LISAHALLY F.C.

'Lisahally Football Club' is an amateur football club currently competing in the First Division of the Derry and District League. The club is based in the Strathfoyle area of Derry.The club was initially formed by the workers of Lisahally, but has since developed and offers the people and indeed, youth of Strathfoyle a chance to demonstrate their skills. The club now offers football at youth level and is in the process of relocating to a new football pitch, complete with changing rooms, which, at the minute are not available. Current manager is Chris Whoriskey, is himself a former player. The former coach Charlie Burns was once offered a job as manager of Institute F.C. reserves.

Contents

History

Notable Former Players

History

After its foundation, Lisahally only ever competed in 'Summer Cups' around the city. However, it was only in the late 80s and early 90s that Lisahally emerged as one of the leading teams in Derry. As soon as the club was accepted into the Derry and District League, they won the Third Division and all of the Cup competitions. They then entered the Second Division (now First Division) and finished second, but as they repeated their success in the cups, they were promoted to the First Division (now Premier Division). The successful Lisahally team of this period included Lawrence Mullan, the brother of Glentoran F.C. legend, Gerry Mullan, Patrick Kelly and current manager, Christopher Whoriskey. In recent times however, Lisahally have failed to repeat their success. Despite the abundance and wealth of talent available, the club lacks direction and this is partly due to the lack of modern facilities in Strathfoyle. In 2004, Lisahally sent their under-18 squad to Limavady to compete in the Limavady Cup. They won the competition and subsequently entered a number of Summer Cups around the city. The under 18 team then finished runners up two years running in the Glen Cup. As the youth teams were playing so well together, managers, Chris Whoriskey and Chris Tracey decided to experiment with youth on the senior stage. Ryan Kelly was one of the youngest players to ever start for Lisahally, having just turned 16 on his debut. However, this new surge of interest was extremely short-lived as Lisahally failed to accommodate its players' needs. The ''Married Men versus Single Men'' 2006 match was won by the Married Men, despite the Single men taking a 2-0 lead in the first half through goals from Ronan Whoriskey and Steven McAllister, the Married Men came back to win due to the constant squad rotation of caretaker manager Shan Whoriskey.

Future

Trivia==

★ Lawrence Mullan, a Lisahally legend, is the brother of Glentoran F.C. hero, Gerry Mullan. Lawrence also had a spell at Glentoran. Lawrence's son, Conor is one of many players to have played at Lisahally after their fathers

★ Lisahally is affectionately known as "''Lissa''" to its fans.

★ There is a "''Married Men versus Single Men''" match held annually. The proceeds of this match go to charity and is usually a friendly showdown between fathers and sons.

★ Former player and Dunfermline F.C. goalkeeping coach Declan Devine and current Institute F.C. player Ryan Semple took training sessions as guest coaches for the youth during the summer.

★ Club Colours are Yellow and Black.

★ Lisahally players Rory Kirk and Brian Devine were the first ever Lisahally players to ever engage in a violent dispute during a match. Because of this ridiculous outburst, Rory Kirk was subsequently banned from the Derry and District League for one season and his theme song, "The Wang Says" was sang mockingly by Lisahally fans.

Notable Former Players

★ Jonathan Hume

★ Patrick Kelly

★ Lawrence Mullan

★ David Ogilby

★ Christopher "Topher" Whoriskey

★ Brian Devine (footballer)