Sunday past saw Dungannon United Youth under 12 National side meet Greenisland at the Junior Stadium.

As Greenisland were in a higher position than Dungannon in the league, the Under 12’s knew that this was going to be one of their toughest matches so far.

The Dungannon boys started the match nervously and were getting caught out by some excellent one touch football from the Greenisland team.

Although the visitors had much of the possession in the first half, they were unable to break down a very solid Dungannon defence. Very little pressure was applied on the Greenisland goal as a lot of the Dungannon play broke down in the final third of the field.

At times, spectators were left wondering where a Dungannon goal would come from, but with ten minutes left in the second half Connor Murtagh ran on to a good ball passed through from defender Naoise Martin. Connor carried the ball down the left wing unchallenged and whipped an excellent cross into the opposing penalty area only to see it put out for a corner. It was from this corner that Dungannon opened the score when Caolon Corr tapped the ball over the line.

Dungannon under 12’s were lucky to finish the half one – nil up as everyone present knew that Greenisland were playing the better football.

Manager Joe McAree and Assistant Tony Courtney made some vital half time changes when he introduced Shea Gordon in place of Caolon Corr, Deane Kane for Gavin Corr and Cain Murtagh for Connor Murtagh. With these changes in place, the Dungannon boys started to play a more open style of attacking football. Against the run of play, new signing Tom McDermott in goals, kept the Dungannon boys ahead when he made an unbelievable save. This fortunate escape seemed to give the Under 12’s a wake up call and shortly afterwards Samuel Haugh hit his fourth goal of the season to put the boys 2 – nil in front.

Paul Donnelly replaced centre forward Jake Burns and Jordan Hazelton replaced left back Tomas Carney and with fresh legs on the field, Dungannon kept on pushing forward and shortly after these substitutions, Cain Murtagh added a well placed third goal to the Dungannon tally.

After the match Joe McAree said “Paul Donaghy and Naoise Martin were excellent in defence. Daniel Kerr worked his socks off in midfield and Cain Murtagh made a big difference to the match and took his goal well. It was also good to see Shea Gordon back from injury as he is very important to our midfield. Overall, we had too many poor performances which will be corrected in the forthcoming matches.”

His Assistant Tony Courtney added to the post match comments that “the first half was poor and only for brilliant performances from Paul Donaghy and Naoise Martin, we could have been a couple of goals down. Substitutions at half time changed the game for us and Samuel Haugh’s and Cain Murtagh’s goals were taken well.”

Man of the Match was awarded jointly to Paul Donaghy and Naoise Martin for their thoroughly solid performance in the heart of the DUY defence. Well done Paul and Naoise! Keep up the good work!

Dungannon Junior Stadium was the venue that witnessed the return to form of the DUY Under 12’s. Up until this match, they had recorded two wins and a defeat in the National League, but Saturday past saw them play with the fighting team spirit and determination that was evident throughout last season.

The visitors to the stadium were Ards Youth and although they are bottom of the National League Table, the DUY management and supporters did not expect the 9 – 0 victory which the young lads achieved.

Saturday past saw Dungannon United Youth Under 12’s play their 3rd game in the National League. After having lost last weeks  match to a very strong Larne side, the boys knew they had  to improve their standard of play whilst taking on Ballinamallard in this away match.

The Dungannon side still looked as if 2 or 3 of their players hadn’t shaken off the injuries received last week and the large travelling loyal supporters hoped that this would not affect the young side too badly.

The opening fifteen minutes saw both teams well matched, with chances for both sides.

At times we caught flashes of the free flowing football the DUY team played last year, but they still could not find a way passed the Ballinamallard defence. In fact it was the home team who opened the scoring when a good pass split the DUY defence, leaving the centre back and full back lost for pace as the Ballinamallard centre forward cooly slipped the ball passed DUY keeper Jordan Hazelton.

It was obvious half way through the first half that midfielder Shea Gordon was unable to run off a re-occuring thigh injury and changes would have to be made.

The second half started with Adam Willoughby coming on to replace Shea Gordon.

The Dungannon boys kept pushing forward for an equalizer which eventually came when centre back Naoise Martin came forward and headed the ball into the back of the net from an excellent corner delivery from Daniel Kerr. This gave the Dungannon lads the confidence to apply more pressure in hope of a winner. When the ball was hit into the goal area, right back Tomas Carney took his chance well and put the Dungannon boys into the lead.

Daniel Kerr could have increased the score line further only to see his superb 25 yard free kick rebound off the cross bar.

With their heads up, our under 12’s continued pushing forward and were causing the Ballinamallard defence all sorts of problems.

New signing, Caolan Corr, scored his first goal for the Dungannon side, extending their lead further.

A second substitution was made shortly after the third goal when Matthew O’Toole replaced an injured Connor Murtagh.

After the match, Manager Joe McAree said “I am pleased with the second half response my players gave after our half time talk. I feel we got our just rewards by winning 3 - 1. Naoise Martin and Dalaigh Jones were just outstanding today. You would be hard pushed to find more determined and harder working players anywhere. I am also impressed with the work rate of Caolan Corr, who played only his third match for Dungannon United Youth.”

Assistant Manager, Tony Courtney added “After a poor start and going a goal down, the boys battled hard to come back and grab victory with a determined second half performance. After the equalizer went in there was only going to be one winner as the team finally started to show signs of last years desire to win.”

Joe McAree awarded Man of the Match jointly to Dalaigh Jones and Naoise Martin as both boys played some outstanding football. Well done boys!

The Under 12’s next match is against Ards Youth at home next week.

STEPHEN McHUGH.

POSITION. COACH

CLUB CAREER. 2 Yrs.

FAV. TEAM. MAN UTD.

The reality of the National League hit home to DUY under 12s this Sunday 13th September when they were beaten 5 - 1 at home by a very strong Larne Youth.

Even though Larne have not lost a match yet in the Nationals, the Dungannon boys put them under immediate pressure with attacks on their goal. A good move was made when Naoise Martin put Samuel Haugh through on the right wing. Taking on his man, Samuel crossed in a good ball into the box to be met by a Shea Gordon volley which unfortunately hit the bar. This gave the Dungannon lads more confidence and with another penetrating attack Shea Gordon opened the score. Dungannon maintained good play but Larne slowly started to slip into the game and an equalizer was ominous. Jordan Hazelton made a fantastic save to keep the opposition out, but shortly before half time the Larne team equalized.

No changes were made at half time and the second half started with Larne Youth making good runs through the midfield which put the Dungannon defence under pressure. Five minutes into the second half saw Larne take the lead and with key DUY players injured the Dungannon team started to struggle. During this time centre back Naoise Martin was badly hurt and was taken off for treatment. Shortly afterwards he returned to the field only to see his partner at the back Paul Donaghy taken off and replaced by Matthew O’Toole after he was injured also.  At this time Shea Gordon was substituted for Jason Stevenson and Paul Donnelly came off for Connor Murtagh. The Dungannon boys kept trying for the equalizer, but Larne had their tails up and were determined to push ahead for more goals. The Larne Youth’s third goal followed shortly against a much weakened DUY defence. Even though DUY were 3 goals to 1 down, the young Dungannon players kept pushing forward hoping for the goals that would allow them back into the match. With shots from Daniel Kerr and Connor Murtagh thwarted on the line, the game was slowly slipping away from them. With Dungannon pressing forward all the time Larne was given the opportunity to break away and score 2 goals against the run of play. The final score of 5 -1 did not reflect the amount of possession and pressure the Dungannon boys had.

The supporters were left wondering that with a fully fit Dungannon team what the final outcome would have been.

After the match, Manager Joe McAree stated that “lessons had been learnt. I should not have not have taken the game knowing that the majority of my players were jaded. It was too much to ask. It was my own fault.”

He then awarded Man of the Match to Naoise Martin for his guts and determination to continue playing the remainder of the match even though he was injured. Well done Naoise.

Next weeks match is away to Ballinamallard. Good luck boys!