Under 15 girls narrow loss in Plate

The North Down U15 girls performance squad travelled to Dromore on Sunday for the next round of the Plate.  It was great to actually get a game in with so many games in Northern Ireland being cancelled due to frozen pitches over the weekend.

North Down started dominantly with Sophie Hoey attacking strongly down the right and crossing lovely balls into the circle. Unfortunately North Down despite having lots of pressure could not find the back of the net.  Kate McConnell, Kenzi Fisher and Leah Drysdale made strong runs supporting the attack.  Emma Cochrane, Neve Armstrong and Cara Murray had many attempts on target and were so unlucky not to score. Their keeper was forced into making numerous saves.  At the back our girls were unusually shaky to begin with, the high press from Dromore causing them difficultly. They dug deep, found their rhythm and the half time score was 0-0 with North Down looking the stronger side.

The second half saw the defence settle and more attacks from the frontline but despite this Dromore managed to nick a scrappy goal early in the half to leave North Down chasing for the remainder of the game. Goalie Hannah Cunningham made some very important clearances and kept a cool head.   Great play from Connie Magee and Tilly Neild, supported well by Charlotte Walker and Sarah Taylor, kept the ball moving forward. A lovely break from Katie Migan narrowly missed the target and a shot from Emma Cochrane just inched wide in the final minutes.
North Down were so unlucky not to equalise.

The final score was 1-0 to Dromore in a match that could have gone either way. Better luck next time girls your team spirit and determination will result in a top result soon!

PMB Player of the Match: Sophie Hoey

Report from Kathy Taylor