Fixtures | Results

Anthony Ahead in Bangor League Cup Dec 11th 2005
Only 3 points separate the 4 players in the League Cup. Anthony Moore (pictured) leads, one point ahead of Daniel Kirkwood in 2nd place. Meanwhile, in the League, Brian Moore stays 13 points clear after a 1-1 draw with closest rival, Robert Corbett.

First Win for Jim in North Down Dec 5th 2005
A 3-0 win for Jim McCullough (pictured) over Brian Moore took him off the foot of the table, as the NDSL returned to Monday night action. Unfortunately, the absence of several players curtailed the number of matches. Paul Rodgers had a good night, earning 7 points with two wins and a draw. Davy Clegg moved level at the top with Neil Hanna.

George Best Remembered Nov 26th 2005 Northern Ireland's greatest footballer was remembered at football grounds around the UK. To quote Rodney Marsh, his friend and former Fulham team-mate, "The most important thing a great player has is balance. George had it like nobody I've ever seen. He was like a Subbuteo man, he just wouldn't go over." See further reports from Irish Football Association , BBC website & FIFA.com

Dumfries Team GP & Individual IO Nov 19th/20th 2005
It was an all-English Open Final in Dumfries. Bob Varney beat Chris Thomas after eliminating 2005 UK & Ireland Champion, David Russell, in the Semi-Final. Northern Ireland's only representative, Kenny Beggs, topped his group with a 1-0 victory over Scotland's Greg Dand and a 0-0 draw with England's Peter Thomas. He met two more English players in the knockout stages, beating Martin Hodds 4-0 in the Last 16, before going down 0-3 to Dave Pawsey in the Q/F. Full Results

English Premier League beat Hot Club d'Ecosse in the Team Final. Irish Premier League had a bad day, only winning one match out of five. IPL Team Results

Belfast Barbarians 2005/06 League Season Starts Nov 14th 2005
Seven of the fourteen registered players were available for the opening League fixtures. Kenny Beggs & Stephen Rodgers are the early pace-setters.

Bangor National Open Nov 5th 2005
The Borough Gym played host to 21 competitors. Kenny Beggs beat Scotland's Iain Bell 4-0 in the Open Final. It was a case of deju-vu for Bell, who lost by the same score in 2004 when he was runner-up to Gary Moore. The defending champion was knocked out early on shots by Davy Clegg in the 'match of the day', after a thrilling 4-4 draw. Clegg lost in the Open semi-final but turned on the style to retain his Veterans trophy, coming from behind to beat Kenny Beggs 3-2 in the Final. Results

Sam Curtis, England's top Junior, beat Peter Morrison 3-1 in the Junior Final but lost 4-1 to Scotland's Dean Aitken in the Under-19 Final. Stephen Rodgers won the Plate Final, beating Bangor player, Brian Moore 4-0. Belfast Barbarians beat Nomadic Celts 2-1 the Team Final.

Thanks to Eoin Adams & North Down Subbuteo League for organising another enjoyable day. Special thanks to English players (Adrian & Sam) and the Scots (Iain & Dean) for crossing the Irish Sea to support the event.

Brian Moore Wins Bangor Club Cup Oct 30th 2005
Brian beat his brother, Anthony 2-1 in the Final.

Hanna Still Top in North Down Oct 24th 2005
Some League & Cup fixtures were played at the latest meeting in Donaghadee. Neil Hanna remains top of the league after five matches.

International Grand Prix of Wales, Knighton Oct 22nd/23rd 2005
Northern Ireland's Eoin Adams lost to Belgian, Laurent Goor & drew with England's Neil Munns, which was not enough to qualify from his group. Mifsud of Malta beat Einsle of France in the Final. Belgian Club, Hennuyer won the Team GP. Results

The Table Football Festival started on the Thursday with the Tref-y-Clawdd Cup, a friendly event for early arrivals. Eoin finished 3rd, behind Richard Pepper & Algy Taylor. In the Friendly International Team event on Friday, he was part of a joint Malta/Northern Ireland team which topped the table ahead of Wales, Scotland & England.

Beggs Wins Barbarians Open Cup Oct 17th 2005
Belfast Barbarians' new season kicked off with 11 players taking part in the Open Cup, played to a 5-round Swiss format. Kenny Beggs took the honours, winning all his matches on the night.

Hanna Top of North Down Subbuteo League Oct 10th 2005
Neil Hanna repeated his impressive start of two seasons ago, with 4 straight victories, to top the table after the opening fixtures. Davy Clegg is 2nd, having won his 3 matches.

Moore Increases Lead in Bangor Oct 4th 2005
Brian Moore opened up an 8 point lead in the Bangor Subbuteo League.

Adams Early Pace-Setter in North Down League Cup Oct 3rd 2005
League Cup holder, Eoin Adams, tops the table on goal difference, ahead of Joe McRoberts, after three matches.

Fans Flick to Kick Aug 25th 2005
London Northern Ireland Supporters’ Club & London England Fans Group played Subbuteo in the build-up to Northern Ireland's World Cup victory over England. Michael Boyd, of the Irish Football Association & Jim Rainey, of N.Ireland Supporters’ Clubs Amalgamation, also attended.

Northern Ireland 1-0 England

North Down Seahill Cup Aug 24th 2005
North Down Subbuteo season commenced with the Seahill Cup at the new premises in Seahill Park, Donaghadee. Eight players took part in two groups of four. Kenny Beggs beat Davy Clegg 2-0 in the final. Results

Simon & Georgia Guests in Yorkshire Aug 23rd 2005
Northern Ireland's Simon Stewart finished 3rd & Georgia Lee 6th in the Yorkshire Phoenix pre-season Tournament.

Bangor League Season Gets Underway Aug 21st 2005
Brian Moore took a maximum 9 points on the opening day of the Bangor Subbuteo League season. Other members, Robert Corbett, Daniel Kirkwood & Anthony Moore all finished the day on 3 points.