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Clonduff lift a second trophy

CLONDUFF 3-1 FC UTD LISBURN aet

Clonduff YM won their second trophy of the season on Friday night at Bog Road when they beat FC Utd Lisburn 3-1 after extra-time in the Gordon Hanna Trophy final.

Clonduff are Division One champions and also lost to First Lisburn in the Supplementary Plate final.

Both teams beat top Premier Division opposition on their way to the final but the game turned out to be a scrappy affair.

Clonduff had a great chance to take a first-half lead but a penalty kick came back off the post and there were no goals in the opening period.

FC took the lead early in the second-half when Ryan Nixon scored with a header at the back post.

Clonduff exerted pressure after that but missed a close range opportunity and also hit the bar before Jonny Bowes collected a cross to equalise with five minutes left. This was the goal-scorer supreme’s 29th goal of the season and probably the most important one.

The result was sealed in the first period of extra-time when Clonduff scored twice with man of the match, Lee Finlay, getting the one which put them ahead. A powerful header from substitute, Graeme Weir made it 3-1.

FC tried hard in the second period to get back into the game but never really threatened to score.

Clonduff’s Lee Finlay was named man of the match and the Trophy was presented by Edward Hanna, the grandson of Gordon Hanna and son of the South Antrim League chairman, Clifford Hanna.

FC players and management congratulate Clonduff on winning two trophies and wish them all the best in the Premier Division next season.

ACE GRAHAM’S DOUBLE WINNER

BRANIEL YM II 1-2 CREGAGH WANDERERS

A first-half double from Cregagh Wanderers’ top marksman Graham Montgomery gave his team the Whiteside Cup with a 2-1 win over their local rivals, Braniel YM II, in the final of the Whiteside Cup on Wednesday night.

The double brought Montgomery’s tally for the season to 42 goals and the two which brought up this record tally for Cregagh wee probably the most important to date.

After 20 minutes, Montgomery was on hand to head Cregagh into the lead and around ten minutes later Montgomery raced through on his own to slot home a second.

Braniel pulled one back after the break from Lewis Irwin, but they could not find an equaliser, though the Cregagh keeper was kept busy.

The man of the match award went to Cregagh’s Philip Egerton and his team certainly deserved this success.

Afterwards, Cregagh manager Alan McClenaghan said he was proud of his young players and told them so but he would still like to finish the season as champions.

The two teams met again on Saturday in a play-off for the Division Two title.

LISBURN JUNIOR INVITATIONAL LEAGUE

Lisburn’s nine-a-sides is a hit

The season in the Lisburn Junior Invitational League has ended with the introduction of nine-a-side football for U11s being lauded and this is extended to U12s next season.

The local League’s forward thinking on this has been fully backed by the IFA, which maintains Lisburn’s status as the best youth league in Northern Ireland.

WHERE ALL THE TROPHIES WENT

SHIELD

Under-11: 1, Bertie Peacock Youth; 2, Linfield Youth; Under-12: 1, Lisburn Youth; 2, Ballymena Youth; under-13: 1, Hillsborough Boys; 2, Shankill Juniors; under-14: 1, Lisburn Youth; 2, Annagh Utd Youth; under-15: 1, Shankill Juniors; 2, Lisburn Youth; under-16, Bloomfield Youth; 2, Greenisland Boys; under-17: 1, Lisburn Distillery Youth; 2, Hillsborough Boys.

LEAGUE

Under-12: 1, Lisburn Youth; 2, Ballymena Youth; under-13: Hillsborough Boys; 2, Shankill Juniors; under-14: 1, Lisburn Youth; 2, Windmill Youth; under-15: 1, Oxford Sunnyside Boys; 2, Lisburn Youth; under-16: 1, Lisburn Distillery Youth; 2, Willowbank Youth; under-17: 1, Lisburn Distillery Youth; 2, Hillsborough Boys.

CUP

Under-11: 1, Windmill Youth; 2, Oxford Sunnyside Boys; under-12: 1, Lisburn Youth; 2, Windmill Youth; under-13: 1, Shankill Juniors; 2, Hillsborough Boys; under-14: 1, Lisburn Youth; 2, Annagh Youth; under-15: 1, Lisburn Distillery Youth; 2, Ridgeway Rovers; under-16: 1 Carrick Rangers; 2, Bloomfield Youth; under-17: 1, Portadown Youth; 2, Donegal Celtic Youth.

Lisburn Youth at the Blackpool Cup

U15s

Lisburn Youth U15s end of season trip took them across the Irish Sea to participate in the Blackpool Cup.

This was a worthwhile and really enjoyable four days for everyone involved.

Lisburn breezed through the first day of the competition, winning all three matches and scoring an impressive 13 goals in the process while only conceding one.

The second day proved to be a lot more competitive and the lads done themselves proud but just fell short in the end, beaten in the semi-final by the eventual winners.

The coaches commended the whole squad on their conduct during the trip and said they were a real credit to themselves and the club and should be proud.

The season also came to a conclusion last weekend with the lads again just falling short by finishing runners-up to a strong Oxford side.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad season. The U14s ended up league and shield runners-up and beaten quarter-finalists of the Cup.

The coaches concluded: “Well done lads and if you stick together, keep progressing and believe in your ability, you will have a great opportunity go one better next season. Well done.”

U14s

Lisburn Youth U14s were left heartbroken in the final of the Blackpool Cup 2014.

The young lions of Lisburn began their campaign on Saturday with a 4-0 victory over Ashton Schools from the Republic of Ireland. Ross Hull got two including one from the spot with Conall Smyth and a 25-yard free-kick from skipper Thomas McComb making it four.

In the second group game, the boys met the impressive Lincoln Reds from Gibraltar. Conall Smyth scored the only goal of the game, a long distance screamer. Keeper Ryan Dowling was the star for Lisburn making three brilliant saves. Lincoln also missed a penalty in the last minute.

In their final group game, Lisburn defeated local English side Ribbleston 3-0 with goals from Ross Hull, Caoimhin McConnell with a header and U13 Thomas Burns with an 18-yard drive.

These three victories put Lisburn into the second group stage on Easter Sunday where they met another Irish team, Leicester Celtic. Lisburn won 3-0 with two goals from Ross Hull and U13 captain Chris Turtle scoring from 30-yards.

The second game was against hosts Myerscough Juniors and Caoimhin McConnell got the only goal in this game to send Lisburn through to the final against Greig City from London.

After a long weekend of football, the final was a battle with Lisburn showing a huge amount of heart against a big, physical Greig City. The London team ran out 1-0 winners but Lisburn Youth go home with a lot to be proud of having won five games without conceding a goal and playing some eye-catching football along the way.

U12s

Lisburn Youth U12s completed the domestic treble and they also added the Blackpool Cup for the quadruple, an excellent achievement for the squad.

The 12s competed in the Blackpool Cup over Easter and did themselves proud on and off the pitch. The boys were a credit to themselves and the club.

They showed tremendous team spirit and camaraderie throughout the competition and each of the travelling group contributed to what would be a successful week on the park. The seven-a-side format was different to what they are used to but they adapted comfortably.

The first day had three group games against teams from over the UK and Ireland. They started superbly, winning their first two games 8-0 and 9-0 respectively, which was, of course, enough to see them qualify through the group. The final group game finished 1-1 against one of the two Fleetwood sides in the competition.

Day Two saw the boys continue their excellent form in the knock-out rounds as they again won their first two games, one of which was against an English Schools select team. That win saw them through to the Blackpool Cup final against Fleetwood Town. Again, they could not be stopped as they ran out 4-1 winners in the final to lift the trophy.

The coaches congratulated the boys on their efforts all season: “The entire squad contributed in winning each of the trophies and their application was excellent all season long. The challenge now for the boys is to improve and step up another level for next season and see if they can match their efforts once again.”

Summer Academy

Lisburn Youth will be running a summer academy at the Lisburn Omniplex 4G Pitches every Saturday from 7 June until 7 August - 10am to Noon

The cost is £3.50 per session and is open to boys and girls of all ages.

Lisburn Youth are also recruiting new players and coaches for all ages groups.

lisburn distillery youth academy

Most successful season to date for the Junior Whites

Lisburn Distillery Youth Academy Chairman Ged Irwin is keen to celebrate what has been a great season both on and off the pitch for the club, but insists the ‘Wee Whites’ still have plans to expand and improve.

“It’s great to see the club’s Youth Team (Under 19s) promoted to Section A of the NIFL Youth League but when you factor in two Lisburn League titles, a Shield and Cup victory along with the mini soccer winning in the Bangor tournament at Christmas, this makes it our most successful season in our short history,” he said.

“I must pass on our collective thanks to all our staff, sponsors and supporters for giving us a solid base to work from, but the Academy have earmarked a number of areas to improve on moving forward and we will continue to work hard to meet the targets we have set ourselves.”

Next season will see the introduction of an Under 12 team, who will join the Under 11s to play in the Lisburn League’s mini soccer whilst the club will also be starting a new Under Eight (2007) team who will play in the BGDP.

The main focus of the Lisburn Distillery Academy is the six Lisburn League teams and this season to assist with them Andy Harwood was appointed as co-ordinator, which in turn brought a wealth of experience to the role, whilst Simon Wragg has developed the club’s Mini-Soccer set-up.

Ged reflected: “As an Academy we will always celebrate teams winning League titles and Cups but player development is vital for us and our success has to also be judged on bringing players through the Academy and into the first team at Distillery.

“Throughout the season, Mikey Withers, Mark Lyons, Bradley Morton, Michael Fegan, Ryan Irwin and Aaron Dalzell all came through the Academy to play for the first team with goalkeeper Ryan McBride deservedly picking up the Player of the Season award for 2013/14.”

Off the pitch, the Wee Whites established a link with Scottish Premier League side Dundee United with two academy players, Reece Kane and Daniel Wilson, both going to Tannadice for week long trials with the SPL club and having both been invited back whilst the Under 15s and Under 16s had a residential trip to Dundee in March.

To close the season, several other younger Academy teams went to South County Dublin for a weekend as guests of Mount Merrion Youth, a trip that was also highly successful.

Ged added: “Hopefully the home-grown players we have produced over the last few years can in time step up to the mark and help get the club back into the Danske Bank Premiership where they belong.”