The Ryandale, Moy played host to Dungannon United Youth celebrations last Friday when the annual presentation evening was held there to mark the end of a phenomenal season for the club.
Celtic and Northern Ireland International player, Niall McGinn attended the event to hand out the awards to the recipients of Player of the Year, Top Goal Scorer, Most Improved Player and Sportsman of the year.

Dungannon United Youth Chairperson Joe McAree opened the evening by welcoming the 360 people who had come out in support of the local club and highlighting the fantastic success the club have had this season.

David Magee’s Dungannon Swifts U16s ended their season with five trophies, winning the Mid Ulster League, Mid Ulster Knock Out Cup, Preston Tournament, The Copa Catulina Cup and the Northern Ireland Cup. Karle Farquhar’s U15 National League Team also had a great season with their win against Ballywalter in the Northern Ireland Cup Final. The U13 National League Team managed by Kieran Robinson were successful in their English Rose Cup tournament which took place in Shrewsbury. Joe McAree and Tony Courtney’s National League U12 team were Northern Ireland Champions for the second successive year. The U12 Mid Ulster Team managed by Mike Kenny won the Mid Ulster Plate and David Tate’s U11s won their Mid Ulster League putting them into the National League next season.

The trophy winners were:

Under 11 Colts Mid Ulster:
Player of the Year: Ryan Doyle
Most Improved: Ethan Jordan
Top Goal scorer: Bailey Lenard and Rhyss Campbell
Sportsman of the year: Aaron Nimmons

DUY U11s Mid Ulster:
Player of the Year: Oran Mallon
Most Improved: Joel Little
Top Goal Scorer: Tyler Blair
Sportsman of the Year: Ryan Cush

DUY U12 Mid Ulster:
Player of the Year: Matthew Lutton
Most Improved: Josh Green
Top Goal Scorer: Ethan Burns
Sportsman of the Year: Adam Farrell

U12 National League:
Player of the Year: Shea Gordon
Most Improved: Tomas Carney
Top Goal Scorer: Paul Donnelly and Samuel Haugh
Sportsman of the Year: Dalaigh Jones

U13 Mid Ulster:
Player of the Year: Colin Campbell
Most Improved: Michael Moore
Top Goal Scorer: Caolan Mulgrew
Sportsman of the Year: James Dolan

U13 National League:
Player of the Year: Ben Hall
Most Improved: Niall McElroy
Top Goal Scorer: Ryan Coleman
Sportsman of the Year: Connor Cullen

U14 Mid Ulster:
Player of the Year: Alan Humphries
Most Improved: Daniel Moore
Top Goal Scorer: Ben Nixon
Sportsman of the Year: Ryan Lutton

U14 National League:
Player of the Year: Liam Donnelly
Most Improved: Kris Lowe
Top Goal Scorer: Conor Mullan
Sportsman of the Year: Scott McMullan

U14 National League:
Player of the Year: Oran Mallon
Most Improved: Joel Little
Top Goal Scorer: Tyler Blair
Sportsman of the Year: Ryan Cush

U15 National League:
Player of the Year: Garbhan McManus
Most Improved: Craig Breen
Top Goal Scorer: Kevin Curran
Sportsman of the Year: Matty Montgomery

Dungannon Swifts U16s Mid Ulster:
Player of the Year: Daryl Magee
Most Improved: Kelvin Campbell
Top Goal Scorer: Daniel McNulty
Sportsman of the Year: Jack Lavery

Thanks to Stephen Beckett for providing the music during the evening and thanks to The Ryandale for such a fantastic dinner and evening. Many thanks to Simon Graham and Kasha Preece for setting up the photographs of the season. A special thanks to Niall McGinn for taking time to attend and hand out awards to the winners as well as to all the people and companies who donated prizes to the raffle. Many thanks to Donnelly Brothers who continue to support and sponsor Dungannon United Youth every season. Thanks also to all the Managers, coaches, players and supporters of the teams for their dedication and loyalty to the club over the season. Congratulations on such a phenomenal season and here is hoping next years is just as good!

Pic of Dgn united Youth U12 5-a-side team who won the Dale Farm Festival U12 section…beating Linfield  4-3 in penalties (1-1 normal score)
 
Pictured from left to right
 
Emily Salley, Emily Ferguson, Captain Laura Roberts, Alexandra Lavery and Samantha Kelly.

Dungannon Under 11’s boys and girls travelled to England last week to take part in The English Cup at the Shrewsbury International Tournament.

Both teams played under the Dungannon Swifts name. The boys started their campaign on the Monday when they were put into a group section with: Maiden City Juniors FC, Walsall, North Powys Development Centre, Bangor and Aston Villa.

They came through this group undefeated with 3 wins and 2 draws. Very quickly both the coaches and the players realised that they were playing in a tournament that had a very high standard of football.

Soccer players who played in this cup and went on to play professional football include: Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Owen Hargreaves and Andriy Shevchenko.

After successfully topping their group the Dungannon Swift Boys were places in another qualifying group where they played another 3 teams – one of which were Blackpool – the favourites and last years beaten finalists.

Once again the Dungannon lads raised their game and won this group undefeated.

Friday brought the final where our lads met Blackpool FC. Even though Dungannon beat them in the qualifying round 3 – 2. they were still considered the underdogs, but with good managerial tactics by Pudgie Robinson, Aidan Coleman and Joe McAree, the boys came out with their usual determination and never say die attitude.

The final was refereed by International and Premiership Referee, Dermot Gallagher. The boys got off to a fantastic start and at half time were leading 3 – 0 with goals scored by Ryan Coleman (2) and Stevie Corr (1). The second half saw Blackpool put Dungannon Swifts under a lot of pressure but they could not break down a solid defence. Further goals in the second half were scored by Ryan Stinson and Stevie Corr.

The final whistle blew to great celebrations from the coaches, players and supporters who had travelled to watch the boys.

When asked, Coaches Pudgie Robinson and Aidan Coleman, said that all the boys put in a fantastic effort but they awarded the Player of the Tournament to both Captain Stevie Corr and Paul Donaghy, who both displayed tremendous football over the five day tournament.

The boys received the Cup from ex Welsh International Manager Mike Smith.

The players who competed in this competition were:

Stevie Corr, Enda McAleer, Naoise Martin, Paul Donaghy, Shea Gordon, Mark Donnelly, Niall McIlroy, Ryan Coleman, Ryan Moore, Craig Gibson, Connor Cullen and Ryan Stinson.

This competition hopefully gives the boys a solid foundation for their forthcoming season in the National League. Congratulations on your performances and fantastic win boys and good luck for the season ahead!

Sarah Winslow, Judith Reid and Sophie McIvor (Coaches) took a team of girls to play in the Under 11 Girls Competition.

This was the first time the Dungannon Girls had played overseas and like the boys, quickly knew they were playing against tough opposition.

The girls topped their group after matches against Frankwell Wanderers, where they won 11 – 0 with goals from Samantha Kelly (3), Rachel Kelly (3), Alex Lavery (2), Emily Salley (2) and Alanna Mc Mullan (1).

Their second match was against Madely United which finished with a 2 – 2 draw with both Dungannon goals being scored by Emily Salley.

Their final group match was against Llanymynech Lemurs which the Dungannon girls won 1 – 0 thanks to a goal by Sam Kelly and a fantastic penalty save by Rachel Kelly which resulted in her fracturing her wrist! (Wishing you a speedy recovery Rachel).

Friday afternoon saw them take on a very strong and experienced Welsh Team C.Y.P. The girls produced a fantastic performance but struggled to gain control of the match against a much bigger and physically stronger opposition.

The Dungannon girls lost this match 5 – 0, but this was no disgrace against the quality of the Welsh Team. Well done girls!

The coaches had a tough decision to make as to who would be awarded the Player of the Tournament as all the girls played with skill, grit and a will to win that belied their young ages, but eventually they decided that the Player of the Tournament Award should be awarded to both Laura Roberts and Eden Lavery. Congratulations!

The team that represented Dungannon girls were:

Alanna McMullan, Kerry McMullan, Tara Donaghy, Rachel Kelly, Samantha Kelly, Claire Davison, Eden Lavery, Alex Lavery, Laura Roberts and Emily Salley.