Under 15s - Lisburn League
Under 15s - East Antrim League
Match Reports
17/02/2007
Larne Youth U15: 2 v 2 :Whitehead U15
Larne Youth U15s sponsored by McDowell’s of Gleno were lucky to escape with a point on Saturday after an abject performance against a spirited Whitehead team. A lazy start by Larne was punished in the opening ten minutes when the diminutive Whitehead striker won the ball on the angle of the box and curled a beauty into the top far-right corner of the net. Larne did improve as the half progressed and equalised when Jonathan Wilson ran through the defence and slotted past the onrushing goalkeeper.
In the second half Larne stepped up another gear and had enough good chances to win the game fairly comfortably, the most notable miss being an open net from 6 yards. Wilson should also have done better in a one-on-one with the keeper whilst Dean Thomson was unlucky with a left foot drive and a strong penalty appeal was also turned down. However it was the Larne defence which continued to be sloppy and a positional error from their own throw-in enabled the Whitehead player room to fire in a shot from 25 yards which should have been easily dealt with by the keeper but instead ended rolling in over the line. Larne kept the pressure on and after a series of corners deep in injury time Gavin Holmes managed to scramble home the equaliser from 8 yards. Overall, a shoddy display by the team but on the positive side exemplified the improved mental toughness of the players, none more so than from man-of-the-match Dean Thomson.
Larne Youth U15: 4 v 0 :Rathfern U15
Larne Youth U15s sponsored by McDowell’s of Gleno reached the first final of the season, steamrolling Rathfern U15s four goals to nil at a windswept Beltoy. Despite the wind and rain driving into their faces in the first half Larne took a deserved lead when Jonathan Wilson coolly slammed the ball past the keeper from the edge of the box with barely 10 minutes gone. Larne should have extended this lead on several occasions missing one chance from four yards, having another headed off the line and Jamie Swann having a terrific shot kicked off the line by a defender. At the opposite end some resolute defending limited Rathfern to long range free kicks which were dealt comfortably by the excellent Declan O’Neill.
Larne continued to dominate possession in the second half and it was no surprise when they doubled their lead through Lee Thompson, finishing off a fantastic pass from Neil Rennie. It was then the turn of Jamie Swann to test the keeper with an absolute beauty from 30 yards, unfortunately Jamie’s luck wasn’t in and the keeper pulled off a magnificent save to touch the ball round the post. The killer third goal eventually came from the sharp-shooting right boot of Mark McDowell, smashing home a Thompson free kick which had rebounded off the cross bar. The scoring was concluded for the second week in a row by Clayton Hastings, tapping in a great switch pass by Graham McMichael which the keeper rushed out to intercept but fumbled. Overall, a much improved performance from the previous week, a great man-of-the-match performance from Lee Thompson and a deserved cup final for the team to look forward.
