Rossglass County FC

Rossglass County Under 13s produced their best performance of the season to overcome a battling Strangford side in what ended as a 4-0 victory for the blues. It was a result that belies the competitiveness of the match and it was Darragh Gordon who was the chief architect of the victory with a wonderful hat-trick. Gordon got County off to a flying start when, in the opening minutes, he broke forward down Strangford’s right wing to calmly slot the ball home.

Eamon Tierney made it two early in the second half when he scored a cracker, bursting through from midfield before planting an unstoppable shot into the top corner. Rossglass played with an experimental system of 5-3-2 and it paid off with a rare clean sheet, primarily founded upon a strong back three of Finn O’Neill, Mark Curran and Aidan Brannigan, who worked together to snuff out Strangford’s efforts at forging a shot at goal.

County’s wing backs were also superb with Robert Napier and Man of the Match, Declan O’Connor stemming numerous Strangford attacks down the flanks. Ryan Gordon was magnificent at the centre of midfield, but in truth, he was all over the park and he was instrumental in his brother’s second goal, floating over a beautiful cross from the right wing that looked goal bound before  Darragh finished it off with a fine header.

Luke Fitzpatrick also put in a commanding midfield performance and James Tumelty showed his usual flair on the ball while adding a tenacious dimension to his game. In goal, Shay Curran dealt with any danger in consummate fashion and KJ McCullough showed some great skill in an unaccustomed forward role. Daniel McMullan was also given responsibility up front and he chased everything down tirelessly in a commendable team performance.