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Northend United 6 Shankill Juniors 1 Saturday 18th December 2021

Northend finished the calendar year on Saturday morning at Mallusk Playing Fields with an outstanding performance against Shankill Juniors.

The boys got off to a perfect start when Connor O’Hara opened the scoring on 5 minutes when he shot home from 15 yards out. Shankill got an equaliser 5 minutes later from the penalty spot but from there Northend were rarely troubled. Front man Dan Patterson put Northend ahead again with a great run and shot and a minute later another similar strike was deflected onto the post by the Shankill goalkeeper and O’Hara was on the goal-line to ensure Northend went further ahead. Half time 3-1

Northend’s midfield continued to dominate possession in the second half with McDermott, O’Hara and Connon constantly feeding the front three of Patterson, Pirie and fit again Carter Reid. Reid’s strong running into the box was causing all sorts of bother and Shankill conceded a penalty when Reid was brought down after 10 minutes of the second half.

O’Hara’s effort from the spot was well saved by the Shankill keeper but the same player followed up to notch his hat-trick. Northend’s scoring wasn’t finished there and centre-froward Euan Pirie continued his recent scoring run with two well-taken individual goals before the end of the match.

This was a fine team performance, and it was all made possible by the solid foundation of the back three of Conlan Lyness, Lewis Devlin and the ever-improving Liam Heggarty, plus keeper Tom Hasson whose distribution was excellent. The midfield worked tirelessly all through the match and the front-line never gave the Shankill defence a moment’s peace. Full time 6-1

Man of the Match: Liam Heggarty

Panel: T Hasson, C Lyness, L Devlin, L Heggarty, C O’Hara, S McDermott, H Connon, K Corcoran, C McAuley, E Pirie, D Patterson, K Gabrychowska, C Reid

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Northend United 1 Coleraine 1 NIBFA Cup Coleraine win on pens AET Saturday 11th December 2021

Northend’s campaign in this year’s NIBFA Cup came to an end after a tight, scrappy game played in atrocious conditions at The Cliff in Larne. With a strong wind to contend with both teams struggled to get any sort of passing game going but it was Northend who had the better of the opening part of the game and they went ahead after seven minutes when Euan Pirie deflected a Dan Patterson snapshot past the helpless Coleraine keeper.

Northend dominated possession for long spells of the first half but the final pass was proving difficult to find with a strong wind at their backs. Any time Coleraine did threaten, the Northend defence, superbly marshalled by skipper Lewis Devlin, dealt with it.

However, Coleraine did get an equaliser completely against the run of play when they scored from a debatable free kick following what looked like a fair challenge by Connor O’Hara. Half time 1-1

In the second half Coleraine had the wind in their favour but keeper Tom Hasson was rarely threatened, and the pace of Devlin and left-back Connor O’Hara was the equal of anything Coleraine had to offer. Callum Hendron and Sean McDermott in the Northend midfield put in a power of work as Coleraine pressed forward and up-front Euan Pirie was a handful for the Coleraine centre-backs without getting any clear-cut chances. Full time 1-1

With the thought of the dreaded penalty shoot-out at the back of their minds both teams went for it in extra-time but the wind and rain made it difficult for both teams to create any real chances. Pirie’s effort from 20 yards which grazed the crossbar was the nearest either team came to breaking the deadlock and the match went to penalties with Coleraine emerging victorious to proceed to the quarter-finals. 1-1 AET, Coleraine win on penalties

Man of the Match: Lewis Devlin and Connor O’Hara

Panel: T Hasson, C Lyness, L Devlin, E Hejno, C O’Hara, S McDermott, C Hendron, K Corcoran, C McAuley, E Pirie, D Patterson, K Gabrychowska, C Reid

Northend United 5 Wellington Rec 0 Friday 3rd December 2021

After a weekend off due to Storm Arwen, Northend returned to action on Friday night at The Cliff in Larne for their final match of SBYL Supplementary League. Looking for a win to confirm themselves as runners-up in the league, the young blues got off to the perfect start when centre-forward Euan Pirie latched onto a through-ball to round the keeper and score after just a minute and a half. This set the tone for the match with Northend continually pressing and forcing the Larne side to give away possession time and again. However, Northend’s dominance did not translate into goals for another 20 minutes with Pirie spurning two more chances to increase his tally for the season. When Northend did eventually get further ahead it was worth the wait as Kaylem Corcoran first chipped the keeper from 20 yards out for Northend’s second and then scored an even more spectacular effort when he hit home a volley from all of 30 yards out. Half time 3-0

In the second half Northend continued to control the game and it was plain to see coach John Devlin’s influence in the play as they moved the ball quickly and got to every contested ball first. A fourth goal duly arrived from the hard-working Euan Pirie as he pounced on a ball not fully controlled by the keeper to hit home. The final goal was straight off the training pitch as a great passing move involving Pirie, McAuley and Patterson saw the latter fly down the right wing to put in a perfect cross for Corcoran to slot home from 8 yards out for his hat-trick.

This rounded off a disciplined and organised team performance from this group of lads and they are obviously taking on board all the hard work being put into the training sessions by head coach John Devlin. Full time 5-0

Man of the Match: Kaylem Corcoran

Panel: T Hasson, C Hendron, L Devlin, E Hejno, L Heggarty, C O’Hara, S McDermott, H Connon, K Corcoran, C McAuley, E Pirie, J Mark, D Patterson, K Gabrychowska, C Reid

Moyola Park 3 Northend United 4 AET NIBFA Cup Friday 19th November 2021

Northend U16s travelled to Maghera on Friday night to play National League side Moyola Park Youth in the second round of the NIBFA Cup. On a perfect night for football played on the new 4G pitch at Maghera Leisure Centre both sides served up a thriller of a cup-tie.

Northend had the better of the opening exchanges and the front three of Corcoran, O’Hara and Pirie were causing panic in the Moyola defence. Against the run of play Moyola opened the scoring with a header from a corner kick. However, this spurred on Northend and when Lewis Devlin played a great ball over the top, Euan Pirie’s strong running was too much for the Moyola defence and he burst through to hit an unstoppable shot past the Moyola keeper. Not long after Pirie played in attacking midfielder Connon who shot home to put Northend ahead. Just before half-time Pirie was injured in a collision with the Moyola keeper and replaced by Justin Mark. Half time 1-2

After the break Moyola came back into the game and it was end to end stuff. Moyola got a deserved equaliser and then Northend went ahead again through captain Lewis Devlin following a Northend corner. Moyola again got back on level terms and at this point looked the more likely to get a winner. Pirie was reintroduced to the front-line and Mark deployed into a more customary defensive midfield position which stemmed the flow of Moyola attacks. When Pirie sent in a cross for Hendron to volley goalward it looked like Northend had got the winner only for the Moyola keeper to pull of an outstanding save and push the ball over the bar. This was the final chance in normal time and it was into extra-time Full time 3-3

In the first period of extra-time, both teams had chances to go ahead. However, Northend eventually got what proved to be the winning goal when Callum Hendron got to the by-line and sent in a great cross for Justin Mark to bullet a header home from 10 yards out. In the second period of extra-time Northend were well organised and disciplined as they saw out the match to progress to the next round. Final score 3-4 AET

Man of the Match: Team performance

Panel: F Connon, C Lyness, L Devlin, E Hejno, L Heggarty, C O’Hara, S McDermott, H Connon, K Corcoran, C McAuley, E Pirie, J Mark, C Hendron, K Gabrychowska

Northend U16s travelled to Crumlin on Wednesday night to play Larne Youth. With a chill wind blowing through the Crumlin Leisure Centre 3G Complex the young blues were literally caught cold as they went 1-0 down within a minute. However, this team is proving themselves to be a resilient outfit and they dug in and got a foothold in the game. With McDermott, McAuley and Connon beginning to dominate the midfield, Northend had Larne on the back foot. The front three of Corcoran, O’Hara and Mark were causing panic in the Larne backline and it was no surprise when Northend equalised through Connon. Larne then went ahead against the run of play and Northend went into the break behind. Half time 1-2

After the break Northend again dominated possession and Corcoran was seeing plenty of the ball in his wide left position. From one of his trademark mazy runs he cut inside and notched the equaliser. Then Northend went ahead through another goal from Connon and at this point the blues were looking comfortable. However, Larne broke through to get the equaliser and should have gone ahead again but for probably the save of the season from Tom Hasson in the Northend goal – this even brought applause from the opposition coaches! This proved the turning point and Northend went up the park to score when man of the match Connor O’Hara burst through to hit an unstoppable shot past the helpless Larne keeper. The icing on the Northern cake was provided by Corcoran when he scored direct from a corner kick just before full-time. Full time 5-3

Man of the Match: Conor O’Hara

Panel: T Hasson, C Lyness, L Devlin, E Hejno, L Heggarty, C O’Hara, S McDermott, H Connon, K Corcoran, C McAuley, J Mark, C Hendron, K Gabrychowska

Northend United 3 Lisburn Rangers 1 Wednesday 10th November 2021

Northend United U16s travelled to Crumlin in midweek to play Lisburn Rangers.

Following a disappointing performance against Aquinas the previous Friday night the young blues were determined to make amends and were up to the task as they produced a dominating performance against a good Lisburn side. With the midfield pivot of McDermott and Conon dominating possession Northend were a constant threat and following a probing through ball from fit-again Conall McAuley it was no surprise to see Dan Patterson notch a well-taken opener after 20 minutes. This was quickly followed by a second when Connor O’Hara broke inside from his customary wide left position to hit an unstoppable shot past a helpless keeper. Whenever Lisburn did pose any threat, it was well mopped up by an excellent Northend backline. Half-time 2-0

After the break it was more of the same as Northend continued to create plenty chances and it was a surprise that the scoreline stayed the same so long into the second half. Again, any Lisburn threat was handled with ease by the Northend defence with Eryk Hejno in particular having an excellent match. Eventually Northend pressure was rewarded when Kaylem Corcoran broke through to score a goal his strong running all night deserved.

Lisburn did get one goal back near the end, but this did nothing to take away from an excellent team display. Full time 3-1

Man of the Match: Eryk Hejno

Panel: T Hasson, C Lyness, L Devlin, E Hejno, K Corcoran, S McDermott, H Conon, L Heggarty, C McAuley, D Patterson, C O’Hara, K Gabrychowska

Northend United 0 Aquinas 1 Friday 5th November 2021

Northend United U16s returned to action after a free weekend over Halloween with a Friday night match under the floodlights at Jordanstown against South Belfast side Aquinas. The young Blues were under strength due to injuries and suspension and it proved to be a frustrating night as they struggled to get to grips with the fast, hard-working Aquinas team. The first half was peppered with poor passing and bad decision-making and there was no pattern to the Northend play. But for poor finishing by the Belfast boys and good defending by the Northend centre-half pairing of Justin Mark and Lewis Devlin, Northend could have gone into the half-time break well behind. As it was, the management team were relieved to get to the interval on level terms. Half-Time 0-0

After the break a change in formation initially brought Northend more into the game but they lacked any penetration up front and as the half wore on Aquinas reasserted their earlier dominance. Eventually they broke the deadlock to go one up and began to turn the screw on the under-par Northend side. But for three great stops from goalkeeper Tom Hasson the score line could have been much worse.

A night to forget for the Northend youngsters and maybe a wee reminder that they are playing in a tight league where there are no easy matches. Full time 0-1

Player of the Match: Tom Hasson

Panel: T Hasson, J Mark, L Devlin, E Hejno, K Corcoran, S McDermott, H Connon, F Connon, L Heggarty, D Patterson, C Reid, C O’Hara, K Gabrychowska