Best ever performances at Foyle Cup

Under 9 The Ballinamallard Under 9s returned home with the Foyle Cup Rosebowl after a victory in the final over Hillsborough Boys.

After a strong opening to their group they slipped up in the final group game against Strabane. Despite creating numerous chances they could not find the net and Strabane secured a 1-0 victory with a stunning second half strike, although there were some good performances from the young Mallards with Liam Corry, James Hanna and Calvin Brown best on the day.

Having finished third in their group the Mallards faced Coleraine in the Rosebowl semi final and turned in their best performance of the week against Coleraine to win 5-1. Taylor Hale opened the scoring with a terrific individual effort. This was quickly added to by Liam Corry who went on a run from his own half to finish confidently. Hale added two more to complete his hat trick and goals from Charlie Clendinning and Jack Beatty completed the scoring as the Mallard youngsters claimed their place in the Rosebowl Final. There were no signs of nerves in the final as the young team took the game to Hillsborough. Taylor Hale and Barry Goodwin were working hard to close down the opposition every time they got the ball while Jack Beatty and Ethan Abercrombie were a constant threat going forward with their strength and pace. In defence Liam Corry was outstanding ably assisted by the tigerish James Hanna. As Ballinamallard continued to attack it was Jack Beatty who opened the scoring with an excellent strike. Ethan Abercrombie made it two with a wonderful volley on the stroke of half time with the young Mallards well in control. In the second half Ballinamallard pushed to extend their lead with Morgan Whittaker through on goal and Beatty with further chances but the third goal didn’t come. Dylan Seaney and Joshua Hicks worked hard to keep Hillsborough scoreless as they pushed to get back into the game. As the final whistle sounded there was great scenes of joy as the young Mallards lifted the Rosebowl Trophy to crown a great week at the Foyle Cup.

Under 10 The U10s came agonisingly close to becoming the second team from Ballinamallard to take the top prize at the Foyle Cup, losing in a penalty shoot out to the Bertie Peacock Youth League.

Ballinamallard’s place at the top of the group was confirmed with a 1-0 victory over Donegal based Aileach. The Mallards again created plenty of chances but getting the breakthrough was proving difficult against a hard working Aileach team. In the second half it finally came as Shea Mulligan finished terrifically from distance, with the ball crashing off the inside of the right hand post, to give the keeper no chance. A perfect record of five out of five wins for the Mallards saw them through to the quarter finals of the main Foyle Cup as convincing group winners.

In the quarter-finals Ballinamallard faced Eglinton Eagles who came to the quarter finals of the main competition with an impressive record of five straight wins and no goals conceded. It looked like being the toughest test yet for the Ballinamallard kids and so it proved. Eglington forced an opener to take the lead and with their strength and good organisation were proving difficult to break down. They were undone however by the finishing prowess of Corey Smith who finished superbly after a good ball in from the right by Craig Hughes. The goal gave Ballinamallard a real boost and Eglington were clearly shocked by the intensity of Ballinamallard’s intent to win the game. With five minutes left Padraig Dillon sent the Mallard supporters wild as he cut in from the right to rifle an unstoppable finish to the top right hand corner of the Eglington goal. Eglinton threw everything forward in the closing minutes but Ballinamallard held on to secure their semi final spot.

The semi-final against St Oliver Plunkett resulted in a comfortable victory for the Mallards, as they cruised to a 2-0 success thanks to goals from Corey Smith and Patrick Regan, setting up a final against high the scoring Bertie Peacock Youth League. Like the Mallards they came to the final as group winners, with a perfect record of five straight wins and with no goals conceded. From the start they were a real handful with their incisive passing and movement, but it was the Mallards who took a first half lead through Corey Smith. The instinctive young striker slotted home calmly as he got behind the opposition back line to claim his eleventh goal in just eight games. Ballinamallard were pegged back early in the second period with a well worked Bertie Peacock goal. Both sides worked incredibly hard to win the game in normal time, but neither could find the breakthrough, and in the end the final was decided on penalty kicks with Bertie Peacock winning 4-2. An incredible week for these young Mallards had ended and their disappointment was considerable.

Uunder 11 Ballinamallard U11s finished fourth in the Foyle Cup after losing in the semi-finals to eventual winners Glentoran.

After opening up their campaign with victories over Partick Thistle and Clooney Soccer School and a scoreless draw with an Inishowen Youth League select, the Mallards needed maximum points from the final two group matches.

Annalong Rovers provided a stern test in the penultimate game but Ballinamallard started well and deserved their early lead when Alex Brownlee bundled the ball home from a right wing corner. They continued to press forward but the final ball was lacking and they were made to pay when Annalong grabbed an equaliser just before the interval. With Ballinamallard’s search for a winner growing increasingly desperate they finally made the crucial break through with five minutes remaining when Oisin Gormley twisted and created space to get a shot away which found the back of the net off the inside of the post.

The winner of the final group game between Ballinamallard and Tristar would decide who topped the standings, and the North West side had the best chance of the first half but dragged their shot wide of the post with the goal gaping. Midway through the second half the vital breakthrough came for the Mallards when Gormley pounced on a clearance from the keeper and drove the ball just inside the post. With Tristar pushing forward the Mallards then sealed a 2-0 win with a breakaway goal from Jamie Steele which secured their place in the quarter final.

Their last eight encounter pitted them against Ballymoney Youth, and with the win at their back the Mallards started brightly and took a deserved early lead when Jamie Steele netted his second goal of the tournament, turning in a corner at the near post. They continued to play the better football and Daniel Barker saw a spectacular effort come back off the post but despite carving out a succession of chances they failed to add to their early strike. In the second half Ballymoney came more into the game and snatched an equaliser that took the game to penalties. With the teams tied at 3-3 after five each it went to sudden death, with Danny Wilson eventually securing a semi-final place with his side tenth spot kick.

Reigning champions Glentoran stood between Ballinamallard and a place in the final, but the young Mallards went into the tie knowing they had beaten the Glens two months previously. The teams had the two best qualifying records from the group stages but it was the Belfast side that made the better start. The game hinged on a one minute period midway through the first half when Glentoran scored two quick fire goals. The Mallards recovered their composure well and almost forced their way back into contention when Jamie Steele crashed a long range effort off the frame of the goal, but Glentoran held on to book a place in the final, which they eventually won.

The third and fourth place play off against South Donegal Schoolboys was played in terrible conditions but the two sides played out an entertaining goalless first half. The Mallards eventually broke the deadlock when super sub Ben Wilson was first to react to a loose ball five yards from goal, but the Donegal side hit back twice to lead 2-1. With two minutes remaining Jamie Steele delivered a cross for Danny Wilson to head home and take the game to penalties. For the second time in the tournament the shoot-out went to sudden death, with South Donegal taking the win when the scored the sixth spot kick.

Under 12 The U12s had a tough opening to their Foyle Cup campaign with a record defeat against South Donegal Schoolboys, and they tasted misfortune the following day as well as they fell to a defeat at the hands of Foyle Harps. The Mallards took a first half lead through a Ruben Jentsch goal but a penalty and then an own goal consigned them to their second defeat of the week.

They finally got their tournament up and running with a 2-0 victory over Roe Valley thanks to goals from Reece Byrne and Ruben Jentsch, which set up a Rose Bowl quarter final against Partick Thistle. Jamie Marshall netted for the Mallards in a 1-1 draw, but the Scottish side progressed after a penalty shoot-out. It was a similar story on Friday when a Stevie Drumm goal earned another 1-1 draw against South Donegal Schoolboys before they once again lost on penalties.

In the final game the Mallards played their best football of the week, dominating against Trojans to emerge 6-1 winners thanks to goals from Daly Corcoran, Jack Ovens, Reece Byrne, Nick Colon and two from Joel Irvine.