Impressive win for U-17s as weather decimates fixtures

Ross Swan, Jamie Speirs and Ryan Gault were on target for the Ballymena Boys as they avenged an earlier defeat this season against the same team.

On Saturday, no fewer than five of the U17s were again in action, this time for the Wakehurst Strollers and Wakehurst Star football teams as the partnership begins to pay dividends for the Northend boys.

Elsewhere in the National League, the U15s lost their match against Bangor in the League Cup.

Also on Friday night, the Football Development Centre made a welcome return for another eight week session at its indoor location of the Ballymena North Centre.

All the Club’s 11 teams should be back in action this weekend, with the younger teams’ winter break in the North West and Coleraine and District League now finished.

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Bangor 5, Northend 1: The U15s travelled to Bangor on a very wet blustery morning. Indeed the weather was so bad the match had to be switched to the 3G surface at the last minute.

The Blues went into this League Cup match with no fewer than six players missing due to injuries and sickness so knew this was going to be a very tough match.

The match got underway and it was Bangor who started the stronger pushing the boys back and it wasn’t long before they took the lead as the ball was crossed it slipped through the keeper’s reach and landed nicely for the striker to prod it home.

Bangor’s second goal came after Northend felt they should have been awarded a free kick for a tackle but play was waved on and the ball was cleared up the wing by Bangor and as a player crossed the ball low a Blues defender and keeper collided with each other and the ball tamely rolled into the net, leaving the score 2-0.

Northend once again went on the attack and as Andrew Milligan rolled the ball to Bradley Cairns he hit an unstoppable 30 yard screamer which flew into the top corner.

Northend now looking for an equalizer and had two appeals for penalties turned down after challenges on Zack Herbison.

In the second half, Bangor broke away to score their third.

A few minutes later as Oliver Boyle cleared a ball in his own box a Bangor player tripped over Boyle’s trailing leg and the referee pointed to the spot. The penalty was scored for Bangor’s fourth goal.

There was more controversy for Bangor’s fifth goal as the referee initially blew and indicated an offside but then changed his mind for the goal to stand.

Northend: A O’Neill, L McFall, A Milligan, R Dennison, O Boyle, B Cairns(c), J Savage, J Anderson, M Waide, S Bennett, D McKelvey, Z Herbison.

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Wakehurst 3, Limavady United 0: Wakehurst U17s welcomed Limavady United to the Showgrounds on Friday night and put last week’s disappointing performance behind them with a powerful display of passing football in a match they dominated from start to finish.

The match was only five minutes old when Jamie Speirs saw his blockbuster of a shot go inches over the Limavady crossbar.

After ten minutes, Wakehurst should have taken the lead when a delightful Speirs throughball left Kyle Jackson with only the keeper to beat but he lifted his shot over the bar.

On twelve minutes Thomas Brady saw the Limavady keeper pull off a great save from his shot that was heading for the top corner of the net.

With five minutes of the half remaining, Thomas Brady thought he had scored direct from a corner, only to see a defender clear the ball off the line, with the Limavady keeper well beaten.

Anthony McAvoy and Ross Swan were introduced by manager Glen Spiers at half time and what an inspired substitution this proved to be.

With barely five minutes of the half gone, Ross Swan picked up the ball in his own half and slid the ball inside to Speirs. In a great move involving three Wakehurst players, Ross Swan picked up the ball again in the Limavady penalty box before coolly slipping the ball past the Limavady keeper, to give the Ballymena boys a 1-0 lead.