Ballinamallard United FC 1 Larne Youth FC 0
In excellent weather conditions for Autumn, Ballinamallard United U15s came out on top at the Lakeland Forum against Larne.
These sides met recently in Cup action and Larne were out of the blocks early looking to stamp their authority on the game.
Neat passing, tigerish tackling and quick movement led to some dangerous moments for the Ballinamallard defence.
Captain Tim Armstrong led by example, expertly organising the backline of Nathan Coyle, Ben Armstrong and James Gallagher-Arruda.
Larne created a good goalscoring chance following a chipped free-kick into the area, however, Armstrong was strong in defence to avert the danger. Shortly afterwards an excellent Coyle block stopped a big Larne chance from close range.
The first goal followed shortly afterwards. Excellent play in midfield between Kimi Thompson and Andrew England opened up space for the excellent Diego Perez Lara. He showed his quality to play a pass into striker Jay Ely who took the chance like a pro with a half-volley strike on his left foot from outside the box that flew into the top corner.
The game really opened up after the goal with big chances at both ends.
Larne had a headed chance just wide following a dangerous corner and Ballinamallard almost extended the lead through an excellent corner routine from Thompson and Coyle with Andrew England unlucky to see his strike rattle the crossbar.
Cathair Maguire and Kacper Ferens were tireless out wide. Maguire was fouled on the edge of the box when taking on the last defender. The Larne wall was strong from the resulting free kick.
The second-half started in a similarly open fashion. Both sides playing the ball on the deck and aiming to create chances. Ely was unlucky to see an excellent shot come back from the inside of the far post and had another chance from close-range flash just wide with the goalkeeper beaten.
Larne pressed for an equaliser. Goalkeeper Ethan Boylan was commanding in his area, dealing with a number of crosses and corner kicks.
Shay Gallagher, Charlie Thompson and Kadyn McGoldrick were excellent when called upon, ensuring goal chances for Larne were limited in the latter stages of the contest and sealing three league points.
A Subway NIYCA Cup fixture against Cookstown awaits the 2010 team next weekend.
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