YM Ladies cruise into next round

YMCA Ladies...3Blackieville...0

YMCA Ladies overcame a potential banana skin in their IFA Coca Cola Cup last 16 match against Belfast side Blackieville at Drumahoe on Monday night.

Blackieville are top of the NIWFA Division 1 and had the potential to cause an upset but Premier league side YMCA proved too strong in the end.

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YM started brightly and did not underestimate their opponents and deservedly took the lead after 20 minutes when debutante Aoife Curran scored with a cracking drive from the edge of the box.

Just before half time Kendra McMullan doubled the YM lead to leave them 2-0 at half-time. Shortly after the re-start Aine McKeever smashed home a free kick to make it 3-0 and end the game as a contest.

Lauren McLaughlin was causing the Blackieville defence all sorts of problems and she was instrumental in creating the fourth goal for Sarah Bergin and the romp was complete ten minutes from time when Mairead McCann scored with a low drive pass the helpless keeper.

This was a good all round team performance from YM after the mid-season break but Lauren McLaughlin deserves special mention for her performance.

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Blackieville deserve credit for never giving up and battling right to the end.

YMCA now play Glentoran/Belfast Utd next Monday night at Drumahoe in the League Cup quarter final followed on Wednesday, July 7, with a crucial league match against Linfield Ladies in Belfast.

With only five matches remaining YMCA are still on track to retain their Premier League status which would be a magnificent achievement for this very young side.

Reigning champions and current league leaders Crusaders Strikers will host one of the EUFA Women's Champions League Group stages in Belfast in August which once again raises the profile of Womens football in Northern Ireland.

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Three members of the YMCA side have now been drafted into the Northern Ireland senior squad after their performances in the Premier League this season with young Chloe Archibald joining Kendra McMullan and Avilla Bergin in the squad which recently played Iceland and Estonia in World Cup qualifiers.

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