YM Ladies secure big win

YMCA Ladies produced a fantastic performance last Wednesday night to defeat Cliftonville LFC and send the Belfast team down into the NIWFA Championship and give YMCA the possible escape route of the play-offs in order to maintain their Premiership status.

The match was a "real winner takes all" affair with Cliftonville only requiring a draw to seal a playoff position and YM requiring a win to gain the playoff place against the second place Championship side and the losers being confined to the Championship for next season.

The match, in Belfast, started at a frantic place and the Reds put the YM defence under sustained pressure in the early stages of the match but the YM defence of McCarter, Archibold, Nicholas and Price stood firm.

YM almost took the lead on 15 minutes when McMullan crossed for McCann but McCann saw her shot sail narrowly past the post.

The visitors deservedly took the lead ten minutes later when McKeever slipped McCann in with a defence splitting pass and McCann finished exquisitively.

However YM celebrations were short-lived and Cliftonville equalised on the half-hour mark with a great strike from the edge of the box. The match ended 1-1 at the interval.

The second half started with YM on the attack and substitute Ursina Carpeder was causing the Cliftonville defence all sorts of problems. Lauren McLaughlin had a shot from the edge of the box saved by the Cliftonville keeper and Aine McKeever saw her long range free kick sail just over the bar.

At the other end Cliftonville had a header cleared off the line by Archibald and saw a shot graze the YM post.

On 70 minutes YM made the breakthrough when Hannah Kilgore fed Carpeder with a wonderful pass and she smashed the ball past the dispairing Reds keeper to send the YM team into raptures.

Cliftonville really began to press the YM defence for the equaliser which would save them from the dreaded drop and pumped high balls into the youthful YM box but found the defence in resilient form and when they were breached stand-in keeper Coral Lapsley was equal to the task producing a couple of outstanding saves.

Five minutes from time YM secured the result when McKeever put in Carpeder and once again she scored her sixth goal in four games to seal a fantastic result and secure a 3-1 victory.

The victory ensures that YM playoff over two matches against the second placed Championship League side to try to maintain their Premiership status.

The playoff will be against either Loughgall Lakers or Fermanagh Mallards who currently are on equal points with one league match to go - against each other!

The skill, dedication and committment of the young YMCA girls has helped them overcome hurdles which would defeat a lesser side but they have galvanised themselves to the challenges and no doubt will bring these same attributes into the play-off games where they will have to do without the services of Aine McKeever and Avilla Bergin who take up their US Soccer scholarships next week.

With more scholarships guaranteed over the next few years coach McKeever is confident that the conveyor belt of talent currently at the club including such up and coming stars as Aoife Curran and Laura Nicholas wil ensure that the club remain not only the top club in the North West but the premier young side in Northern Ireland.

Any players interested in joining the club can contact Greg McKeever on (0773) 408 6035.