Goal scorers:

Kyle –

Jacob –

Sam –

Assists:

Kyle –

Sam –

MOTM – Sam

Lisneal Under 16’s third game of the season saw them welcome Fivemiletown for the Second round of the NISFA cup. Finally, the boys were rewarded with a clear and crisp morning, perfect for a game of football, which was a stark contrast to the thunderstorms that they battled in the previous rounds of the competition.

Lisneal took advance of the calm conditions and were able to get the ball on the deck and move it efficiently amongst each other to take early control of the game. Every player looked comfortable on the ball and Lisneal dominated and dictated the play from the start of the game. As the half progressed, Lisneal settled more and more into the game, showing strength at the back, through Charlie and Leon, and creativity in the attacking areas with Travis and Sam. Once again, our top man Kyle worked relentlessly against the oppositions central defenders to hold the ball up for his team mates. Despite some decisions not going his way as he collected the ball from midfield, he showed excellent resilience to continue receiving the ball in difficult areas. Kyle managed to draw yet another foul from the Fivemiletown defender and this time, as he went down in the box, Lisneal were awarded a penalty. Up stepped Sam, who calmly waited for the goalkeeper to make his move before rolling the ball down the centre of the goal to put Lisneal 1-0 in the tie.

Lisneal continued to apply the pressure and dominated possession and territory with the majority of play taking place in their opponents half. Dealing comfortably with aerial threats at the back and with midfield working hard to pick up second balls, it was a superb team effort to keep piling the pressure on Fivemiletown. Lewis and Reece, a new partnership on the lefthand side combined for Lisneal’s second goal of the game. The cross from Reece wasn’t dealt with by the opposition defenders and Jacob was on hand to secure Lisneal’s second goal. 2-0 Lisneal on the stroke of half time.

Having been in this position in previous weeks, the Under 16’s knew that one more goal would put the game to bed and be enough to see off their second round opponents.

Lisneal once again started the half the stronger of the two sides. Every player competed and battled well to dominate possession. Lisneal continued to impress with their attractive free flowing football in front of the supporters who came out to watch the game. The constant pressure was soon rewarded again, the hard working Kyle making a fantastic front post run across goal to get on the end of a Sam cross, giving Lisneal the third goal of the game.

Although the boys were 3-0 up and looking comfortable in the game, Lisneal continued to press on for more goals. With opponents tiring, Sam continued to go through the gears and provided some entertaining, direct dribbling through the opposition defenders. His outstanding individual skill resulted in him drawing more and more fouls from the opposition in dangerous attacking areas.

Sam took full advantage of two of these positions to put the Lisneal team out of sight in the game. The first free kick was a powerful low drive into the bottom corner beyond the Fivemiletwon goalkeeper to make it 4-0. But it was the final goal of the game which was the goal of the day. Sam’s second free kick flew into the top corner to give him his Hatrick, the MOTM award, and most importantly the win for the team to put them into the next round of the cup.

Thank you again for all the support from parents, staff and pupils who came out to watch and cheer on the boys. Thanks to Fivemiletown for making the trip up for the fixture.

Congratulation to the Lisneal Under 16’s for yet another fantastic professional performance. In the hat for the next round of the last 16.