2nd Ahoghill competed in the Irish Final of this year's national Junior 5-a-side Football competition.
The team travelled to Valley Leisure Centre, where the matches were hosted by 4th Newtownabbey.
Match 1 – 4th Newtownabbey
Our opening match against the hosts got off to a scrappy start, with play pinballing between both sets of players in midfield.
However our opponents were first to score. Despite a smart save from Sam with his feet, Newtownabbey pounced on the loose ball to score the rebound. Followed soon after by a drilled finish from outside the box.
Newtownabbey’s lead gave them confidence on the ball, and their attacking runs eventually forced our defence to concede a penalty. Sam guessed correctly, diving to his left, but the shot slipped through his fingers and into the bottom corner.
Too eager to attack from the resulting kick-off, the boys conceded a fourth goal which they couldn’t recover from. The final score 4-0 to Newtownabbey.
Match 2 – 1st Ballyclare
Ahoghill began confidently and looked the more likely to score in the opening stages. Daniel had a few early runs through minefield thwarted at the last minute by Ballyclare’s defence.
James ran tirelessly throughout the game, gliding up and down the left wing, and linking well with Matthew up front on several occasions.
But Ballyclare were quick to smother the ball, and gradually began to create chances of their own.
Overall the game was evenly matched, but Ahoghill created the better chances to win. Unfortunately, too many scuffed shots in the final third meant the match ended in a disappointing 0-0.
Match 3 – 1st Knocknamuckley
The boys started brightly and were first to score. A perfectly weighted pass from Matthew allowed Daniel to run beyond midfield and nutmeg their onrushing keeper.
Matthew bagged a goal himself soon after, sprinting on to a loose ball to blast an unstoppable shot straight down the middle.
Knocknamuckley got themselves back in the game with a shot dragged across goal to the far corner, leaving Sam stranded at his near post.
Our opponents piled on the pressure for the rest of the match in search of an equalizer, but the boys held their nerve and defended from the front to secure a 2-1 win.
Match 4 – 1st Kilkeel
Daniel got us off to a great start, firing a long range shot into the top corner from just over the halfway line. The one goal lead settled the boys and they began to string passes together during some composed build up play.
However Kilkeel got an equalizer with a surprise shot that snuck between Sam’s legs and rolled agonisingly over the goal line.
The boys were rattled, and a loose pass from defense gifted Kilkeel another goal to take the lead. But we replied a few moments after the restart, as Matthew grabbed an equalizer.
Unfortunately Kilkeel gave a quick reply, scoring straight from their own kick off to regain the lead and eventually win the game 3-2.
Match 5 – 7th Londonderry
The boys continued their calm build up play, and almost took the lead as Daniel poked a loose ball through the keeper’s legs. But it was judged to be inside the box and was disallowed.
Momentum built with Joe and James linking up well down the right hand side and Daniel confidently picking passes from midfield. The deadlock was eventually broken when Daniel chased a stray pass into the corner, and turned smartly to rifle a shot into the net.
Londonderry began to threaten in the second half and had a counter attacking goal disallowed for being inside the box. But they eventually scraped an equalizer, sneaking the ball past Sam as he rushed to the edge of his box.
The boys chased a winner for the rest of the game but it wasn’t to be. The full time whistle blew just as Joe unleashed a long range shot which clattered the angle of the net. The final score 1-1.
The results meant Ahoghill finished in a disappointing 5th place, but the boys can be proud of their performances. They were the only team to beat eventual winners 1st Knocknamuckley, who will be joined by 4th Newtonabbey to represent Ireland in the National Final on Saturday 16th May 2020.
| Team | Win | Draw | Loss | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Knocknamuckley | 4 | 0 | 1 | +11 | 12 |
| 4th Newtonabbey | 3 | 0 | 2 | +5 | 9 |
| 1st Kilkeel | 3 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 9 |
| 7th Londonderry | 2 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 7 |
| 2nd Ahoghill | 1 | 2 | 2 | -4 | 5 |
| 1st Ballyclare | 0 | 1 | 4 | -9 | 5 |