Triangle F.C. School of Soccer

Under 14 Match Reports

The boys had the last of the round robin shield games as a mid-week fixture against South City, the team that finished runner up in the league. Nothing less than a win was good enough to see them progress into the final.

The game was played in quite a strong wind but the lads did not let this affect their play at all. They started strongly and never took their foot off the pedal. The work from the team was exceptional throughout. A strong defence not allowing many shots on goal. The midfield winning the war of possession, and the tireless running of the forward pairing chasing every cause.

The boy’s efforts were rewarded when they took the lead from a ball slipped through for Takunda Matsvimbo to race onto and lob the advancing keeper. The score went to 2-0 when Grant Lynas, who was excellent for the whole 90 minutes, picked up the ball wide on the left, he advanced down the wing to quickly cut inside two defenders. He then unleashed a fierce shot into the top corner giving the South City keeper no chance.

South City did pull one back with a speculative hit and hope from the left which just evaded Justin in Goal. 2-1. Rather than panic the Coleraine outfit just went down the other end and Grant place his shot into the bottom corner. 3-1.

The half time whistle found no further scoring.

With the managers pep talk still ringing in their ears, the boys took the field for the second half knowing that the next goal was crucial. This fell to Grant again who scored the third of a deserving hat trick. 4-1. The tie now probably in the bag, Triangle kept pressing and the final chance was converted by Joel Bradley who found the net from just outside the box. 5-1.

Triangle were away to Carnmoney in the cup and through injuries and unavailability had to travel with 10 players.

The game started on the heavy pitch and the boys took a little time to find any rhythm. They knuckled down however and set about winning the tie. All the best moves were Triangles with numerous delightful through balls from Steven Doherty for the willing runs of Takunda Matsvimbo and Grant Lynas.

Steven’s midfield teammates, Max Moore-Wilson and Che Bradley also providing ammunition for the two strikers. Having created the chances the finishing proved to be a little more taxing today but Grant and Takunda stuck to the task and the breakthrough came soon enough. A chance finished by Che Bradley who found space in the box and finished well. Two further goals in the first half went to Takunda and Che again, with both showing pace, determination and awareness to make the half time score Triangle 3 Carnmoney 0.

The second half followed exactly the same pattern as the first with the Coleraine outfit playing all the football, despite being a man down. For all their efforts and chances however they could only add one more goal. A Takunda effort, finished past the keeper.

The team defended well with a back four of Scott Deeny, Jamie Armstrong, Chris Kane, and Nathan Kelly standing up to the challenge and not allowing a single shot on target at Justin Cassells goal throughout the whole game.

Final score Triangle 4 Carnmoney 0.

A good workman like performance from the whole team. Referees man of the match went to Chris Kane.

This was the boy’s last league game of this campaign. The final opposition being bottom club Whitehead.  A game where only a resounding victory would be acceptable.

The game started with an early goal for Ruari Quinn. Triangle had been awarded a corner, which was taken quickly by Steven Doherty to Scott Deeny. Scott gave the ball back to Steven he then crossed and Ruari finished with a side foot volley into the net.  Triangle second goal not long after again came from a corner, this time the ball fell to Simon Cameron who turned quickly and rifled his shot into the roof of the net.

Against all the play Whitehead pulled one back but this was not to have any real bearing on the game.

Triangle resumed their dominant play and Simon got his second of the day with a deft finish from a great cross from Luke Bradley.

The half finished with no further scoring, mainly due to the eagerness of the triangle team to push too far forward and fall repeatedly to the offside whistle.

Half time Triangle 3 Whitehead 1.

As this was expected to be a comfortable win, wholesale changes were made at the interval, allowing for everybody to have at least a full half.

Goals four and five came in similar fashion to the same player, Conor Donnelly. Playing on the left of midfield, he showed good determination and awareness to latch onto the ball and finish well.  Daniel McAleese notched the sixth, this coming from the right, Daniel showed good composure to finish past the keeper. Number seven was scored by Steven Doherty whose strong shot beat the keeper well. Josh Rhodich added the eighth running through on goal and powering in his shot. The final goal for triangle came by way of a through run and cool finish from Che Bradley.

In between this goal-fest, Whitehead got their second courtesy of a silly mistake from the goalkeeper and centre back, not to mention the goalkeeper by name, but it was a SILLY mistake.

A squad of sixteen travelled to 3-mile playing fields to take on Carnmoney in a league encounter.

The game got off to the perfect start when just after the whistle a free kick was awarded in the opposition half. Steven Doherty arrowed a ball into the penalty area which a defender managed to get to just before Josh Rhodich. This fell to Takunda Matsvimbo who moved the ball to the right and slotted home from close range. Triangle went further ahead soon after when play went down the left and Josh Rhodich found the ball at his feet on the edge of the area. A swing of his left boot (Josh says shot?) sent the ball looping above the Carnmoney goalkeeper into the net. Josh scored his second and Triangle’s third from a corner. Steven Doherty sent in a delightful corner and Josh attacked the back post, lost his marker and headed cleanly into goal. The final goal of the half went to Steven Doherty from the penalty spot. He finished low to the keepers right after the kick had been awarded for handball in the area.

Half time – Triangle 4 Carnmoney 0

The manager made sweeping changes during the interval to ensure that all the squad got at least 35 minutes football.

From the restart the game followed the same pattern as the first with Triangle taking the Carnmoney apart with by far the better football. Goal number five went to Ruari Quinn who after just coming on, wasted no time in making his mark on the game. The result of a great cross from Luke Bradley was the sixth goal, A lovely first time finish from Simon Cameron. Ruari Quinn is claiming the seventh when his angled drive at goal was parried by the keeper into the net, (was it going in? Ruari says yes). The best goal of the game came last when the ball dropped invitingly to Luke Bradley way outside the box. A quick look at the goalkeepers position and a strong looping shot, found the back of the net.

A well-deserved win Triangle 8 Carnmoney 0.

Joint men of the match – Steven Doherty & Ruari Quinn.

The boys entertained Templepatrick on a very bumpy pitch at Six Mile Water in Ballyclare.  A game both teams were hoping to win and stake a claim for a top four spot and entry into the end of season shield competition.

Templepatrick opened the scoring early when a cross from the right looped over Justin Cassels and into the Triangle net.

Triangle took the restart and started to play football that had the opposition backtracking and holding on to the lead.  Good solid work from midfield stalwart Josh Rhodich and debutant Stephen Doherty, drove the team on and when a through ball found Takunda Matsvimbo, he was able to race clear of the defence, remain calm and slip the ball to the keepers right and equal for Triangle.

The game took another turn when on a foray down the Triangle left flank a wild swing at the ball from a Templepatrick midfielder, found its way into the inside left netting of Justin’s goal.

Again from the restart it was Triangle with the chances but the highlight was the pass of the game from Stephen Doherty, who with the outside of his right foot found an advanced Josh Rhodich who’s just failed to capitalise.  Templepatrick did have the ball in the Triangle goal, a free kick from Templepatrick was played into the Triangle area but Max Moore-Wilson had moved up to leave two opponents at least a yard and a half offside, all but the blind and the Templepatrick bench, could see it was clearly offside.

The half finished Triangle 1 Templepatrick 2.

The start of the second half was more or less identical to the first. Templepatrick increased the lead with a shot from distance from the right. Justin Cassels failed to hold the ball or parry to safety and a forward was able to pick up the loose ball and slot home. Triangle 1 Templepatrick 3.

This was not the time to panic and the boys knew they just had to play to their potential and they could get back in the game.

The deficit was reduced when a ball was played up to Ruari Quinn who played the sweetest of touches to Takunda who again did not let the team down as he took the ball in his stride advanced into the area and again played the ball, this time to the keepers left and into the goal. Triangle 2 Templepatrick 3, the boys were back in the hunt.

With the strong engine room of a midfield Triangle Equalised when the ball was played over the top of the Templepatrick defence, Ruari Quinn ran through and coolly lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper. Triangle 3 Templepatrick 3.

Triangle had the ball in the Templepatrick net for a third time when Ruari prodded the ball home from close range, but the referee quite rightly gave the offside.

The game finished 3-3 but the Coleraine outfit came feel a little unlucky as they had the lion’s share of the chances.

Man of the match went jointly to Takunda Matsvimbo for his finishing and Stephen Doherty for his endeavour in the midfield.

Triangle Under 15’s travelled to 3 mile playing fields to play Carnmoney in a game they were expected to win, however with three regular first team players out it was not going to be as straight forward as first thought.

From the kick off the Coleraine outfit were in complete control, with clean passing movements slicing through the Carnmoney team with ease.  Despite having all the play and contending with the bad weather, Triangle could not hit the back of the net. Chances fell to several players, most notably Connor Donnelly who found space well only to see his crisp shot rise over the bar, and Daniel McAleese who again found good space but whose shot went straight to a grateful keeper. Scott Deeney saw a long-range effort hit the post.  Ruari Quinn did have the ball in the net but the referee awarded a free kick for offside.  The half time whistle found the score 0-0.

The half time team talk was all about upping the performance and passing the ball quickly on an increasingly deteriorating pitch.  From the restart, Triangle again had all the possession and were rewarded early when Connor Donnelly controlled and fed Max Moore-Wilson who moved the ball onto his favoured right foot and slotted his shot confidently beyond the keeper into the bottom corner.  The whole team seemed to come alive in the second half and were all over Carnmoney. Even when the defence of Christopher Kane, Che Bradley, Jamie Armstrong and  Scott Deeney were called upon they dealt with the threat well.  Having had a relatively quite first half Takunda Matsvimbo then came into his own, his trademark runs brought him his reward as he found the net on four occasions leaving the score at 5-0.  With three minutes to go and the game long since won the cold may have got to the Coleraine boys as they allowed a speculative hit and hope from outside the box, which looped over Justin Cassels and brought the score to 5-1.  Triangle had chance for one more attack and Grant Lynas was unlucky to see his chip over the keeper also fall just over the bar. A good second half performance with the man of the match being awarded to Takunda Matsvimbo.

The Coleraine boys travelled to play Ballynure and were pushing for a victory to stay in touch at the top of the league. From the start of the game it became clear that they would have to battle for any advantage, with a strong wind and a heavy pitch it was never going to be total football.  The boys dug in for the long haul and tried to outplay Ballynure, but the opposition stood resolute against them.  The deadlock was broken when Grant Lynas received the ball wide on the left and went on a run towards the box, his effort on goal was too hot for the keeper to handle and the spilled ball fell loose in the area, Simon Cameron was on hand to slot the ball home. Triangle 1 Ballynure 0. The first half was then played out with only two more chances to Triangle, a left foot effort from Josh Rhodich, which the keeper saved and a powerful Drive from outside the box by Max Moore-Wilson which was again saved by the keeper. A strong defensive display saw Ballynure restricted to one long-range effort. Half time saw no further score.

The second half was not glamorous to watch and the Triangle boys seemed to lose their way a little and allow Ballynure to equalise from a corner that was poked home through a crowded goal line.

Triangle 1 Ballynure 1

The rest of the half saw no more chances and was littered with what we can call at best, “missed timed challenges”.  Despite this the referee showed restraint in awarding any cards.

Final score Triangle 1 Ballynure 1

This must be looked on as dropping two points instead of gaining one.

A mention must go to the back four of RB- Jamie Armstrong, LB- Christopher Kane, CB- Max Moore-Wilson, CB- Che Bradley.

The boys started with good possession but could not take advantage until the ball was played through to Takunda Matsvimbo who ran on and placed his shot low beyond the keeper. Carnlough 0 Triangle 1. The game restarted and Triangle again took control, it was all one-way traffic resulting in the award of a Triangle corner. Che Bradley took the kick which found Max Moore-Wilson at the back post. Showing good strength, he headed well to beat the keeper and double the lead. Carnlough 0 Triangle 2. The game was going well until some very slack defending let in Carnlough to score. Carnlough 1 Triangle 2. From the kick off, Triangle went straight down the pitch with Scott Deeney having a shot at goal.  The keeper parried the ball and Takunda was on him in an instant.  He blocked the clearance and was aware enough to prod the ball home. Carnlough 1 Triangle 3. There was no further score before half time.

This was a game Triangle needed to win to stay in touch with teams at the top of the league.  This was not lost on the boys who, from the kick off pushed forward.  A through ball from Josh Rohdich in the opening minutes found Grant Lynas who’s shot clipped the Larne Post.

Triangle were enjoying all the play when during a rare Larne attack the referee blew for a challenge, which won the ball cleanly.  The resultant Larne free kick, low through a crowded area, found the bottom corner of the Triangle goal.  Triangle 0 Larne Colts 1.

Triangle again took up the play and the deserved equaliser soon followed, A Triangle corner was headed goal wards by Ruari Quinn. The Larne keeper could only parry and after good battling work by Takunda Matsvimbo, the ball fell to Grant Lynas to fire home.  Triangle 1 Larne Colts 1.

All the best chances came Triangle’s way but they were unable to capitalise, chances, which will need to be converted if the team are to show their true potential.  Again against the run of play a speculative shot from distance beat the Triangle keeper to put Larne back in front and there was to be no further scoring during the half.

Half time score Triangle 1 Larne Colts 2.

The second half took the same shape as the first with Triangle having the majority of the attacking play.  Triangle’s second equaliser came after Scott Deeney fed Grant Lynas who found Takunda Matsvimbo, and Takunda finished well.  Triangle 2 Larne Colts 2.

The Coleraine side continued to press and after Josh Rohdich played a ball over the top, Takunda raced on to finish and put Triangle ahead.  Triangle 3 Larne Colts 2.

The Boys never looked like relinquishing the lead and indeed made the points secure when Grant Lynas tapped in following a saved attempt from Takunda.

Final score Triangle 4 Larne Colts 2.

A mention must be made to the Triangle defence for their second half display, and for making it impossible for Larne to add to their first half, (fortunate) tally.

The boys travelled to Ballyclare to take on Ballynure who were sitting just one point behind in the league.

The game started with the home side on top, forcing the Coleraine boys to defend in numbers. Despite their best efforts Ballynure took the lead from a deft ball over the top of the Triangle defence for the number 9 to finish well.  Triangle at last found their feet in the game and pushed for an equaliser. This came from a free kick.  Josh Rohdich placed the ball and then delivered a sublime right foot shot into the top right hand corner.   A second chance soon came Triangle’s way with Luke Bradley taking a short corner to Scott Deeney who’s cross found a triangle player unopposed and six yards out, due to the extraordinary, unbelievable miss, that player shall remain nameless.  A short time later after work on the left, the ball fell to Che Bradley who controlled the ball and finished with a shot to the keepers left.  One other chance fell to Takunda Matsvimbo who beat the defence only to see his shot rebound off the crossbar.  The half finished 1-2.

The second half started much the same as the first and after slack defending the Ballynure no.9 crossed from the left to find what looked like the arm of his team mate, which then went over the line.  Triangle again took control of the game and Grant Lynas was offered the opportunity to add his name to the score sheet, this he did when he latched on to a through ball and finished with a cross goal shot into the bottom left hand corner.  Takunda Matsvimbo had been a thorn in the Ballynure defence’s side for all of the game and was rewarded for his efforts when he left a defender for dead and raced through to finish calmly and put the result beyond doubt.  Triangle were not finished however and with Josh being played through by Ruari Quinn his shot was blocked by the keeper who pushed the ball into the air.  Takunda had positioned himself perfectly to then simply nod the ball into the goal.

Final score Ballynure 2 Triangle 5.

A good battling performance from the Triangle boys.

Man of the match – Takunda Matsvimbo as in the words of the referee “he caused problems all day”.

A clear win this week for the Coleraine side who endured the long journey to Whitehead with the ‘are we there yet’ ringing in everyone’s ears. The boys soon dominated the game with newcomer Chris Kane opening the scoring. It didn’t take long for the second from Josh Rohdich followed by Chris for his second. Takunda Matsuimbo then slotted home followed by Josh for his second and the teams fourth. Before the break Takunda claimed his brace and Josh a hat-trick. The second half was a quieter affair with the final two goals from Niall Kane and Chris Kane who also marked the day with a hat-trick. A nine goal outing for the boys which makes Chelsea’s six over Man City seem a poor comparison.

Fielding an under strength side Triangle faced league leaders Larne Youth on Saturday. The game got off to a positive start when Rory Quinn from a short corner hit the back of the net from outside the box. Larne came back a short time later when a poor kick-out let the seasiders back in. First half over and the Coleraine side were holding their own against a fast, strong attacking side. The second half saw Triangle go 2-1 down from another corner. The boys battled on and equalised with fifteen minutes to go by way of Josh Rohdich who got his head on the ball and getting it over the line. The winning goal sadly came from a Larne player with a superb 30 yard unstoppable strike. Final score Larne Youth 3 Triangle 2. Special mention to the Triangle defence of Justin Cassells (goals), Rory Quinn, Shea Bradley and Jamie Armstrong. 

Saturday saw the team face another of the fancied teams in the league in the form of Comber. In a contested first half Triangle showed all the best touches and play, Josh Rohdich & Ruari Quinn Providing the flair and quality that drove the team on.  12 minutes in saw the Comber Keeper clear the ball from the edge of his area, the ball fell to Ruari whose one touch control and quick shot beat the retreating No1 from all of 25yards.Triangle made it 2-0 with Grant Lynas beating the defence and calmly beating the keeper.  The first half finished with Triangle comfortable leaders.

            Comber came out for the second half in a determined mood and scored two goals in quick succession, with Triangle caught napping and offering no real means of opposition.  Triangle remained second best, unable to wrestle the game back from a resurgent Comber side, this saw them concede two further goals to make the score Triangle 2 Comber 4.  Only at this point did the boys start to put right a situation which was largely self inflicted due to poor defensive work.  Grant Lynas took the attack to Comber and supplied a deft cross, which was met by débutante Connor Donnelly to head home.  A comeback looked doomed when all but the referee saw a fifth Comber goal as clear offside, but the man in black has the decision and the goal stood.  Triangle refused to lie down and went in search of a reply. Josh Rohdich played the ball of the game with a sublime reverse pass to wrong foot the Comber defence and find Ruari, who showed a great awareness to calmly place a shot beyond the keeper.  Whilst pressing for an equaliser Comber, to whom credit must be given, scored to put the game beyond reach.  Triangle were not finished however and after being awarded a corner, which was delivered with perfect accuracy by Simon Cameron, Josh Rohdich climbed the highest at the back post and headed in, keeping up his record of scoring in every game so far.

            Final score Triangle 5 Comber 6.  The boys can feel aggrieved to come away from this game with nothing to show for their endeavours, but know they can and must improve.

            Man of the match- Ruari Quinn   

Triangle entered this game as joint leaders, and looking to stake an early authority on the League.From the first whistle it was clear that this would be a hard fought encounter, Larne Colts fielding a team that was large in stature.  The boys tried to settle into their football and use the pace of Takunda Matsuimbo in particular but also Grant Lynas and Daniel McAleese, a tactic that has produced dividends in the past. Unfortunately, the referee was to blow for offside on nearly every occasion.  Larne were restricted to playing long balls over the top of the Triangle defence and on the whole a back four of Simon Cameron, Jamie Armstrong and a strong central paring of Che Bradley and Max Moore-Wilson thwarted this ploy. The team were showing signs of their true ability and had the large majority of the play, restricting Larne to one headed chance and a penalty box scramble. Half time saw the score at 0-0.

The second half took a similar pattern to the first with Triangle playing the football. Josh Rohdich and skipper Ruari Quinn were again the dominant force in the centre of the park orchestrating all of Triangles best moves. Luke Bradley also started to display his talents and between them played controlled simple passes, which had the Larne midfield chasing shadows.

It was the tried and trusted formula that broke the deadlock with a through ball played for Takunda to run onto and shoot low to the advancing keeper’s right. Triangle1 Larne colts 0.  Playing good football, it wasn’t long until Triangle extended the lead.  Josh picked up the ball with his back to goal just outside the Larne box, A quick turn and a trademark strike, had the Larne keeper beaten hands down. Triangle 2 Larne Colts 0.  Triangle pressed looking for another and a through ball found Ruari in advance of the two strikers and with a left footed calm finish put the score at Triangle 3 Larne Colts 0.

Triangle seemed to switch off after their third goal which allowed for a hopeful punt up field by Larne to be converted past Keeper Justin Cassells, robbing him of a third consecutive clean sheet.  Final score Triangle 3 Larne Colts 1.

Overall a good battling performance from the boys.

Man of the match went to Josh Rohdich.

Triangle U 15’s comfortable winners

Carnlough were the opposition for the Coleraine boys in their second league game. Goals were aplenty with 

new signing Takunda Matsuimbo increasing his team tally by another four. Josh Rohdich claimed two and 

Simon Cameron got on the scoresheet with one goal leaving the final score Triangle 7 Carnlough 0. Next 

week second position league team Templepatrick. 

The opening season match for last year’s East Antrim League Shield winners saw Triangle face Larne Youth. 

From the first whistle the Coleraine boys were in goal scoring mood when a through ball from Luke Bradley 

found new signing Takunda Matsuimbo who scored. Larne didn’t let their heads drop and equalised ten minutes 

later. 

Triangle once again took the lead from a free kick which was converted from thirty yards out when Josh Rohdich 

dipped the ball beneath the bar. The second half and Larne equalised again but again the Triangle boys dug deep 

and Takunda set up Grant Lynas on the edge of the box to shoot at an angled shot to beat the keeper. Triangle’s 

final goal came from a quickly taken free kick which Takunda tucked past the keeper. Larne however spoilt the 

party and with twelve minutes to go scored again and finally made it all level with five minutes remaining. Despite a 

late appeal for a Triangle penalty the game finished 4-4. Referee’s man of the match, Takunda Matsuimbo.