F.G.WILSON EAST ANTRIM YOUTH LEAGUE 2005/06 - UNDER 12

MATCH REPORTS

Saturday 1st April

The Apex Sky Blues U12's played North Belfast in a NIBFA Cup competition at Mallusk.  In a close first half it was the Sky Blues who opened the scoring through Adam Irwin only to see the opposition equalise on the halftime whistle.  The second half was an even affair with both sides going close but at the final whistle it was even at 1-1.  In the first period of extra time it was North Belfast who made the better chances and through one of these they put themselves in front at 2-1.  In the second period of extra time it was the Sky Blues who went in search of an equaliser with North Belfast dangerous on the break.  The North Belfast defence stood strong and at the final whistle and with no further scores it was North Belfast who progressed to the next round with a 2-1 win.

Apex Sky Blues 1-2 North Belfast (after extra-time)

Saturday 25th March

The Apex Sky Blues Under 12's played Ballyclare Colts in a league fixture at Sixmile.  Ballyclare could have opened the scoring early in this game except for good keeping by Jamie Craig in the Sky Blues goal which kept the scores at 0-0.  As the half progressed the Sky Blues side started to create chance and by the interval they had taken advantage of these on two occasions to go into the break 2-0 in front.  Ballyclare came back strongly and good attacking play got them back on level terms with two well taken goals.  As the game entered its final ten minutes it was the Sky Blues who got their noses in front with what proved to be the winning goal in what was a thrilling end to end game. 

Apex Sky Blues 3  Ballyclare Colts 2 

Apex Sky Blues scorers - Neil Cummings, Stuart Todd and Adam Irwin

Saturday 11th March

The Apex u12 squad made the journey to the Showgrounds in Ballymena to take on Carniny in their East Antrim League fixture.  The Sky Blues started this game strongly and found themselves in front after 5 minutes through Neil Cummings.  Carniny were unsettled by this and the Apex side took full advantage and by 15 minutes play in the first half they had extended their advantage to 3-0 when Adam Irwin scored twice to put his side in control.  Carniny started the second half looking to get back into the game but the Sky Blues defence stood firm and on the counter attack they could have at least doubled their score except for good goal keeping.  Carniny got themselves a goal in injury time but the damage had already been done in the opening 15 minutes when the Carniny defence could not handle the lively Apex attacking line. 

Apex Sky Blues 3  Carniny 1

Saturday 25th February

The Sky Blues U12’s opposition this week was provided by Larne youth in their East Antrim League game played at Three Mile.  After the opening exchanges the game settled down and two quick goals by the Sky Blues sent them into the break leading 2-0.  Larne Youth pressed forward in the second half looking to get back into the game but the Sky Blues were dangerous on the counter attack and by the final whistle they had scored a further three goals to deservedly win the points and the game.

Apex Sky Blues 5  Larne Youth 0

Saturday 18th February

This week it was the NIBFA cup for the Apex Under 12’s and their game was away to Donegal Celtic.  This was a great game for all those watching as both sides played good football at every opportunity which produced goal scoring chances at either end.  In the first half Donegal Celtic made more chances but it was the Sky Blues who went into the break leading at 1-0 after a well taken goal by Neil Cummings.  The home team equalized soon after the re-start but midway through the second half a defence splitting ball put Adam Irwin clear and he slotted the ball past the advancing keeper to win the game for the Sky Blues and send them into the next round of the competition. 

Apex Sky Blues 2  Donegal Celtic 1

Saturday 4th February

It was a top of the table clash for the Sky Blues U12’s when they played Triangle in an East Antrim game at Three Mile Water.  In the first half it was the Sky Blues who were the stronger of the two sides but they were unable to put away any of their created chances and the teams went into the interval level at 0-0.  Triangle opened the scoring after ten minutes of the second half when a corner was wickedly deflected into the Apex goal.  As the Sky Blues pressed for an equalizer Triangle were dangerous on the counter attack and from one of these attacks they doubled their advantage and sealed the result with a good volley from inside the Apex box. 

Apex Sky Blues 0  Triangle 2

Saturday 28th January

This week’s East Antrim fixture for the Sky Blues U12’s was away to Carrick at Woodburn.  Carrick started the quicker of the two teams in this game and after ten minutes play found themselves ahead by 2-0.  The Sky Blues struck back strongly and by the interval they were back on level terms at 2-2.  Early in the second half the Apex side scored two quick goals only to see Carrick pull one back to make the score 4-3 with five minutes left on the clock.  As the game entered its final minutes the Sky Blues made the result and the points safe when they scored their fifth goal of the game. 

Apex Sky Blues 5  Carrick 3 

Apex Sky Blues scorers – Michael O’Hanlon (2), Andrew Johnston, Stuart Todd and Neil Cummings

Saturday 21st January

On Saturday the Apex Sky Blues u12 squad that play in the East Antrim League made the journey to Omagh to play in the Northern Ireland cup.  The team’s opposition was provided by Omagh United Youth who play in the Mid Ulster league.  It was the home side who took the lead in the opening five minutes but the Sky Blues quickly responded with two quick goals to give themselves a 2-1 advantage midway through the first half.  Both sides played attacking football at every opportunity and in the final 5 minutes of the first period it was the Apex side who scored twice to put them in control at the break 4-1.  Any comeback by the home side was put to rest when the Sky Blues went further ahead at 5-1 after only 1minute of the restart.  Omagh to their credit battled strongly but on the day the found a well drilled Sky Blues defence hard to breakdown.  As the game entered its closing stages the Sky Blues scored a 6th goal on the counter attack to book their place in the next round of the competition.  Apex Sky Blues scorers – Adam Irwin (2), Steven Clarke, Stuart Crawford, Neil Cummings and Gavin Knipe.
 
Apex Sky Blues 6  Omagh United Youth 1

Saturday 12th November

The Apex Under 12's made the journey to Sandy Bay to play Larne Youth in a League fixture.  After the opening exchanges it was the Sky Blues who broke the deadlock when after a good passing move Jason Simpson scored at the back post.  As the first half came to a close the Sky Blues doubled their advantage when a good cross from the right side was meet by Jason Simpson to score his and his team's second goal of the game.  Larne came out strongly in the second period but the Apex defence stood strong and managed to keep a clean sheet. There was 10 minutes remaining when the Sky Blues made the game and the points safe through Adam Irwin when he found himself in space and placed the ball past the on coming keeper.

Apex Sky Blues 3  Larne Youth 0.

Saturday 22nd October

The Apex Under 12's East Antrim League fixture this week was against Whitehead at the Valley.  This was a game that the Sky Blues dominated from the first to last whistle with Whitehead to their credit never giving up.  Three goals either side of the interval made both the points and the result safe for the Apex side.

Apex Sky Blues 6  Whitehead 0

Saturday 8th October

The Sky Blues Under 12 game against Carrick was an entertaining affair
with the Sky Blues team rushing into a 2-0 advantage after ten minutes
play.  At halftime the Apex side had extended their lead to 3-0 to put
themselves firmly in control of the game.  In the second half the Sky
Blues mounted attacks down both flanks which saw the Carrick defence
stretch on numerous occasions.  At the final whistle the Sky Blues had
added a further five goals to their tally with Carrick replying with two
to give the Apex team a convincing win on the day.

Apex Sky Blues 8  Carrick 2

Saturday 1st October

The Apex Sky Blues Under 12 team travelled to Beltoy in Carrick for
their East Antrim League game against Barn United.  The Sky Blues opened
the scoring as early as the 2nd minute but Barn pulled back level
through a well struck free kick after 10 minutes.  As the first half
progressed it was the Sky Blues who started to get on top and by the
break they had extended their advantage to 3-1.  In the second half Barn
started strongly but with no success in front of goal.  The Sky Blues
started to pass the ball well and kept possession for long periods.  As
the game entered its last 15 minutes the Apex side started to come out
on top and created numerous scoring opportunities.  The Barn defence
came under pressure from a lively Apex attack and by fulltime the Sky
Blues had added a further 4 goals to their tally to win the fixture with
a comfortable score.

Apex Sky Blues 7  Barn United 1

Apex Sky Blues scorers - Adam Irwin(2), Andrew Johnston(2), Neil
Cummings, Stuart Todd and Steven Clarke

Saturday 24th September

In the East Antrim Youth league on Saturday the young Apex Sky Blues
Under 12's played their league fixture at the Valley with Ballyclare
Colts providing the opposition.  In the opening minutes Ballyclare
created a number of chances but were unable to take advantage which
resulted in the young Sky Blues settling down and playing their normal
passing game.  Halfway through the first period it was a well struck
shot by Stuart Crawford from the edge of the box which broke the
deadlock to put the Sky Blues in front and by the interval they had
doubled their lead to give them a 2-0 advantage at the break when Adam
Irwin scored from a tight angle.  Early in the second half the Sky Blues
extended their lead after a good combination between Stuart Todd and
Adam Irwin and by fulltime a further 2 goals were added to their tally
by Adam Irwin with a great individual goal and Michael O'Hanlon with a
superb burst of pace from midfield.

Apex 6-0 Ballyclare Colts

Apex Sky Blues scorers - Stuart Crawford, Stuart Todd, Adam Irwin(2) and
Michael O'Hanlon

Saturday 17th September

The Sky Blues Under 12's had a break from their league programme as they
represented both the club and the East Antrim Youth League in the
Champion of Champions competition at Mallusk.  The Sky Blues first round
match was against Cliftonville from the Down and Conor league.  After a
close opening ten minutes it was the Apex side who broke the deadlock
when the took a 2 goal lead into the interval.  The game was made safe
for the Sky Blues when they scored 2 quick goals early in the second
period after good work by the midfield.  In the final 5 minutes the Sky
Blues added a 5th goal and Cliftonville for their efforts deservedly got
a consolation goal which meant the Sky Blues progressed to the next
round after this 5-1 win with goals from Adam Irwin(2), Ryan Wilson(2)
and Stuart Todd.  In their next game the Sky Blues played a strong Foyle
Hrps team from Londonderry and after the opening exchanges it was the
Derry side who took the lead at the midpoint of the first half.  The Sky
Blues fought back strongly and pressed their opponents back into their
own half as they went in search of an equaliser but right on the
halftime whistle the Foyle side went 2-0 ahead with a goal against the
run of play.  The Sky Blues started the second half the stronger of the
two sides but found it hard to break through a well marshalled Foyle
defence.  As the game moved into its final minutes and with the Sky
Blues doing most of the attacking it was Foyle who sealed the victory
with a swift counter attack to put the game beyond the reach of the Apex
side and out of the competition.  The young Sky Blues side played well
as a team on the day and the players all certainly enjoyed the
experience of playing in the competition.

Saturday 10th September

The Sky Blues Under 12 squad's opposition was provided by Carniny youth
and this game produced end to end action as both teams attacked at every
opportunity. In a great first period the teams went into the interval
level at 2-2.  Carniny quickly raced into a 5-2 lead early in the second
period with Apex responding and bring the score to 5-3.  The Sky Blues
pushed players forward in an attempt to close the gap but the Carniny
defence held strong for them to go on and win the game.

Apex Sky Blues 3  Carniny 5

Apex Sky Blues scorers - Neil Cummings (2) and Daniel McFadden

Saturday 3rd September

The Apex Sky Blues Under 12 squad opened their league account against
18th Newtownabbey at the Valley.  The Sky Blues side dominated the first
half and quickly moved into a 4-0 lead of which 2 of their goals were
unfortunately for the opposition own goals.  The 18th Newtownabbey
organised better in defence for the second half and contained a lively
Sky Blues attack.  At the fulltime whistle the Apex side had added
another goal to their tally to give themselves a winning start to the
season.

Apex Sky Blues 5  18th Newtownabbey 0

Apex Sky Blues scorers - Neil Cummings(2), Stephen Todd, O.G.(2)