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Wakehurst 1 Draperstown Celtic 2 Saturday 17th December 2016

Wakehurst went into this game on a positive feeling after last weeks win but they knew they were in for a hard game aginst the league leaders after Draperstown had beaten them 5-0 in their last match.

Wakehurst started the better of the two teams again playing good passing football and this paid off when after 15 mins great play on the right wing between Robbie jones and Conal Gordon saw Conal taking on the Draperstown defence and hammer a great shot from outside the corner of the box easily beating the keeper

This seamed to shake Draperstown and the became the more aggressive team playing some strong football although Wakehurst defence was able to cope

5 min before half time Wakehurst gave away a silly pass in the opposite half and Draperstown was able to take it the whole way into Wakehurst box and with a one on one with the keeper was able to slot it home. Half time 1:1

Draperstown came out strong in the second half and after 2 substitutions due to injuries they were able to score an almost identical goal.

Wakehurst had a number of chances in the second half with again lots of good passing play but were unable to finish

The last 15 mins saw Draperstown really push to extend their lead but Wakehurst defence which had been strengthened by Robert McCluney switching into centre back alongside Sam Frew held firm With Conor Brennan making some good 1v1 saves and McCluney putting in excellent last man tackles to finish the game 2-1

This was the last game before the Christmas break but the boys can again take plenty of positives from this hard fought game and shows that they are still continuing to get better as was complemented on by Draperstown management at the end of the game. Full time 1-2

A merry xmas to you all

Panel: C Brennan, R Jones, L Parker, S Lecky, S Frew, R McCluney, J Logan, T Givens, C Gordon, C Fullerton, T McAuley, C Barr, P Kyle, J Kirkwood, A Woodin

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Wakehurst 7 Limavady United 2 Saturday 10th December 2016

Wakehurst welcomed Limavady United to Ballymena this week and who were sitting just three points above Wakehurst in the League. The Hurst were really up for this game, following a good display last week in a friendly match against Saturday Morning League side, Wakehurst Star. In this game the boys played well for over an hour before running out of stamina against the adult team.

The Hurst took the lead following a Stuart Lecky free kick which the Limavady keeper could only parry and the resultant rebound found its way to Sam Frew who smashed it past the keeper to make the score 1-0. It was all Wakehurst at this stage of the game as they played some outstanding football and doubled their lead on twenty minutes when they scored a second goal from a Conall Gordon corner which found Sam Frew who planted his header wide of the keeper and into the back of the net. Soon after, Joshua Logan showed some great skill and composure to dribble past three Limavady players to the edge of their penalty box and drill his shot into the bottom left corner, giving the Limavady keeper no chance, to make it 3-0. Limavady pulled a goal back just before half time to leave the score 3-1. Half Time 3-1

Wakehurst came out in the second half to keep the the momentum of the first half going and Thomas McAuley drilled a shot from distance past the Limavady keeper into the net to make it 4-1. Not long after, Joshua Logan then scored his second and Wakehurst's fifth goal of the game to make the score 5-1. Limavady reduced the leeway midway through the half when they scored a second goal goal to make it 5-2. However Wakehurst were not finished yet, as a brilliant free kick from Robert McCluney found its way into the top left corner of the nets to make it 6-2 and then to finish it off Chris Fullerton scored to make it 7-2. Full Time 7-2

This was the first time this season that the U16s has had a full first team starting 11 and it showed. From the back the keeper was again dependable when required, the back 4 were solid throughout the whole game and pressed forward when the opportunity arose. The 4 across the middle of the park played some outstanding football and were very unlucky with plenty of shots on target troubling the keeper and hitting the woodwork on a number of occasions, the front 2 also linked well together and also could have had more goals each.

This result reflects what Wakehurst are capable of and they will certainly carry this form into their next fixture against Draperstown Celtic next week..

Panel: C Brennan, R Jones, L Parker, S Lecky, S Frew, R McCluney, J Logan, T Givens, C Gordon, C Fullerton, T McAuley, P Kyle, C McKay, C Barr, C Kerr

Draperstown Celtic 5 Wakehurst 0 Saturday 5th November 2016

This weeks fixture was against a strong Draperstown Celtic side who are sitting joint top of the table.

Wakehurst started strong and played some good football but however couldn't keep that up as Draperstown opened the scoring from a corner kick putting them 1-0 ahead just before half time. Half time 1-0

Wakehurst came out the second half looking tired and could not put in the same effort as they did in the first half which led to Draperstown adding another at the start of the second half from a well struck free kick.

After Draperstown scored a third, Wakehurst started pushing forward chasing the game but Draperstown ended strongly and caught Wakehurst another 2 times on the counter attack to make the final score 5-0

Panel: C Brennan, R Jones, L Parker, T Givens, S Frew, J Logan, R McCluney, C Gordon, T McAuley, C Fullerton, P Kyle, C Barr, L Singleton, J Carson`