08 Nov Match Reports – 06/11/21
CYFC u14’s 3 – 2 Oxford Utd
Last Saturday the 2008’s faced NL rivals Oxford for the second time in a few weeks at MUSA 3g.
On a damp blustery morning the Blues were rampant from the first whistle with the wind on their backs. Striker Beatty was fed through by McElhatton in the opening 2 minutes only to be thwarted by the sprawling Utd keeper. A minute later a great pass by Mulgrew played in McElhatton who dinked the ball beautifully past the Oxford keeper to take the lead 1-0.
Cookstown continued their high press from midfielders Donnelly, Kelso, Mulgrew and McCrory in behind strikers Beatty and McElhatton to try and kill the game off early. Oxford came more into the game with Patterson, Lennox, Mckenzie, Long and Ferson all working hard to preserve the lead.
Top scorer Beatty then plundered a quick fire double on 14 and 18 minutes, his first from the penalty spot. A minute later Long saw a header from a Donnelly corner cleared off the line with Beatty striking the upright from the clearance. Just before halftime Oxford missed a penalty to get back into the game.
Oxford came out of the blocks into the second half with Patterson forced into a great save on 39 minutes. With the wind on their backs Utd pushed for an opener and were rewarded with their goal from a second penalty in the game on 50 minutes. Five minutes later the pressure rose when a deflected OG doubled Oxford’s tally. A couple of minutes later Beatty had a good effort cleared off the line with Mulgrew’s follow up shot squirming just wide. Talbot replaced Mulgrew before keeper Patterson secured all 3 points with a fantastic save with his legs right at the death. A win against Don Boscos away next week should guarantee NL Section A status against the big boys after Christmas – what an achievement for a team from wee Cookstown!
TEAM:- B. Patterson, B. Lennox, E. Long, H. Mckenzie, J. Ferson, C. McCrory, J. Donnelly, I. Kelso, B. Mulgrew, A. McElhatton, D. Beatty, C. Talbot.
CYFC u15s 5 – 0 Dromore
Cookstown were expected to win this contest at a canter but the Dromore lads made them work hard for their victory.
James Brownlow started like he meant business although as the game progressed his efforts fizzled out somewhat, on the opposite flank Chris Ward got loads of good possession but he too was below his usual high standards. Jamie Colvin got in some promising positions but failed to finish them off. Eoghan McGurk`s precision corner kick was slotted in by giant centre back Nathan Bloomer. Into the second half and Alex Dallas burst through and scored to double the lead and at the other end Charlie McElkearney made a great tackle otherwise the Dromore striker was clean through. Matthew Duffy shot powerfully across the keeper who parried it wide and the next goal was scored by Jamie Colvin with a finish over the stretching keeper. Alex Clements weaved some magic down the left hand side creating opportunities for his team mates whilst Reuben Grimes, Thomas Greaves and Finlay Patterson worked hard to regain possession back as Dromore kept trying to push forward in the blustery conditions. Despite their efforts keeper Nathan Hughes didn’t have a serious save to make and Cookstown managed two late additional goals as both Lorcan McMurray and Eoghan McGurk managed to score directly from corner kicks. This win edges Cookstown a step closer till reaching the MUYL Premier division.
Cyfc 2 – 0 Dungannnon Youth
A cold wet Saturday morning didn’t dampen the spirits of the under 16 squad as the eagerly awaited the look derby against Dungannon. Coming off a run of victories the Cookstown lads were in high spirits and started the game well with some early success in the middle of the park as local lad Peter McClean controlled the mid field supported by Tom Wilkinson, Jamie Kerrigan and Charlie Hawker. Some lovely link up play down the left wing with Hawker and Martin caused Dungannon no end of difficulties creating some early opportunities. Halfway through the first half the deadlock was finally broken with a superb ball into the box by Hawker that was headed into the back of the net by Aaron Whitten. Dungannon did put the defence under pressure as the broke at pace, however Neeson, Barry , Devlin and Martin where comfortable at the back dealing with the threat with ease.
The second half seen Dungannon make a number of changes and the CYFC lads seemed to lose a little bit of momentum. Manager Kyle McMullan was forced to make a number of changes brining on Jude Murphy, Ciaran Devlin, Shaun Og Shields, Darragn McNally and Ethan Gordon. The changes seemed to steady the team and it wasn’t too long before Shields played a superb ball through the middle to talisman Jude Murphy who made no mistake with the finish. A superb performance that sees the local side retain second spot in the mid ulster youth league.
Team: Benas Keturakis , Jamie Barry, Luke Neeson, Sean Devlin, Leon martin, Tom Wilkinson, Kamie Kerrigan, Peter McClean, Aaron Whitten, Aren Kudrenko, Charlie Hawker, Jude Murphy, Ciaran Devllin, Shaun Og Shields, Darragh McHugh, Ethan Gordon.