Under 15’s get back to winning ways with their first game in 2016, click on the link to read more…
Saturday 23rd January – Lisburn Invitational Junior League under 15’s
Downpatrick FC 6 v Lisburn Distillery 3
After a break of four weeks, Downpatrick were raring to go and this was evident as they flew out of the blocks. They pressed from the start and Distillery couldn’t get out of their own half. Brandon Boyd and Corey McCoubrey won everything in the middle of the park, with that Downpatrick created chance after chance, as they moved the ball from one side of the pitch to the other.
After 10 minutes Downpatrick took the lead through Eoin Rooney, slotting the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the Distillery net. Moments later Downpatrick were two up as Declan Looney got on the end of a Kian Tierney cross with a neat finish.
As the half wore on Downpatrick were a constant threat to the Distillery goal with Tom Smyth, Boyd, Tierney and Rooney all having chances but the Distillery keeper was in fine form. Distillery made a rare venture into the Downpatrick half but a goal line clearance from Caolain Logue kept them at bay. Rooney however wasn’t finished as he harassed the Distillery defence he forced an error from their centre half, he drove toward goal and calmly finished down to the keepers left giving him no chance.
Half Time: Downpatrick FC 3 v Lisburn Distillery 0
Downpatrick started the second half much the same way they finished the first pressing and hassling for every ball, with the introduction of Ruairi Quinn, Oistin Devlin and Niall Strange, there was no let-up in Downpatrick’s style. Strange was in fine form down the left wing and created the opening for Rooney’s third goal as his cross found striker on the edge of the box, he then beat his marker and rifled a shot into the bottom right of the Distillery net. Distillery then won a free at the edge of the Downpatrick box, which they scored. 4-1
This lifted Downpatrick and Rooney as he combined with Rory Trainor in the middle of the park Trainor then flicked the ball round the corner into the path of Rooney who drove at the Distillery goal and shot from the edge of the box to score his fourth of the day.
After a few changes and a lapse of concentration the Downpatrick defence gifted Distillery a soft second goal. Distillery then pushed into the Downpatrick half and won another free around thirty yards out, their midfielder hit a rocket giving Campbell no chance. But Rory Trainor quelled any notion of a Distillery comeback as he picked the ball up around the halfway line he played a one-two with Strange and hit a rocket from thirty-five yards into the top right corner of the Distillery net to make it. This was a very positive performance from this young side and it proves that if they play with a smile on their faces and enjoy their football anything can be achieved.