Youth Football:Carniny march past the Saints

Result of the day was the under 11s who easily disposed of Saintfield by seven goals to one whilst the Youth and Amateurs under 10 sides recorded wins over Bertie Peacocks and Coleraine Academy.

The 12s went down two goals to nil to Ballinamallard up at Ballykeel whilst the 13s were on the receiving end of an odd goal in nine defeat coming back from three down to almost draw level.

The 14s made their exit from the NIBFA Cup going down 3-2 to Carryduff Colts and a game they should have won had they converted their chances.

Finally the 15s lost narrowly to Linfield 2-0 up at the ‘Dub’ playing fields in Belfast on 3g on Friday night and could have got something from the game having struck the crossbar and fired wide on several occasions.

Teatime Treat Underway

Nine teams kicked off the Teatime League last Friday night on the 3g surface at Ballymena Showgrounds in an enjoyable evening which is an initiative of the Carniny club. Other club/clubs may join in this Friday in a project which will run for five more weeks.

Football Development Centre Resumes

Saturday afternoon saw the club’s early years initiative resume for the second session of the season. Almost 60 children converged on pitch 6 at their Showgrounds home for a fun afternoon of football and games. The centre will run up to the end of March when the Mini Soccer League will commence.

UNDER 10’S

Coleraine Academy U9’s 0, Carniny 6: Carniny’s first league match back after the new-year break against a good U9 Academy side. The match started pretty even with both sides eager for the ball, but it was Carniny who took the advantage with the first goal from Young. Carniny continued to push hard but Coleraine defended well until just before half-time Carniny got a second from Simpson with a shot from outside the box being fumbled on the line and ending up in the back of the net.

The second half started again fairly even with Carniny getting a third through Stewart followed shortly after with a fine run from Currie, finishing low into the corner. Carniny did add further goals with Stewart finishing well low into the corner and from Stirling with a fine assist from Stewart.

UNDER 10’S

Carniny 2, Bertie Peacocks 0: It was from a Stewart corner finished by Farquhar on the volley that opened the Carniny account. Hunter had a couple of efforts but were easily saved by the keeper to keep it 1-0 at half time.

Carniny then put the result beyond doubt when Mearns poked the ball in after his first effort came off the keeper. This result sets up an exciting finish to the league with both Carniny and Coleraine on even points going into the last match against each other.

UNDER 11’S

Saintfield Utd 1, Carniny 7: After a few chances went begging Stewart found himself unmarked at the edge of the box; he then turned his defender and fired the ball high into the net. This was what Carniny were after and soon doubled their lead when Clyde ran onto a loose ball and fired it into the top corner. Carniny were now really in control and when the ball was slipped into Stewart who scored from the tightest of angles.

Soon Carniny found the net again when Neeson beat his man who squared to Archer who slipped the ball calmly home. After a goal mouth scrap Saintfield scored. This didn’t hamper Carniny’s game and man of the match Neeson was causing chaos with his powerful runs into the box and again teed up Stewart who scored with a neat finish to complete his hat-trick. Archer scored twice near the end of the game to complete his hat-trick as well.

UNDER 12’S

Carniny 0, Ballinamallard 2: The reds were coping with Ballinamallard until 26mins when failure to clear the ball let Ballinamallard in on goal and they made no mistake from close range. As time wore on Carniny pushed bodies forward and Ballinamallard took advantage in the dying seconds to double their lead. A case of not taking your chances but a good performance from the boys in red.

UNDER 13’S

Carniny 4, Institute 5: With 25mins played Carniny found themselves 4 goals down although Carniny felt aggrieved at the award of the opening two goals.

It was 26mins before Carniny opened their account when O’Mullan stabbed home a toe poker from outside the box to send the reds in 4-1 down at half time.

Despite dominating the play and creating a number of chances it took Carniny until 43mins to register their second goal when O’Mullan played a ball through to Hasson who finished with a beautiful lobbed strike over the head of the keeper. The sucker punch arrived on 50mins when Institute smashed home a fifth from a back post volley. Carniny battled hard for the remaining 10mins and managed to pull two further goals back when Hasson laid off to Doherty for their third and Evans smashed home a penalty for their fourth.

UNDER 14’S

Carryduff Colts 3, Carniny 2: Carryduff Colts opened the scoring inside the first 5mins when a mix up in Carniny’s defence allowed the Carryduff Colts striker to score from close range. Carniny equalised when a pass from Kennedy was flicked on by Balmer and Shevlin fired into the roof of the net for a super finish to level the score.

Midway through the second half Carryduff Colts went back in front after a period of pressure around the Carniny penalty box was not dealt with by the defence and the ball was fired into the Carniny net. Carniny’s Shevlin broke into the penalty box and was brought down by the Carryduff Colts goalkeeper. Kennedy, keeping his cool, equalised from the penalty spot. Carryduff Colts went in front again for the third time when Marquess made a good save but the ball was forced into the net.

UNDER 15’S

Linfield 2, Carniny 0: The first 10mins was a good contest and both teams passed the ball well as Carniny kept Linfield at bay. Then a defensive mistake by Carniny allowed Linfield to get their opener. With 10mins to half time Linfield broke with a superb well timed pass down the right flank which allowed the right winger in to score. Carniny continued to play and passed the ball very well. Just before half time the ball fell nicely to Reid who drove a brilliant shot which hit the crossbar.

This was an overall team performance and every player did themselves proud doing their individual jobs well and working hard throughout the game putting in a great shift.