Killymoon Rangers F.C.
Killymoon Rangers Football Club are a Northern Irish football club that play in the Ballymena & Provincial League, Division II.
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| Founded | 1971 | ||
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| Ground | Mid Ulster Sports Arena, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone | ||
| Capacity | 700 | ||
| League | Ballymena & Provincial Football League Junior Division | ||
| 2015–16 | Ballymena & Provincial Football League Premier Division, 8th | ||
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Previously playing at Intermediate Level and before that Championship 1 and Championship II of the Irish League (The 2nd and 3rd tier of Irish League Football) within the Northern Ireland Football League. Nicknamed the 'BlueMoon' by supporters, Killymoon Rangers are located in the historic town of Cookstown, County Tyrone. They play their home games at Fairhill Park or the Mid Ulster Sports Arena, in Cookstown. They were one of the first teams to play on a plastic, 3rd generation pitch in Northern Ireland's top football leagues.
History
Killymoon Rangers were established in 1971 and is the oldest football club in Cookstown by a considerable number of years, with over 45 years of history. Originally formed to play in the Cookstown Street League, Killymoon joined the Mid Ulster Street League soon after. In July 2008 they were promoted to the IFA Championship. The club played in Champion 1 and Championship II for 6 consecutive seasons.
The first manager of the club was Wilfie McPartand, assisted by Willie Jordan with former Coleraine chairman Sammy Lyle captaining the team.
After spells in the Mid Ulster Intermediate League where they were managed by Rodney Montgomery, Killymoon entered the newly formed IFA Championship in 2008, managed by brothers Michael and Mark Wilson. The club were relegated into Championship 2 after one season, remaining in Championship 2 until 2014, when they were relegated into the Ballymena & Provincial Intermediate League after finishing bottom of Championship 2. At the start of the 2016-17 season, the club withdrew from the Ballymena and Provincial League although in a press statement the committee insisted that the club had not folded and would return to football.[1] It was announced in May 2017 that the club would return to the league for the new season, but in the junior section.[2] In January 2018, half-way through the season, the team are unbeaten in 8 league games, and have secured a quarter-final place in the Canada Trophy cup competition.
The club has had several proud cup runs in the Irish Cup, where they have played Linfield, Glentoran & Portadown on numerous occasions, including an away visit to the national stadium, Windsor Park, home of Linfield. Also prior to entering Championship 1 Killymoon beat Glentoran 2 nil in a pre season friendly when Martin Bogan scored twice and the Glens fielding lethal strikers Gary Hamilton, Michael Halliday and Chris Morgan for the last 20 mins but failing to beat keeper Gareth Maguire.
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