Not a great week for the U13 Lisburn League side who found themselves on the wrong end of a 7-2 scoreline. In contrast to last week where we didn’t deserve to be beaten, this week we rolled over and had our belly tickled by a team that was hungrier for the ball, more disciplined in their shape and have grasped the concept that U13 keepers are going to struggle with a lot of shots in the larger nets and they weren’t afraid to put this theory to the test with 3 out of their four first half goals coming from outside the eighteen yard box. In saying that the boys invited every one of those shots by the lack of discipline in our shape leaving massive gaps in the midfield and back line and allowing the opposition clear shots at goal.The boys went 1 nil down early on but fought their way back to make it 1-1 when Kyle White was pushed in the box and James Maguire cooly slotted home from the spot past the Downpatrick keeper. This should have been the catalyst to take the game to the Downpatrick side but the boys made it hard for themselves resulting in 3 more Downpatrick goals before the break.
Town came out the second half in much better shape and began to play good pressing football creating chances with Jake Turner getting the first goal of the half coming in from the left hand side and slotting the ball past the Downpatrick keeper. Lurgan continued to press with Jake Rainer causing trouble on the right wing with his strength and pace but unfortunately Town couldn’t capitalise on this period of play and eventually Downpatrick found their way back into the game and being gifted 3 more preventable goals before the final whistle blew.
Manager Brian White was very disappointed with the performance from the boys today which was well below par. “The scoreline certainly didn’t reflect the difference in quality between the teams but rather our failure to follow instruction, and deal with the basics. The biggest difference between the teams though was Downpatrick weren’t afraid to shoot, something our boys are going to have to learn to do if they want to turn their fortunes around in the coming weeks”.