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Northend Youth 9 Ballymoney Athletic 1 Saturday 31st October 2015

Northend had the upper hand from the start and piled on the pressure with Sam Crawford hitting the post in the first minute, followed by Ciaran Martins effort saved, and Niall Devine hitting the side of the net. The scoreline was opened in the first five minutes, when a fantastic run down the right hand side by Gabriel Farias was laid on to super striker Caolan Lennon and he connected perfectly to find the back of the net. The second goal came quickly when Niall Devine won the ball in the midfield to perfectly lay it on to well positioned Caolan Lennon. Sam Crawford got the next goal, reading the game well to ensure he was where he needed to be for Ben Harkins pass. Ballymoney struggled to get through the Northend defence with Gabriel Farias and Andre Pescaru linking up well and winning the ball with the first touch. Ciaran Martin scored Northend's forth goal and only minutes later the fifth was scored when Niall Devine made a good run and pass to on form Sam Crawford. Caolan Lennon got his hat-trick before the end of the first half when he shot long and hard to secure his hat trick. Half time 6-1

The second half Ballymoney fielded an extra two players, as allowed in this league, with such a goal difference. The game evened up a little but Northend were not finished yet. Cal O'Brien pushed forward and scored the seventh goal, and Niall Devine followed shortly after with the eighth. Darragh Killough was forced to make a number of saves and he did so confidently. The last goal came from Cal O'Brien. Final score 9-1

This was a super effort. This week it is a fantastic win but regardless of the scores it is great to see all the training coming into play as it has each game this season so far. It is great to see such skilful passing and positioning. A well deserved win after a few frustrating games.

Men of the Match: Sam Crawford, Cal O'Brien

Panel: D Killough, C Lennon, C Martin, N Devine, S Crawford, C O'Brien, B Harkin, J Quigley, A Pescaru, K Dziadkowiec; G Farias

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Draperstown Celtic 3 Northend United 1 Saturday 24th October 2015

The scoreline was almost opened in the first few minutes of the game when Ciaran Martin, Sam Crawford and Niall Devine combined well to keep possession of the ball and lay on a chance for Caolan Lennon, which went just wide of the target. A few moments later Ciaran Martin run amok with the Draperstown defence with his close control and a super strike which landed in the back of the net. Draperstown fought back and through great defending by Cal O'Brien and Andre Pescaru they struggled to break through. The Draperstown team were under pressure and on a few occasions were lucky not to be shown a yellow card. Ciaran Martin was brought down, arguably inside the box, but the referee gave a free kick which Caolan Lennon took and just scrapped the post. On the counterattack Darragh Killough stopped a goal but the follow up strike bounced unexpectedly in front of Darragh taking him by surprise to bring the score level for Half time 1-1

The second half was very frustrating and Northend had numerous decisions go against them. Draperstown scored twice with what looked like two clear offside goals. Caolan Lennon had goals disallowed, one of which the referee had he eyes of the game to an off ball incident which saw the Draperstown goalkeeper attack on form Niall Devine. It was hard to see what Devine had done but the referee sent both him and the Draperstown goalkeeper off. Minutes later Caolan Lennon was sent to the sidelines for a hard challenge. The Northend boys fought on until the end and showed great determination and restraint in a physically challenging game. Final Score 3-1

Man of the Match: Ciaran Martin

Panel: D Killough, C Lennon, C Martin, N Devine, C Mellon, S Crawford, C O'Brien, B Harkin, J Quigley, A Pescaru, C McKillop

Northend United 7 Ballymoney Academy 9 Saturday 17th October 2015

Northend started this game with attack and in the first ten minutes they had several attempts go wide. Ballymoney started to settle into the game after 15 minutes and when they scored a penalty to open the scoreline the game was on. Minutes later Caolan Lennon scored his first of the game, and this was quickly followed up by Cal O'Brien's first goal of the season. Ballymoney fought back and Gabriel Farias made some super saves but there was nothing he could do to save Ballymoney's second with a super strike in the top left corner of the net. Northend dominated the end of the first half and the third goal came from Ciaran Martin with his speed and excellent footwork taking out three Ballymoney players to slot the ball home for his first goal of the season. The final goal of the first half was a result of some slick passing by Niall Devine to Caolan Lennon who found the back of the net. Half time 4-2

Within minutes of the second half starting Caolan Lennon received a bad tackle which left him out of the game for five minutes and Ballymoney made the most of situation and left Northend stunned with three goals in as many minutes to go one ahead. The rest of the game was super to watch with goal after goal at both ends. Niall Devine brought the scoreline even and Ciaran Martin, with his second put Northend ahead. Ballymoney were not finished yet and they scored their sixth to make it even. A super Caolan Lennon free-kick put Northend ahead again but the boys failed to hold onto the lead and some slack defending allowed Ballymoney to put two more away to leave the final score 9-7.

Man of the Match: Caolan Lennon

Panel:: G Farias, C Lennon, C Martin, N Devine, C Mellon, S Crawford, C O'Brien, B Harkin, K Dziadkowiec, A Pescaru, C McKillop

Northend United 2 Moyola Park 6 Saturday 10th October 2015

Northend started this game the brighter of the two teams with some great passing between the midfield and the forwards. However, a long clearance from Moyola caught the Northend defence by surprise and Moyola hit the back of the net what looked like an offside goal. Cal O'Brien then went close with an effort from just outside the box, then some excellent passing between Niall Devine and Ciaran Martin set up another good chance that just went wide. Once again against the run of play Moyola struck a long ball and again found the back of the net. This seemed to encourage the Northend boys to step it up another gear. Ciaran Martin made a brilliant run and was fouled just outside the box, and Caolan Lennon made no mistake when he stepped up to take the free kick with a thunderous shot that left the Moyola keeper with no chance. Moyola though with the confidence of the extra goal started to press forward. New goalkeeper Gabriel Farias made some outstanding saves, but with some slack defending it was only a matter of time before Northern were punished with Moyola's third goal. Straight away Northend had a chance to pull one back when Ben Harkin forced a corner that found Caolan Lennon who's strike hit the bar just on the whistle for half time. Half time 3-1

Northend did not give up though and started very well but a poor back pass to the keeper resulted in an indirect free-kick being awarded to Moyola. This was hammered into the bottom corner of the net by Moyola, apparently having come off a Northend player. Caolan Lennon kept the hope alive with another stunner. The boys battled on and had several chances stopped by the Moyola goal keeper and several more going just wide. It wasn't to be Northend's day as Moyola, who seemed to be under pressure, took their chances, once again with some long shots, and helped by poor defending, to add another two to their tally. Full time 5-2

The Northend lads should not be too disappointed with the result as it was a good performance and the final score flattered Moyola as it did not reflect the game. Well done keep it up boys!

Man of the Match: Caolan Lennon

Panel: Gabriel Farias, Caolan Lennon, Ciaran Martin, Niall Devine, Coire Mellon, Sam Crawford, Cal O'Brien, Ben Harkin, Jack Quigley, Kasper Dziadkowiec, Andre Pescaru

Northend United 2 Dungiven Colts 1 Saturday 3rd October 2015

This was the first competitive game of the season for the U12 team, and they stared the game extremely well from the kick off. Cal O'Brien and Caolan Lennon put pressure on the Dungiven defence and with some great individual skills from Ciaran Martin and Niall Devine the boys should have been 1-0 within the first 5 minutes but Ciaran's shot hit the side of the netting. Darragh Killough was in top form as he read the game well as he made a couple of very good saves. It was the Northend boys though who kept driving forward with shots from Niall Devine and Caolan Lennon going just wide of the target. With about 10 minutes to go of the first half a clearance from Coire Mellon was picked up by Ciaran Martin who found Caolan Lennon but Caolan's shot was saved by the on form Dungiven keeper. Gabriel Farias, playing his first game for Northend, fitted well into the midfield, and almost set up the first goal of the game with a super pass laid on for Cal O'Brien but O'Brien's shot just went wide. Half time 0-0

Northend started the second half in the way they finished the first with most of the possession. Sam Crawford, Ben Harkin and Kasper Dziadkonisc in defence made it difficult for the Dungiven team to break through but a slight loss of concentration cost Northend when a loose ball wasn't picked up and Dungiven ran through to score. The Northend boys replied minutes later when good interactive play between the midfield and forwards left Caolan Lennon with a chance and he hit a cracking shot into the top corner of the net. With fifteen minutes left the boys knew they deserved to win this game and they pushed forward. The Dungiven goalkeeper had different ideas and made some terrific saves but with 5 minutes to go Caolan Lennon scored when he picked up a Niall Devine corner with unstoppable shot. Full Time 2-1

This was a very good performance and the two new players, Gabriel Farias and Jack Quigley fitted in well in their first game for the club. Some individual outstanding performances but the final score was as a result of the whole team putting in the effort.

Man of the Match: Team Performance

Panel: D Killough, C Lennon, C Martin, N Devine, C Mellon, S Crawford, C O'Brien, B Harkin, G Farias, J Quigley, K Dziadkonisc