Riada clinch the Premier League title

Riada FC 5 v 0 Kilrea United FC

RIADA FC clinched the league title with a 5-0 win over last year’s winners Kilrea at their Joey Dunlop Centre pitch on Saturday.

Kilrea may have had one eye on this Friday’s cup final but they took the game to Riada and in the first 20 minutes were the much better side.

There may have been some nerves, and Riada seemed a little uneasy, and made uncharacteristic mistakes that allowed Kilrea the majority of possession and a succession of free kicks and corners.

Kilrea went close on occasion and it took a last ditch block by McDowell to deny Deighan from close range. Against the run of play, a Simon Ryder cross was headed in by Jerry Parkhill to give Riada the lead after 15 minutes.

Riada still did not settle and Kilrea applied more pressure. Coyle went close after a mix up in the Riada defence.

On 25 minutes Riada again scored against the run of play.

A Bryan Moore kick out was flicked on by Ty Armstrong and Raymond McCann latched on to it and scored with a left foot shot from just inside the area.

The half finished at two nil, and although Riada weren’t playing well, manager Peter Cairns was happy with the effort and commitment shown, also it was clear that Vance Brownlow and Raymond McCann showed they were a handful for the Kilrea defence.

This proved to be the case in the second half, Riada stopped giving away free kicks and relieved any Kilrea pressure with much more ease than in the first half, and it wasn’t long before Vance Brownlow tucked away the third after a through ball from Johnny Kearns. Brownlow’s return to form after struggling with a back injury was a major factor in Riada’s strong finish to the season.

A throw in was flicked on by Dale Armstrong and the Kilrea keeper fumbled the ball into the path of the grateful Jerry Parkhill who smashed home to the roof of the net on 65 minutes.

The fifth goal was scored by Raymond McCann, a through ball by William Smyth set McCann away, and he outpaced the Kilrea defence and showed great composure to score.

Late on Declan Hassan and Skinny Duffy played a neat one two in the middle of the park and Hassan put Danny McMullan in on goal, he had Arron Thompson in support but choose to go himself and forced a good save by the keeper.

There were other chances at both ends and Riada did well to keep a clean sheet.

The team is set up to be hard to beat, and they defended from the front as they have done all season. The goals conceded tally in the league is a remarkable eleven from twenty one games.

This is extraordinary for a junior football team, and also to win every away game in the league is a great achievement. Manager Peter Cairns must take maximum credit for building this side over the last two seasons. He has taken an unpredictable mid-table team and turned them into an organised, hard working, disciplined and knowledgeable squad of players.

Riada FC’s last game is against second placed Upperlands at the Joey Dunlop Centre pitches on Wednesday 12th.

Kick-off is at 6.45pm and there will be a presentation before the game at 6.15pm. Please show your support.