Ballinamallard United 4 Cliftonville 6
Ballinamallard United U14s faced Cliftonville in the NI YL Plate semi-final at a windy Devenish College on Saturday morning.
Cliftonville won the toss and decided to play with the strong wind. A number of early chances were created and goalkeeper Lukas Gau was called into action.
Despite resolute defending by backline Sean Donnelly, Nathan Coyle, Edward Murphy and Shay Gallagher the team from Belfast took the lead after quality play down the wings. Further goals followed as the half progressed.
Midfielder Kimi Thompson took a heavy knock and was replaced by Ben Cathcart.
The young Mallards bounced back from the setbacks as Jay Ely broke from distance and finished expertly to get the team back into the game.
The change of ends at half-time had a dramatic impact on the tie, with Ballinamallard creating chances and Ely added to his goal tally.
Tim Armstrong scored from a long range free-kick and Cathair Maguire scored directly from a corner.
However, Cliftonville mounted a number of dangerous counter-attacks and managed to score on the break as they won a high scoring and entertaining game in difficult conditions for both sides.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here