
HAVING been on the losing end in a cup final against their counterparts from Ards FC Academy, Groomsport Football Club Youth tasted victory this time around as they recorded a 4-0 win in Saturday’s SBYL Under 17 Divisional Cup Final. The young Groomsport side have been chasing a trophy for a few seasons now, suffering defeat on penalties to Ards back in May and being beaten by Ballynahinch two seasons ago.
Both teams had met earlier in the group stages of the competition when Groomsport edged a very tight match 2-1. That result secured them qualification to the knockout stages of the cup as group winners. The semi-final match was against fellow Division 3 side Antrim Academy which Groomsport won 3-2 after a very competitive game.
The final, played at the Blanchflower Stadium, saw both teams start nervously with the Groomsport goalkeeper first to be called upon. But Groomsport gathered themselves and the breakthrough finally came from the penalty spot, Matt Haslam having been brought down and he converted from 12 yards. Ards lifted their game after the goal but were met with a stern Groomsport defence with the slender lead intact at half-time.
As expected, the Ards team came out of the blocks well after the restart, but again the Groomsport defence and ’keeper matched everything thrown at them. Groompsort established a two-goal cushion when Haslam scored directly from a corner and a few minutes later he went on to complete his hat-trick with the pick of the goals. Evan Jones put the game to bed with a great strike inside the box to cap off a memorable afternoon for Groomsport.
Groomsport Youth wish Ards Academy all the best for the rest of their season, with special thanks to the staff at the Groomsport Inn for looking after the team before they travelled up to the ground for the match.