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Northend United 3 Ballymena United 1 Saturday 1st March 2014

Northend United U11s returned to Ballysally for the first time since their break just before Christmas and faced a tough league game against local derby rivals Ballymena U11s.

Northend started very bright with Calum Kilgore playing in an unusual position in the middle of the pitch and Harry Wylie at centre half. This suited Northend as Kilgore offered a much needed bite and energy in the middle, tackling and pushing forward allowing Harry Wylie to organise from the back. It was all Northend in the first half having several opportunities to score with some great build up play but lacked that final finish. Fiontan McQuillan was impressive as usual fighting hard in every tackle and linking up well with Pat Ferris down the right side.

However Ballymena were fortunate to earn a free kick just outside the box and against the run of play Ballymena took the lead. Northend dominated but found themselves trailing one nil at half time. Half time score 0-1

The second half started as the first ended with Northend playing the better football. They continued to pressure Ballymena all over the pitch and mid way through the half they got a deserved goal. Some neat link up play on the right between Fiontan McQuillan, Pat Ferris and Ciaran Campbell lead to a cross to Jordan Wilson who volleyed home the equaliser. This spurred on Northend who kept up the pressure earning corner after corner and shortly after a Ciaran Campbell corner was poked in by Fiontain McQuillan. With only a few minutes left Fiontain McQuillan took a long range shot and found the back of the net making it three one to Northend at full time. Full time score 3-1

This performance has been well overdue, but their desire and work rate was there for all to see and was the reason why they won.

Man of the Match: F McQuillan.

Panel: E McSparron, C Higgins, R McQuillan, F McQuillan, C Kilgore (c), H Wylie, C Campbell, J Wilson, J Morrow, P Ferris

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Northend United 0 Maiden City 1 Saturday 22nd February 2014

This NIBFA Plate game was changed to Ballymena Showgrounds at both teams agreement. Due to cancellations in the league fixtures of late Northend's players took the entire first half to settle down into their pattern of play. Maiden City on the other hand were more determined and alert in all areas of the pitch. Centre back Harry Wylie was instrumental in keeping Maiden City out and stand-in keeper Callum Higgins pulled off some impressive saves to prevent Maiden City from opening the scoring. Half time score 0-0

The second half was a repeat of the first, Maiden City wanted the ball more but found the Northend defence of Fiontan McQuillan, Harry Wylie and Callum Higgins in top form. Their young Blues luck ran out shortly after the restart when Maiden City scored the only goal of the game, when their striker scored a good goal. Northend could have drawn level towards the end of the game but their strikers shot went narrowly past the post. Final score 0-1

Man of the Match: Callum Higgins.

Panel: C Higgins, R McQuillan, H Wylie (C), F McQuillan, J Morrow, J Montgomery, P Ferris, C Campbell, P Esler, J Wilson

Sion Swifts 5 Northend Youth 1 Saturday 8th february 2014

Northend United U11s played their first game of 2014 in the NIBFA Cup against an unknown Sion Swifts team. The match which was scheduled for last weekend was postponed due to the poor weather and this week didn't look any better. Under the NIBFA rules no player born in 2002 could play ruling out two of Northend's key players. However after a week of sourcing a pitch the game took place at Scroggy Road Limavady on a 3G pitch. The conditions were cold and blustery but remained dry. The first half was an even affair with Northend edging the better chances. Sion Swifts players all showed very good touches and ball control and played from the back, unlike Northend, who seemed to panic if the ball came their way. Callum Kilgore had a good half marshalling the defence and prevented any real opportunities to the opposition. Sion went one up mid way through the half when Northend gave the ball away cheaply and leaving a Sion player free to run on goal. Stand in Keeper Callum Higgins had a solid first half. Northend reshuffled bringing Pat Ferris back into right midfield as he was not getting any service up front. This changed the play and Northend finally got a hold of the game. It was all Pat Ferris who received the ball on half way and went past four of Sion's players coolly slotting the ball past the keeper. This encouraged Northend and Harry Wylie began to find his passing range. Northend had a couple of decent chances right on half time but couldn't make the most of these. Half time score 1-1.

The second half began like the first, Northend failed to close down their opposition and passed the ball to their opponents too many times. Sion Swifts capitalised on every missed pass and poor challenges some of the Northend players made. This led to Sion Swifts going 3-1 up in a space of minutes. However Pat Ferris was in top form for the Blues, with most of the Blues play centering on him. He worked tirelessly chasing and going forward along with Callum Kilgore, Fiontan McQuillan and Harry Wylie. However in a crazy final ten minute spell, each time the Sion seemed to break they punished Northend. Final score 5-1

With the return of a couple of players and possibly some new introductions, Northend wll look to improve on this performance.

Man of the Match: Pat Ferris

Panel: C Higgins, R McQuillan, F McQuillan, C Kilgore, H Wylie (C), C Campbell, J Montgomery, J Morrow, P Ferris