Dungannon U-16’s 3

Glenavon U-16’s 0

On Saturday, Dungannon U-16’s played Glenavon at White City.

This was an important match as the result counted towards both the league and the first round of the knock out cup.

There was a very strong breeze and, having won the toss, the boys elected to play with it in the first half.

Very few clear cut chances were created by the home side early on with passes being over hit and ball control proving difficult in the conditions.

Dungannon had the majority of possession and did create a few chances late on in the half. The Glenavon keeper made a brilliant save from Arnold’s effort and the same player shaved the top of the bar from a 25 yard free kick. Lavery also had an excellent long range effort which went narrowly wide.

At half time the score was 0-0.

The boys played much better in the second half against the breeze, but the vital breakthrough would not come.

With 20 minutes remaining, coach Tate made some personnel and positional changes, and this immediately paid dividends.

A long ball from Collins was flicked on by Lavery and McElroy nipped in to finish coolly past the on rushing keeper.

5 minutes later it was 2-0. An excellent run by Fox on the wing took him past 2 defenders and into the box. His pass found McElroy who showed great composure before finishing neatly into the corner.

Again the defence was rock solid and limited the away team to very few opportunities.

The third and decisive goal came with 5 minutes remaining. From a Glenavon clearance, McKenna controlled the ball in midfield and found McCammon on the right, he moved in field and unleashed a left foot shot which came off the bar, and the alert Girvan was on hand to head home the rebound.

A very hard fought victory, every man playing his part in difficult conditions.

This Saturday the boys have an away league match against Craigavon City.

Their opponents in the NI cup semi final will be Deanby, a date and venue for this match to be confirmed.

Dungannon U-16’s 4 - 0 Institute U-16’s

On Saturday, Dungannon U-16’s took on Institute in the quarter final of the NI Cup at White City and came away with a well deserved 4-0 win.

The boys got off to a tremendous start, scoring inside the first minute. A great through ball from McCammon found Wallace on the right and his cross was swept home by Lavery from 8 yards.

The home side had the majority of possession but could not find that vital second goal. They went very close on 2 occasions, Collins had a header from a corner cleared off the line and the away goalkeeper saved McElroy’s effort from point blank range.

Institute did create a few chances of their own. A sloppy back pass let in their number 9, who thankfully shot wide, and minutes later the same player hit the post when well placed.

The home side finished the half on top but at half time the lead was still a slender 1-0.

The vital second goal came early in the second half. McKenna’s accurate pass found Wallace on the edge of the box, his strength and balance saw off 2 challenges and he finished coolly into the corner of the net.

The third soon followed and it was classic counter attack football. From an Institute corner, the ball was cleared to Wallace who broke down the right. His cross was met by Arnold, who had raced the length of the field, and he made no mistake from 12 yards.

After this Dungannon played some neat, one touch football, their priority to keep a clean sheet.

A fourth goal did come with 2 minutes remaining, a well taken McCammon penalty after Wallace had been dragged back in the box.

A brilliant hard working display from the boys, the final score confirming their superiority throughout the game. They now await their semi-final opponents

Dungannon United Youth Under 11’s met Donegal Celtic on Saturday in Gordon Park, Lurgan.

Before the match started there was a sombre note when both teams stood for a minutes silence in honour of the memory of Oisin McGuinness who tragically passed away last week whilst participating in one of the Mid Ulster Matches.

Once the match started the DUY under 11’s didn’t take long to get into their stride putting Donegal Celtic onto the back foot with constant attacks on goal. Before the first goal was scored by Shea Gordan, DUY had a few near misses as well as a goal disallowed for being offside. As in so many other DUY matches, the boys settled down once the first goal was scored and then then flood gates seemed to open and our lads produced another high scoring win with goals coming from Gavin Corr, Paul Donnelly, Daniel Kerr, Oran Mallon and Paul Donaghy.

A stroke of good management by Joe McAree saw him replace his goal keeper Gavin Corr with Jordan Hazelton. Gavin played this match in a centre forward position and soon was on the score sheet, netting 2!

The defence had very little to do in this game and the second half saw most of them pushing forward, hoping to get onto the score sheet! It was in this period of play that a penalty was awarded to DUY and centre back Naoise Martin stepped forward to take it. Even though Naoise’s penalty was saved it rebounded to his partner at the back Paul Donaghy who put it safely into the back of the net! If you listen to Naoise - this wasn’t a missed penalty, but team work at it’s best!

Man of the Match this week went to Paul Donaghy, not only for his goal, but for an outstanding display of all round football. Well done Paul!

Next week sees the visit of Corpus Christi to play our Under 11’s in the Quarter Finals in the Northern Ireland Cup for an 11 am kick off at the Junior Stadium, Dungannon.

Good luck boys for next weeks cup match!

We would also like to wish Paul Donaghy, Naoise Martin, Dailagh Jones, Shea Gordan and Daniel Kerr all the best for their trials at Manchester United’s School of Excellence next Sunday!

Every match is important for Dungannon United Youth Under 11’s if they want to keep their chance at contending with the top of the Mid Ulster League Table!

Today took DUY under 11’s to Kernan to meet Tandragee.

Almost immediately Dungannon were put under pressure when Tandragee midfield chipped the ball over our defence and beat goal keeper Gavin Corr.

The whistle had barely blown to start the game when DUY uncharacteristically had to chase the game to regain control.

Some excellent passing from our lads saw Connor Murtagh beat a fantastic Tandragee goal keeper to equal the score and settle the DUY boys down enough to start playing better football and maintain some decent possession.

It wasn’t long until Dungannon took the lead with Paul Donnelly adding to his amazing goal scoring tally this season. Daniel Kerr didn’t take long to get in on the action, producing one of his brilliant chips, nestling the ball into the top left hand corner of the opposing net.

DUY’s number 5, Naoise Martin rivaled Daniel Kerr for the goal of the match when he blasted the ball from outside the penalty box to bring his season tally to two.

The second half was DUY back at their best, winning balls, passing solidly and making plenty of shots on goal. Praise must go to the Tandragee goalie who pulled off some excellent saves throughout the match.

By the full time whistle, goals had also been scored by Shea Gordon, Oran Mallon, Adam Patterson and Captain Dailagh Jones, who also was awarded Man of the Match for yet another solid performance.

Congratulations boys on your high scoring win!

Dungannon U-16’s - 4
Ballinamallard U-16’s - 1

On Saturday, Dungannon U-16’s took on Ballinamallard in a league clash at White City.

Despite going behind to an early goal, the boys rallied well and had the game sewn up by half time.

They did start slowly and a defensive mistake let in the Ballinamallard winger who finished well from close range, giving Goodfellow in goals no chance.

From then on, the performance improved immensely, the defence was rock solid with Crooks giving a faultless display, ably assisted by the hard working Collins.

The equaliser soon came, Collins broke up a rare attack and fed the ball to McCammon on the right. His through ball was latched onto by Wallace who lobbed the on rushing keeper, the ball bouncing into the empty net despite a desperate attempt by the defender to clear.

5 minutes later, the boys went 2-1 up. A free kick from Wallace was dropped by the away keeper and the alert Arnold was on hand to stab the ball home from 8 yards.

The third goal followed quickly, and what a goal it was. A corner from McElroy was headed high in the air by the away defender. As the ball fell out of the sky, Lavery perfected an exquisite overhead kick, his effort sailing over everyone’s head into the back of the net.

It was all Dungannon at this stage. Girvan made a surging run down the left, he produced a perfect cross from which Lavery’s goalbound header was blocked by a Ballinamallard defender.

With 5 minutes left to half time, Dungannon went 4-1 up. An excellent through ball from McElroy left Lavery one on one with the keeper and he coolly slotted home from the edge of the box.

Dungannon again had most of the possession in the second half. However despite not adding to the scoreline, they played some excellent one touch, pass and move football, McKenna and Mayse both pivotal in the centre of midfield.

Several chances were created, notably by McElroy who had 2 efforts narrowly off target when well placed. Ryan Mayse had a ‘Ronaldo like’ free kick parried by the keeper, McCammon unlucky not to score from the rebound.

An overall excellent performance from the boys and a well deserved 4-1 victory.

This week the boys have a league match away to Portadown.