Northend United 8 Carrick Rangers 6   Saturday 16th October 2021

This was not a game for the faint hearted, with no less than fourteen goals in an end to end match. In a game where both sets of strikers were on top form and both defences were sadly lacking, it was Carrick who took the lead after 10 minutes, when their striker planted the ball in the corner of the Northend net. It wasn’t long before Northend were level when Ronan McKillop outpaced the Carrick defence and shot high into the Carrick net.

Within five minutes, Northend were ahead in the game, when McKillop scored his second, in a carbon copy of his first goal. The Blues midfield with Connor McKenna, Paul O’Boyle and Tyrone Mitchell were pulling the strings at this part of the game and it was no surprise when an O’Boyle through ball found Matty Las and he made no mistake in adding to the score. Half time 3-1

Into the second half and the best move of the game involving some great overlapping play from Jack McIlhatton, saw a great ball into the Carrick box, where Matty Las met the ball full on, only to see it cannon off the underside of the crossbar and somehow get cleared to safety.

As Northend dominated the early exchanges in the second half, it wasn’t long before Ronan McKillop added to Northend’s lead, scoring two goals in quick succession, leaving the Blues 5-1 ahead. Instead of going on to kill off the game, the Northend defence went to sleep allowing Carrick to pull two goals back by midway through the half.

Tadhg McKinney was next on the scoresheet for Northend, when after some great wing play with Ciaran Martin, his shot found the top corner of the Carrick net. With the Blues in full throttle, Northend went on to add another two goals through Matty Las and Ronan McKillop, leaving the score 8-3 with ten minutes of the match remaining.

In a frantic end of the game, the Blues defence switched off and allowed the Carrick strikers to run in three late goals. Full time 8-6

Spar Fry’s Road Man of the Match: Ronan McKillop

Panel:  B O’Brien, C Martin, J McIlhatton, A Bell, S Crawford, C McKenna, P O’Boyle, R McKillop, T Mitchell, A Campbell, M Las, T McKinney, C McCarroll

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Willowbank 2 Northend United 0 Friday 8th October 2021

A much improved performance from the Northend Blues against a team sitting 2nd in the League, with some notable wins this season. The match started at a frantic pace with Willowbank taking the game to Northend, but the Blues defence stood firm, with Crawford, Bell and Martin all on top of their game. Gradually the Blues midfield came more into the game with Brandon McCaughan winning more of the ball and Paul O’Boyle and Conor McKenna finding more space going forward. Matty Las almost opened the scoring for Northend, but the Willowbank keeper pulled off a good save.

Willowbank opened the scoring ten minutes before half time, when a ball into the Blues penalty box was cleared and the Willowbank striker found space at the back post to score. Half time 1-0

Into the second half and as Northend grew in confidence, the match was an end to end game, with Adam Campbell and Tadhg McKinney causing the Willowbank defence all sorts of problems down the Northend wings. Matty Las was having a great game and he went close again as the Blues went looking for the equaliser.

The game looked to have changed when Willowbank were awarded a penalty, but Jordan pulled off a great save to keep Northend in the game. This save galvanised the team and Paul O’Boyle went close with another effort. With McCaughan bossing the Blues midfield, Northend looked like they could get something out of this game. However, with almost the last kick of the game, Willowbank scored their second as their striker found the bottom corner of the Northend net. Full time 2-0

Panel: J Wilson, A Bell, C Martin, S Crawford (c), B Clarke, P O’Boyle, C McKenna, T McKinney, A Campbell, B McCaughan, M Las, R Shirley, R Puni

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Lisburn Distillery 5 Northend United 0   Friday 1st October 2021

The Blues travelled to the Olympia Leisure Centre on Friday night to play Lisburn Distillery. In a fairly even first half, Northend fell behind to a long range shot, which the Blues keeper could only parry, and the Lisburn Distillery striker was quickest to react to the loose ball to stab the ball into the back of the net. Half time 1-0

Into the second half and a crazy 10 minute spell seen Northend concede two quick goals from poor marking at corners, and this effectively killed off the game. Distillery went on to score another goal midway through the half, before Ronan McKillop saw the Distillery keeper make a great save from his penalty kick. As the Blues discipline fell in the final minutes of the game, Distillery scored a fifth goal to rub salt into the wounds.

Special mention to Tadhg McKinney and Brandon McCaughan, who were making their debuts for Northend in this game. Full time 5-0

Panel: B Clarke, A Bell, C Martin, C McAuley, S Crawford, P O’Boyle, T Mitchell, T McKinney, A Campbell, M Las, R McKillop, C O’Brien, B McCaughan, A Pescaru, R Puni

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Northend United 2 Glentoran 1   Saturday 24th September 2021

Northend started this game on the front foot and a great through ball from Paul O’Boyle found Ronan McKillop whose shot just narrowly went past the upright. The Blues were playing some good football in the early stages with Matty Las and Ronan McKillop stretching the Glens defence

Midway through the half, the Glens took the lead when a great shot from their striker found the corner of the Northend net. As the Glens pushed looking for more, the Northend defence of Crawford, McAuley, Bell and Shirley stood firm. Half time 0-1

Into the 2nd half and from an early Adam Campbell corner, Matty Las saw his shot blocked by the Glens keeper on their goal line but Sam Crawford was on hand to steer the ball into the net. With McKenna and O’Boyle in top form in the Blues midfield, supported by Campbell and McKinney on the wings, it wasn’t long before Northend took the lead when Matty Las scored from an acute angle.

Northend were playing some good football at this stage of the game and Ronan McKillop saw a shot go narrowly past the upright. Northend seen out the rest of the game to record their first win of the season. Full time 2-1

Panel: O McAuley, A Bell, R Shirley, S Crawford (c), C McAuley, P O’Boyle, C McKenna, A Campbell, T McKinney, R McKillop, M Las, R Puni

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Dundela 5 Northend United 0 Saturday 18th September 2021

Northend came up against current undefeated league Leaders, Dundela in a Friday night match under floodlights in Belfast. With play flowing from end to end in the first half, both sets of keepers had to be on their toes.

Dundela took the lead midway through the half, when they scrambled the ball home following a corner kick. However, with McAuley, McKenna and O’Boyle were putting in a good shift in midfield, Northend had chances of their own with Matty Las going close

Dundela scored their second almost on half time when a shot was deflected onto the crossbar and fell unkindly to a Dundela striker for an easy tap in Half time 2-0

Into the second half and Dundela scored an early goal to kill of the game. With Northend introducing a number of substitutes as legs began to tire, Dundela ran in two late goals. An unfortunate incident with ten minutes to go saw Jack McIlhatton sustain an injury and all at the club wish him a speedy recovery. Full time 5-0

Panel: J Wilson, C Martin, J McIlhatton, S Crawford (c), O McAuley, C McAuley, C McKenna, P O’Boyle, M Las, A Pescaru, A Campbell, A Bell, N Devine, R Shirley, C Neill, J Baxter

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