MINIS AND JUNIORS

U11 Boys Finals Day Results

South Antrim 0-0 Instonians
South Antrim 2-0 Portrush B (B.Brown, D.Parker)
South Antrim 0-1 Banbridge A
South Antrim 1-0 Portrush A (C.Thompson)

WEEKEND ROUND UP

South Antrim 2-2 Mossley (W.Phillips, C.Henry)

They would have liked a win, but as the game played out, they can be happy with a draw. A far from perfect performance on an.... unfamiliar surface was saved by grit and determination in a dogged game. The guys went one down in bizarre circumstances as a mishit shot from a short bobbled past everyone and barely crossed the line. It really was slower than a snail. Ward Phillips popped up with a rare goal as he used quick reflexes to turn Adam Glass' reverse, that was going high and wide into the net with an overhead deflection. Mossley scored a second short with a properly hit straight shot before, with just minutes on the clock, Chris Henry scored from a short. At the death Mossley threatened to steal all the points with a short corner on the final whistle but Adam Glass deflected the drag round the post.

South Antrim 2nds 1-2 Kilkeel 2nds (G.Glass)

The high flying seconds crash back to earth with an away defeat to Kilkeel. A weakened team made the trip down and were jetlagged after the drive. The went one down early on and the team didn't kick into life until conceding again after and error early in the second half. A quick counter shortly after allowed George Glass to score and they could have tied the game up in the last play but an overload chance was wasted with an errand pass.

South Antrim 4ths 1-2 NICS 3rds (A.Glass Jnr)

A better result than last time out but Graeme Alister is not happy. Beaten by a ghost goal, whatever that is. And had a good goal disallowed as Junior's shot was deemed to have been from outside the circle. Adam 'Glue' Glass scored, though a defender did most of the work.

South Antrim 5ths 4-1 Mossley 5ths (I.McElhinney x3, B.Faulkner)

The 5ths took to the field after the 1sts in Glengormley and showed them how its done. An Ian McElhinney hat-trick and an Ben Faulkner penalty stroke saw them run out easy 4-1 victors.

South Antrim Ladies 2-0 PSNI Ladies (V.Donaldson, S.Neill)

The Ladies progress to the Quarter Finals of the Intermediate Plate. Vicky Donaldson put the hosts a goal ahead with a thunderous drive from a short corner. Lucy Fitzpatrick was on fine form, pulling the strings for the team in midfield. A final whistle short corner saw the South ladies score again when they converted a 'number 3' by virtue of Steph Neill. I believe the men's firsts have copyright over that move.

South Antrim Ladies 2nds 3-3 Ulster Elks Ladies 4ths (R.Sullivan x2, E.Rennie)

The girls were in action on Friday night and got themselves a draw away in Jordanstown. This keeps the 1 point cushion Elks have over South in 3rd place in Junior 7. Since Elks have 2 games in hand, South really could have done with winning this one to stand a chance of the promotion playoff spot.

South Antrim Ladies 3rds 1-0 Saintfield 3rds (E.Aiken)

Erin Aiken showed her hockey pedigree and did the club captain and mother proud as she dribbled from the half way line past several players before smashing the ball home, a defender got a touch but was beaten by the sheer power of the shot. The ladies showed great spirit to hold out and claim the win, sending them through in the Minor Cup

South Antrim 1-4 NICS (C.Henry) 

Last weekend saw South travel to Stormont hoping they could build on what was an improved performance last week against Portadown. Having drawn previously with NICS 2-2 earlier in the season, and dominating much of the match, South were confident coming into this fixture that they could pick up some points. That confidence showed in the early exchanges as South took the game to Service from the offset. However, it was the home side who capitalised first through a trademark Chris Barnes dragflick, leaving Mark Hutchinson no chance. Service soon added a second after a controversially raised ball into the D was dispatched by one of their forwards. Despite being 2 goals down, South continued to dominate much of the play but they squandered several chances less than 5 yards out from goal. Again, another decision seemed to go against South as James Brown had a stroke appeal turned down after his shot was prevented from going in after hitting a service body on the line. Just before halftime, South had another glorious chance to get back into the game after Adam Marshall skilfully ran along the baseline but his ball across the front of goal evaded everyone. South went into half time 2-0 down but knew that if they continued to play the way they were they’d soon be rewarded.

After the interval, South again battered Service for 20 minutes with captain Lee Marshall pulling the strings and creating a number of chances. Chris Henry was also threatening throughout and deservedly scored after a surging run to reduce the deficit. Following this goal, South continued to press with Darren Hutchinson, James Brown and Matthew Getty all having good chances to pull the side level. However, as South continued to push bodies forward - looking for the equaliser - NICS caught them out with a breakaway goal and soon added a fourth after an initial short corner was cleared only to eventually squirm between the legs of Hutchinson. South will be disappointed not to get anything from the game after dominating for large portions. But, that is sport and the boys can take some solace from the fact they have played some terrific hockey in recent weeks despite getting no points. The men must regroup before the likely season defining fixtures of North Down, Mossley and Raphoe over the next week.

 

South Antrim 2nds 7-1 Bangor 2nds (N.Wilson x3, M.Conn x2, N.Gamble, C.Varghese) 

Saturday saw South Antrim 2nd XI host second placed Bangor in the league. Having previously been beaten 5-0 by the same team 2 months ago, South knew that it would take a strong performance to take anything from the game. Surprisingly however, it was South who started the stronger of the two teams immediately pressing Bangor deep in their own territory. This hard work was rewarded when South eventually took the lead through a lobbed reverse from Mark Conn. One goal became two when a slick short corner routine was stopped on the line by a Bangor foot, up stepped Neil Wilson who calmly slotted home the penalty stroke to double the lead. South didn’t ease up as the half went on and right on the stroke of half time won a short corner as Conn found a Bangor foot in the circle. The resulting corner was empathically put away by Nathan Gamble to put South Antrim 3-0 up at the interval. At the start of the second half Bangor began to find some of the form and immediately struck back through a short corner, this did not however, deter the Lisburn men who immediately struck back with 2 goals of their own. The first a thumping reverse from Cyril Varghese into the bottom corner leaving the Bangor goalkeeper no chance and the second yet another cool finish from Neil Wilson who found himself in acres of space at the top of the circle. With South leading 5-1 the game was all but over, however, South continued to push for yet more goals and eventually found a 6th when Mark Conn slammed home a rebound from yet another South Antrim short corner. 6 goals became 7 when Conn found Wilson who was again in acres of room. This time Wilson chose to finish on the reverse completing his hattrick and ultimately the win for the Lisburn side. The final score 7-1 just showed how far this team has come since their 5-0 hammering by Bangor and that when playing at home they are more than a match for any team in their league.

 

South Antrim 4ths 2-3 Down 1sts (A.Hamilton Jnr, C.McCandless) 

South Antrim 4ths travelled to Downpatrick for the rare occurrence these days of playing on a gravel pitch. Considering most of South's young team has never played on the shale they knew they would be in for a tough and very different hockey match. Down started the brighter of both teams and scored early in the first half with a fierce hit. South grew into the game but went another goal down with a strong hit from the top of the area. South continued to battle and got a goal through Callum McCandless following a deft deflection at the front post by Junior. South went into the break 2-1 down and were again looking at a 2 goal deficit when Down got a third following confusion in the D leaving goalkeeper Andrew Wallace helpless. Wallace had a great game and in truth South could have been further behind had it not been for his keeping. South determined to fight back got another goal back from 4ths superstar striker Junior who beat the keeper with a well placed shot into the top left after Archie Collins had hit the post. Down rode out the storm and were able to finish the match without conceding the equaliser that South were very close to finding. The 4ths can be proud of giving Down a very close game on a surface that no one on the team was used to and will press on and continue to fight for promotion.

 

South Antrim 5ths 7-1 Antrim 3rds (I.McElhinney x2, N.Donald x2, J.Deane x2, B.Faulkner) 

With Antrim just 3 points below South this was a must win for the home team. With the pre-match team talk emphasising the importance of the match South started strong and pressurised the Antrim defence.  With McCormack controlling the middle of the park and the South team pressing high Antrim couldn't get out of their half. The pressure finally paid off when McElhinney  crossed across the face of the goal for a Donald tap in. With south continuing to dominate a change in short corner routine say a Deane drag flick beating the Antrim keeper high into the roof of the net. McElhinney then made it 3 before half team. The 2nd half had hardly started when South went 4 up. Faulkner broke free and a one two round the keeper left him with a tap in. 2 mins later Donald got his second when Bell broke down the right and fired a cross in for Donald to control and slip past the keeper.  With the south defence sitting on the half way line it wasn't long before McElhinney got his 2nd with a reverse stick shot beating the keeper at the near post. Antrim eventually got one back on a counter attack. But straight away South continued to pressurise the Antrim defence and Deane got his 2nd and South's 7 from another Short corner.

 

South Antrim Ladies 1-0 Ballynahinch Ladies (S.Neill)

The ladies got the win they needed over Ballynahinch to keep their cup dreams alive. And they even did it without their schoolgirls and veteren defensive stalwart Joanne Clarke. A Steph Neill goal was enough to separate the sides.

 

South Antrim Ladies 2nds 4-0 South Antrim Ladies 3rds (D.Healsey, A.Wright, L.Boomer, L.Stewart)

No quarter given as the 3rds romped to victory over their XI clubmates. Carol Redpath was the midfield dynamo on the day but couldn't stop the 2nd XI juggernaut as Danielle Healsey, Amy Wright, Lauren Boomer and Lucy Stewart got their names on the scoresheet.

South Antrim 2nds 2-2 Banbridge 2nds (D.Hutchinson, N.Gamble)

Saturday saw a mid-table clash in Junior 1, in which South Antrim 2nd XI hosted Banbridge 2nd XI. Many saw Banbridge as favourites as they have been an established team this league for many years now, in contrast to the Lisburn side who are debutants. The reverse fixture saw Banbridge win by a narrow 2 goals to 1. Hungry for revenge, South Antrim were determined to draw points.

The game started with high intensity from both sides, setting the pace for the upcoming 70 minutes. Banbridge were first to cause any real threats on goal, with Ian Glass making a comfortable save at his near post, following some good interplay. This early attack was a wake up call to the home side and South soon began to link some clever play in the middle of the pitch. The pressure soon began to tell, with Mark Conn making a clever run into the D and winning the first short corner of the game. The result saw Neil Wilson unleash a tomahawk over the bar and a free-out ensued.

South sustained the pressure in the Banbridge half and another penalty corner was won, this time from a chop tackle on Nathan Gamble. Having won the corner, Nathan took it in the form of a low drag flick, which forced the keeper into making a save. Mark Conn followed in and won a penalty flick for his effort which struck a foot on the goal line. Darren Hutchinson confidently stepped up and slotted the flick home coolly into the bottom corner, leaving the keeper helpless.

Following the goal, Banbridge increased the pressure upon the South Antrim defence, however centre backs, Matt Frazer and Phil Spoughton, were able to deal with anything the Ban forwards could throw at them. Towards the end of the half, the game opened up, with chances to score for both sides. Notably a clever move which stemmed from James Brown to Jack Redpath, who was pulling the strings in midfield, and resulted in Cyril Varghese having a close range deflection which he was unable to convert. The whistle sounded for half time, with South a goal to the good over the visitors.

Banbridge came into the half knowing they'd need an early goal to resurrect their hopes of 3 points. They didn’t have long to wait. Ensuing a good spell of possession for the away side, they won their first penalty corner of the half. This saw a well placed drag flick into the left netting of Glass’s goal. With newfound confidence, the visiting team again pressed the South goal. A foul just outside the 25 saw Banbridge play a crash ball into the D and an unmarked forward was able to dispatch a resounding deflection, turning the game on its head.

Towards the end of the game, the pitch opened up and again, chances were aplenty for both sides. Neil Wilson held off a Banbridge defender outside of the D forcing him to make a cynical foul and a short corner was awarded. Again, Nathan Gamble was at the head of the circle and following a slick pull out by Jack Moore, he was able to execute a low drag flick which found its way into the bottom corner, possibly helped on its way by Cyril Varghese.

In the last 10 minutes South were lucky to hold on to the draw with huge chances for Ban to score. They would have undoubtedly taken the three point had it not been for crucial diving stick save by Ian Glass to deflect the ball over the bar and a goal line clearance by Phil Spoughton.

Both sides had their chances to score and steal the 3 points and so a point-a-piece was a fair result.

 

South Antrim 3rds 1-4 Portadown 2nds (S.Hood)

South Antrim 3rds hosted Portadown 2nds in the Ulster Junior Shield. Portadown are well placed in the league above South 3rds and showed their class winning 4-1. Despite their dominance in the scoreline, it was South who struck the first blow with Stephen Hood getting a goal. They head on for a long while with great defending but in the second half Portadown found a short corner routine that worked and scored and equalizer. Moments later they score another, also a short corner. Confidence fell knowing they had a lot to do to get back into this game. It got harder as Portadown scored on the break to take a 3-1 lead. They then rounded off the scoring with another short corner in the final minutes.

 

South Antrim 4ths 3-1 Mossley 5ths (A.Hamilton Jnr x2, B.Faulkner)

South Antrim 4ths travelled to Glengormley to face Mossley 5ths in the Minor Cup. South came out of the blocks slowly in the first half and were unfortunate to concede a freak goal with the ball rebounding off the keeper to a free Mossley man 2 yards out with the net at his mercy. However, conceding this early goal galvanised a young fourth IX side to tighten up at the back but throughout the first half chances were few and far between for either side. Early in the second half South got the equaliser through Junior, with a deft touch in the D to guide in a Ben Faulkner cross. Ben then got himself a goal as well after a deflection in the D feel kindly to leave him with a fairly easy finish. This was by no means a one sided game with Mossely having chances of their own and South at times rode their luck but were ultimately comfortable in dealing with any threat to their goal. An open game led to a breakaway goal from Junior again with another Ben assist in a déjà vu fashion to his first. This takes Junior’s tally for the season to 23 and allows south to progress through to the next round of the Minor Cup.

 

South Antrim Ladies 2nds 1-0 Owls 2nds (A.Wright)

Amy Wright nets the winner in a tight game with Owls 2nds. Her stellar performance also earned her Player of the Match.

 

South Antrim Ladies 3rds 0-5 Mossley Ladies 4ths

A disappointing afternoon for the ladies 3rds as they were steam rolled 5-0 by the visiting Mossley team.

South Antrim 2- 4 Portadown (L.Marshall, A.Glass)

Saturday saw South Antrim 1^st XI travel to Edenvilla to take on a Portadown side that were promoted to the Premier League alongside them last season. Although finishing behind the Lisburn side in last season’s Senior 1 division, it is Portadown who have made the stronger start to their debut season in the premier league, lying mid-table. South Antrim on the other hand have struggled to replicate their title winning form from last season and, despite suffering some heavy defeats in recent weeks, saw this as an opportunity to return to form.

The opening stages of the match were perhaps reflective of many previous encounters between the two sides, with each teams’ attacking nature resulting in a very open game of hockey. However, South found themselves 2-0 down mid-way through the half with 2 quick-fire goals from Portadown. The scoring was opened through a well worked move along the baseline, and within minutes Portadown had doubled their lead with a controversial tap-in at the back post following a pass that was deemed to be still in play when the cross was made despite South’s appeals. Despite the disappointing nature of the goals conceded, South Antrim, having already overturned a 2 goal deficit in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, a match which finished 2-2, remained confident of a result. The Lisburn side began to grown more into the match and, after a series of near chances, were finally rewarded. Good work from Darren Hutchinson and James Brown resulted in a short corner being awarded to South, which was duly converted by Adam Glass, with a powerful hit into the bottom corner of the goal.  South Antrim were arguably the better side for the remainder of the first half, however could not add to the score and therefore found themselves 2-1 down at half time.

The start of the second half saw Portadown bounce back strongly, applying more and more pressure to the South Antrim defence. Despite this increased pressure, the South Antrim defence continued to cope with the threat of the Portadown forwards, with the youthful central defensive pairing of Adam Marshall and Jack Moore flourishing. With the game becoming even more stretched, the Lisburn side deservedly found themselves back on level terms at the mid-way stage of the half. A well worked short corner routine resulted in a diving back post deflection from Lee Marshall, a rare goal for the South Antrim captain.

As the game began to draw towards its conclusion, both sides continued to create chances, although neither were able to capitalize on some promising opportunities. However, with minutes left in the game South Antrim hearts were broken as a quick counter attack resulted in a Portadown forward deflecting home what proved to be a vital goal in this tie. With the score at 3-2, South Antrim threw everything they had at Portadown, and were unfortunate not to equalise once more with a Chris Henry deflection narrowly missing the bottom corner. With seconds left in the match Portadown were awarded a penalty stroke, following a foul from ‘keeper Mark Hutchinson, and made no mistake in converting, further increasing their lead. The final whistle followed shortly afterwards, with the match finishing ta 4-2.

South Antrim may feel that they were perhaps deserving of at least 1 point from this game, however despite this bitter disappointment, they can take pride from their improved performance this weekend and continue to strive towards reproducing last season’s title winning form in the remaining fixtures of this season.

 

South Antrim 2nds 5-2 Annadale 2nds (D.Hutchinson x2, N.Wilson, A.Farrell, N.Gamble)

This week South Antrim 2nds faced a tough game against Annadale 2nds who they had played twice already this season, unfortunately being narrowly defeated in both games. But the South side where determined to put the past few weeks behind them and started to press the Dale defence right from the first whistle. South soon added a goal to assert their dominance with some lovely interchange of play between Jack Redpath and Nathan Gamble. The later played the killer pass to the top of the D to find Andrew Farrell and with slammed home a reverse into the top corner. This set up a flurry of goals for South in the next 10 minutes Darren Hutchinson added a second squeezing in a shot from a tight angle after rolling a defender. Shortly after Gamble converted a short corner with a powerful drag flick over the keeper outstretched leg. To send the South men four up, Darren Hutchinson won a plenty stroke and converted it nicely himself into the side netting. South kept their control of the game by restricting Dale to some half chances witch didn't trouble Ian Glass in nets. Annadale’s best chance of the half came in the last few minutes with a short corner but with some great goal line defending by Matt Frazer he managed to turn the ball around the post. The second half started similar to the first with the South men controlling the majority of the play but as time went on Dale started to take more risks going forwards but with a solid defence this was to no avail. With pushing so high it was enviable that the South forwards would counter attack. Nathan Gamble played a pass through to Neil Wilson who was taken out by the keeper that won him a plenty stroke which he stepped up to take himself, luckily the ball made it through the keepers legs to make it 5-0. With ten minutes to go, Dale finally got a goal with a scrappy bundle inches from the goal line and shortly after converted a short corner. This was a fantastic performance from the South team, a great benchmark to set out for future game against top opposition.

 

South Antrim 3rds 4-0 Cookstown 5ths (N.Alister, G.Glass, C.McCandless x2)

South Antrim travelled to Cookstown with the aim if getting back to winning ways. After an evenly contested opening 10 minutes, Callum McCandless changed the game when he ran from his own half to put South Antrim 1-0 up. Callum made sure south went into half time with a two goal cushion by tapping in the second goal from his more usual position at back post. South Antrim controlled the second half and had a multitude of chances to increase their lead. George Glass tricked the keeper with a fake hit before pushing home to score the third. Nathan Alistar bamboozled the Cookstown defence with a quick turn and reverse into the bottom corner to complete the rout and ensure South Antrim out pressure on league leaders Annadale.

 

South Antrim 4ths 4-1 Derg Valley (S.Glenn, A.Hamilton Jnr, A.Collins)

South Antrim 4ths have been in good form recently and were keen to keep this roll of wins going, knew they had a tough game ahead of them today. South wasted no time in winning the first short corner of the game within minutes. A well-executed short corner routine from Alan Smith, set up Stuart Glenn for an open shot to the bottom corner.  Derg Valley pushed hard to level the score, and in doing so paid the price of a quick counter attack from the South boys. A rampaging run from Archie Collins  into the circle finishing with a superb strike made it 2-0 before half time. The second half started just as the first ended, with Junior Hamilton sending the keeper the wrong way, before rocketing a reverse high into the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.  Captain Graeme Alister picked up a nasty injury, and with his departure Derg Valley capitalised on the moment, scoring their first of the game, with a well struck shot from the top of the circle. In the dying moments Junior Hamilton broke through Derg Valley's defence and slotted home his second of the game, finishing the game 4-1.

 

South Antrim 5ths 3-4 Lisnagarvey 6ths (B.Faulkner x2, N.Donald)

South 5ths hosted Lisnagarvey 6ths on Saturday looking to improve on recent performances in the league. South dominated the early rthe exchanges and won a series of short corners but couldn’t convert any of them. However despite South's dominance Garvey scored on the counter against the run of play. South continued to press and Ben Faulkner found Nahtan Donald in the circle who calmly scored. The first half finished 1-1. South started the 2nd half slowly and Garvey quickly went 3-1 up again on the counterattack. The young South team kept their heads up with Nick Mills and Maurice Bell dominating in midfield. Andrew Wallace in nets denied Garvey from numerous short corners. With Pyper and Donald causing problems up front it was again Faulkner causing problems. He dribbled his way into the circle to get South's second. Five minutes later he did again dribbling past the Garvey defender to get his second and level the scores. South pushed for the winner and with five minutes remaining Pyper broke free and was one on one with the keeper but his finish let him down. Garvey attacked late on and although the initial shot was saved, the follow up was flicked goalwards, settling this tie in the visitor’s favour.

 

South Antrim Ladies 0-0 Instonians Ladies

In game the girls reckon they could have won given a bit more luck, they can be proud of a point against the league leaders. Actually they are the league winners now as a point here secured their title, big shout out to Shane Geary a South member, who coaches Inst ladies, Congratulations. Our girls can be happy with how they played and hope to carry it on to their few remaining games.

The Ladies started off well moving the ball slickly across the back, through to mid field and ultimately finding either Steph Neill or Charis Rodgers who confidently moved the ball into the circle winning corners for the home team. Unfortunately the oppositions defence prevented the ladies from putting the ball into the net. Likewise, at the other end of the pitch, the South defence kept a clean sheet, only giving away one penalty corner in which the resulting corner shot was blocked by Elaine Aiken, who, along with Allison Marsden anticipated the Instonians routine.

With a scoreless draw at half time, the ladies knew the 3 points they needed to be contenters for the play off place were still within reach, however the adverse weather conditions obviously dampened both teams spirits and although there were opportunities, with Steph Neill making an individual run after a through ball from defender Sarah Neill and Alannah Richardson narrowly missing the crossbar, neither team could get themselves off the mark.

Once again, the South defence prevented Instonians from entering the circle with Heather Neill travelling outwards towards the edge of the circle to successfully clear a loose ball before the opposition could take advantage. Allison Marsden (Player of the match) and Heather Neill maintained control in the circle ensuring that the South girls marked their players tightly thus preventing any unnecessary mistakes.

As the final whistle blew, the ladies had to content themselves with a 0-0 draw and 1 more point to add to their tally on the league table. Both teams will be meeting again this Friday, at Shaws Bridge, in the first match of the Senior 4 Cup.

South Antrim Ladies 2nds 0-1 Victorians Ladies 2nds

This cup thriller went to extra time after the first 70 minutes played out a 0-0 tie. A very even contest than was settled in sloppy fashion with a goal mouth scramble ending with a Victorians player bundling the ball barely over the line. This Victorians team is several leagues higher than our girls so credit to them!

 

South Antrim Ladies 3rds 3-0 Owls Ladies 2nds (A.Wright x2, L.McConnell)

The Ladies 3rds advance to the next round of the Minor Plate after the second win in their short history. Goals from Amy Wright either side of a close range Laura McConnell tap in secure a fantastic win for Carol Redpath's girls.