Ballymena under-13s make an encouraging start

The U13 competition is 7 aside, playing for 15 minutes straight through on half of the full size pitch.

The U13 competition is run by the Ulster Hockey Union to strike the balance between Fun and competition, with the emphasis on fun and development.

The girls, many of whom had not played together as a team before, lost their opening game 4-0 to Omagh, the larger pitch layout and increased playing time from last season, obviously playing a part.

The first ten minutes saw a strong performance from Ballymena, before Omagh wore the side down with some quick attacks from their forwards which the Ballymena youngsters were unable to defend against.

However putting this initial defeat behind them, the girls bounced back with a 2-0 victory against Carrick B team, with two goals from Hannah Cummings. The team had learned quickly from their early mistakes and kept their shape while turning defence quickly into attack to take the win against Carrick.

In their third match against Greenisland, Ballymena had a lot of early pressure and missed converting a couple of good chances, before Hollie Dickey, playing at right midfield slotted home the only goal of the game to claim a second win for the young squad.

“This was a very good start for this young team,” commented coach Alister Hanna.

“With some hard work and effort over the coming weeks they will continue to improve their skills and game play, making them more and more difficult to beat.”

The squad will play again the second weekend in November and in the meantime will continue to train each Friday evening at the showgrounds.

Squad: Karis Richmond, Jade Lamont, Lauren Hanna, Sarah Kyle, Hannah Cummings, Hollie Dickey, Aimee McWhirter, Niamh McKinney, Sophie Davis, Abbie Maguire, Jessica Kennedy, Amy King.