Hard fought victory for Cookstown U16 over Armagh

ARMAGH CITY 1

This was a very hotly contested affair and Nathan Connolly had the first chance as his header was cleared off the line.

However, Cookstown took the lead when Matthew Scott found Tyler Anderson who fired into the top corner with his deadly left foot. A blinding run by Nathan Connolly was only stopped by a foul inside the box and Anderson thumped home the opportunity.

Kaelum Irvine had a sweet left foot volley just wide and at the other end Jamie Campbell could only parry a good cross and Armagh`s striker ought to have done better.

Cookstown came under the cosh in the second half but had good numbers behind the ball and managed till limit Armagh`s chances. A brilliant effort from the edge of the box was tipped wide by Jamie Campbell.

Martin McCracken drilled an effort just wide and then Ryan Murphy made a superb sliding challenge to prevent a goal. Armagh pulled one back with a brilliant free kick and Cookstown escaped a couple of anxious moments inside their own area in the final minutes.

A deserved but hard fought victory against a very strong Armagh team which should boost confidence ahead of some big games coming up.

Cookstown: Adam Scott, Jack Turkington, Tyler Anderson, Matthew Scott, Brendan Davey, Martin McCracken, Nathan Connolly, Jamie Campbell, Ryan Murphy, Philip Laverty, Adam Montgomery, Jake Crooks, Erik Banas, Kaelum Irvine, Marc Glasgow

Everyone at Cookstown Youth FC would like to send U15 player Dean Biggar best wishes after he suffered a double fracture to his leg in the game against Glenavon last Saturday. We all hope Dean has a full and speedy recovery.