Larne’s Finlay and Maguire find the net in lively draw

The visitors started on the front foot, keeping possession and challenging for what looked certain to be an early goal. But a quick break from the Larne forwards saw them win a penalty corner. Leigh Snoddy’s drag-flick was saved, but Michelle Finlay was on hand to score the rebound.

The second half saw North Down come out strongly, finding their passing game. The Larne ‘keeper was faced with a one-on-one and seemed to win the ball, only to be given a questionable penalty flick against her. North Down made no mistake to bring the scores level.

With 10 minutes to go, Larne captain Ruth Dalton broke and beat the North Down defence and slotted the ball through for debutant Teah Maguire to finish.

North Down piled on the pressure from then on, making the Larne defence work hard. And with one minute to go, they converted a penalty corner to snatch a draw.

Larne: T. Neill, R. Beggs, L. Craig, Rebecca Dalton, M. Finlay, I. Carmichael, G. Russell, Ruth Dalton (c), C. McIlwaine, L. Snoddy, D. Henry, S. McGookin, T. Maguire.

Carrick Ladies II 0

Larne Ladies II 0

Larne Ladies 2nd XI drew 0-0 with rivals Carrick in Junior 3 on Saturday as they maintained their push for promotion.

A hotly-contested game was anticipated with the Larne side made up of a number of ex-Carrick players.

The visitors were a little slow to start and the home side enjoyed most of the possession in the opening minutes of the game.

But Larne soon found their feet and the first half became a very even affair.

There was a Player of the Match performance from Nicola Kempton at the heart of the Larne defence, while Carla Blair’s late shot was saved to deny Larne before a goalmouth scramble was cleared by Carrick.

Team: C. Morrow, J. Wilson, R. Henry, C. Blair, N. Kempton, T. Martin (c), C. Greenwood, L. Booth, R. McIlwaine, P. Crawford, A. Snoddy, A. McFall.

Fixtures: Civil Service v Larne (Irish Trophy); Larne II v Grosvenor (2:30 pm); Banbridge II v Larne III (Junior Cup).