Keelan finds the net but Town U15s lose out to clinical Ardstraw

The locals had to endure a period of sustained pressure early on and had ‘keeper Aaron Devlin to thank after he made a number of saves - including a tremendous one-handed stop tipped over.

James Orr put in good shift up front on his return from injury while Charles Cully again provided much needed cover at the back as he ran himself into the ground, tackling and organising his defence with a man of the match display.

Town created a few decent chances as Keelan Quigley began to see more of the ball. Ben Johnston almost got on the end of a Shea Winters pass and Cameron Sands forced the keeper into a save.

Ardstraw took the lead five minutes before the break when a rasping shot smashed off the bar and the rebound fell to the feet of their striker to finish into the corner.

Town produced a heroic second half performance but couldn’t find the equaliser and, as they pushed forward, they conceded from a penalty with ten minutes remaining.

Town soon got their rewards with a goal pulled back. Keelan Quigley had his shot saved and the ball fell to William Doogan who played a square pass to Shea Winters to slot home.

Again Town went looking for an equaliser and Ardstraw broke and scored a third to claim the tie.

This was another decent outing for the U15s with Charles Cully, Aaron Devlin and Eoin Scullion the stand out performers.