With Loughgall’s games being cancelled last weekend due to the weather, a midweek friendly was arranged with Oxford Sunnyside.

Loughgall took control from the first whistle with Kyle Gilmore lively in attack and James McCormack and Jordan Finlay providing pace and width. William Graham, Dale Mulligan and Tim Wharton were winning the midfield battle and it was not long before Kyle Gilmore opened the scoring with a low angled drive after good play from Tim Wharton.

The Loughgall lead was soon doubled when James McCormack outpaced the Sunnyside defence to slip the ball past the advancing keeper. Tim Wharton then added number 3 after good approach play from Jordan Finlay and Jack Hamilton.

Sunnyside’s attacks were few and far between as Scott McCann, Josh Woods, Adam Alexander, Jack Hamilton and Daniel Acheson were rarely tested. A quick fire double from Kyle Gilmore, to complete his hat trick, and a close range finish from William Graham after another flowing Loughgall move saw Loughgall go in at half time 6 goals to the good.

The second half followed the same pattern as the first and it was not long before William Graham got his second of the night after good Dale Mulligan, James McCormack and Tim Wharton approach play.

Another slick Loughgall move involving Jack Hamilton and Jordan Finlay saw Kyle Gilmore again apply the finishing touch. Moments later William Graham burst from midfield and lashed a thumping left footed shot into the far corner of the Sunnyside net for the goal of the night.

Sunnyside never stopped trying, but had come up against a rampant Loughgall who added another two goals after good play from Adam Alexander and James McCormack found William Graham who teed up Kyle Gilmore to finish from close range before Jordan Finlay completed the scoring with a well struck shot.

Squad: Daniel Acheson , William Graham (Capt), Josh Woods, Scott McCann, James McCormack , Jordan Finlay, Tim Wharton, Adam Alexander , Dale Mulligan, Kyle Gilmore  & Jack Hamilton.

Scorers:  Kyle Gilmore (5), William Graham (3), Tim Wharton, Jordan Finlay and James McCormack.

Man of the Match: William Graham

Loughgall Youth Under 11 Players of the Month for January 2012:

Lisburn League Squad: Daniel Acheson

Mid Ulster League Squad: James Orr

Congratulations boys and keep up the good work!

Loughgall who are coming of the back of two wins went into this game with their confidence high. Right from the first whistle they dominated with Rhys McMaster, Ryan Faulkner, Zane Brown and Jake Shields impressing.

Lurgan defended well to keep the Loughgall attack at bay and both sides went in level at half time.

Loughgall continued to dominate in the second half and broke the deadlock through Rhys McMaster with a clinical finish. James Orr had to be at his best to keep his side in front with some excellent tackles and Connor Brown had to be alert with one excellent save. Ryan Faulkner was pulling the strings in midfield and with 10 minutes remaining Zane Brown made sure of the victory with a well taken goal.

Squad: Connor Brown, Joel Paynter, James Orr, Sam Gibbons, Jack Hamilton, Ryan Faulkner, Jake Shields, Rhys McMaster, Kyle West, Jamie Barbour, Zane Brown & Ryan Stewart.

Loughgall Youths Scorers: Rhys McMaster & Zane Brown.

Loughgall Youth Man of the Match: Ryan Faulkner

Loughgall came up against a strong Hillsborough side who are challenging for the league title. The opening exchanges were very even with both sides contesting well for possession.

Adam Alexander and Daniel Neill were getting through a lot of work in central midfield and Kyle Gilmore was a constant threat in attack, almost getting on the end of a neat James McCormack pass.

Hillsborough always looked the more composed on the ball, particularly in wide areas. A lapse of concentration in the Loughgall midfield allowed the Hillsborough left winger to outpace the Loughgall defence and drill a low cross into the Loughgall area which was hammered home at the back post to open the scoring.

Loughgall continued to compete well with Jordan Finlay and Dale Mulligan linking well down the right and Luke Cartwright, James McCormack and Kyle Gilmore linking well down the left, but too often the final pass was lacking.

Hillsborough always looked dangerous, and it took an excellent interception from Scott McCann to keep them at bay. Kyle Gilmore’s pace was evident on more than one occasion, but Loughgall just could not find the right pass.

Another Hillsborough break saw them cut through the right side of the Loughgall defence with some neat passing and apply another clinical finish from close range to double their lead.

The start of the second half saw Loughgall enjoy their best period of the game as a Kyle Gilmore snap shot flew narrowly over the bar after good work from Adam Alexander.

Loughgall were now starting to commit men forward in an effort to get back into this cup tie and a neat exchange between Daniel Neill and Kyle Gilmore saw Dale Mulligan just get to the ball before the Hillsborough keeper, but he dragged his first time shot narrowly wide of the far post.

Hillsborough were winning the midfield battle as Loughgall looked to commit men forward. Hillsborough were defending well and soaking up the Loughgall pressure and then they applied the sucker punch by hitting Loughgall on the break with another clinical finish, as their striker rounded Daniel Acheson to put the game beyond any doubt.

With only minutes remaining Jack Hamilton released Jordan Finlay but he failed to connect properly when well placed. A quick Jordan Finlay break down the right almost brought Loughgall a consolation goal but his low cross eluded everyone.

Squad: Daniel Acheson , William Graham (Capt), Josh Woods, Scott McCann , James McCormack , Jordan Finlay, Daniel Neill, Adam Alexander , Dale Mulligan, Kyle Gilmore , Luke Cartwright  & Jack Hamilton.

Man of the Match: Kyle Gilmore

With Donegal Celtic unable to fulfill their Lisburn league fixture with Loughgall, who were awarded the 3 points, a friendly was arranged last minute with Armagh City who also found their league fixture postponed.

Right from the first whistle, Loughgall showed real hunger and desire as they dominated possession in the opening exchanges. Jonathan Ewart and Dale Mulligan linked well with Kyle Gilmore who were causing the Armagh defence all sorts of problems.

Loughgall were playing with pace and it was surely only a matter of time before the opening score would arrive. A long range speculative Jordan Finlay effort deceived the Armagh keeper and found the back of the net to break the deadlock.

Another slick Loughgall move involving Daniel Neill, James McCormack and Adam Alexander saw Jonathan Ewart force a great stop from the Armagh keeper before Dale Mulligan’s follow up effort was also blocked. William Graham then sent Jordan Finlay down the right who in turn slide Jonathan Ewart in behind the Armagh defence to double the Loughgall lead with a well struck shot.

A Dale Mulligan cross caused panic in the Armagh defence as Kyle Gilmores blocked effort fell to Adam Alexander who’s first time effort failed to find the target.

Loughgall had a real solid look about them in defence with Josh Woods and Scott McCann in commanding form. Daniel Neill then found James McCormack who set himself and lashed a fantastic left footed shot into the top corner of the Armagh net to give his side some breathing space.

With half time approaching William Graham sent Dale Mulligan clear down the right and he cut inside and fired a clinical low drive into the far corner to leave the half time score at 4-0 to Loughgall.

Loughgall continued to search for more goals at the start of the second half, Kyle Gilmore linked with Jonathan Ewart who beat his man and unselfishly squared to the unmarked Dale Mulligan who fired home number five from 12 yards.

Jack Hamilton and Luke Cartwright entered the fray and they combined to win Loughgall a corner. Kyle Gilmore swung the ball over and it was met by William Graham and Luke Cartwright, the ball flew into the Armagh net, with William Graham adjudged to have got the more telling touch.

Loughgall had to concentrate on keeping their discipline and shape as Armagh were starting to look more dangerous on the break, putting Ryan Parr, William Graham and Josh Woods under pressure before forcing Daniel Acheson to push a looping goal bound effort wide.

From the resulting Armagh corner Loughgall broke and Jack Hamilton threaded an inch perfect pass through to James McCormack who raced clear to finish confidently for his second goal of the day and his teams seventh to complete the scoring.

This was a great team performance from Loughgall, who added a cutting edge to their recent excellent defensive performances. They will hope to carry this kind of form into the rest of the season.

Squad: Daniel Acheson , William Graham (Capt), Josh Woods, Scott McCann , James McCormack , Jordan Finlay, Daniel Neill, Adam Alexander, Jonathan Ewart, Dale Mulligan, Kyle Gilmore , Luke Cartwright , Ryan Parr & Jack Hamilton.

Loughgall Youths Scorers:  Jordan Finlay, Jonathan Ewart, Dale Mulligan (2), James McCormack (2) & William Graham.

Loughgall Youth Man of the Match: William Graham

Donegal Celtic were unable to fulfill the fixture – Loughgall awarded a 1-0 victory.

Loughgall started briskly and immediately took the game to Fivemiletown. Indeed Loughgall keeper Connor Brown and their back four of, Ryan Parr, James Orr, Matthew Cupples and Joel Paynter didn’t have an awful lot to do for the first 10mins of the game. Tim Wharton, Ryan Faulkner, Luke Murray and Jake Shields worked extremely hard in midfield supplying Rhys McMaster and Kyle West with some excellent passes enabling several early shots at the Fivemiletown goal, including 2 into their side netting.

However not until the 12th minute did Tim Wharton find the net after some skilful and determined footwork down the left wing. Fivemiletown fought back and with some good breaks looked very dangerous at times, forcing Loughgalls back four to up their work rate, which they did admirably. The tireless Luke Murray who seemed to be involved in  the action in every area of the pitch  was next to hit the target, getting a foot to a Tim Wharton cross in the 18th minute. Loughgall continued to dominate and around the 25min mark with some excellent teamwork and passing from Tim Wharton and Kyle West, Rhys McMaster slotted home Loughgalls 3rd. Fivemiletown again came back strong and showed great character scoring their first just prior to half time, chipping Loughgalls keeper as he came out to narrow the angle. Half time score Loughgall 3-1 Fivemiletown.

Second half continued similar to the first, Loughgall maintaining most of the possession, although their keeper was forced to make a couple of decent stops with Fivemiletown continuing  to be dangerous on the break. Even with the fresh legs and hard work of Zane Brown, Jamie Barbour and Ben Edgar, Loughgall again had difficulty finding  the net with several near misses, until midway through the second half when Jake Shields brought Loughgalls tally to 4. With some excellent football from both teams the final score set at Loughgall 4-1 Fivemiletown.

Squad: Connor Brown, Joel Paynter, Matthew Cupples, James Orr, Ryan Parr, Luke Murray, Ryan Faulkner, Jake Shields, Rhys McMaster, Tim Wharton, Kyle West, Jamie Barbour, Ben Edgar & Zane Brown.

Scorers: Luke Murray, Jake Shields, Rhys McMaster & Tim Wharton.

Loughgall Youth Man of the Match: Luke Murray.

Loughgall started brightly against Lisburn Youth as the industrious Jonathan Ewart and hard working Adam Alexander put the Lisburn Youth goal under pressure.

The central midfield battle was keenly fought with Daniel Neill and William Graham competing well with their opposite numbers. A dangerous Adam Alexander cross was cleared just as Jonathan Ewart was about to pounce.

At the other end, Daniel Acheson had to be alert to come of his line and snuff out a couple of Lisburn Youth counter attacks. Josh Woods, Jack Hamilton, James McCormack and Scott McCann also had to be on their toes as Lisburn looked dangerous on the break.

Jack Hamilton and Kyle Gilmore combined well before Adam Alexander was upended in the box, but the referee waved play on. Another dangerous Adam Alexander cross saw Jonathan Ewart meet it at the front post but his effort was well blocked.

With half time approaching, Jonathan Ewart and Luke Cartwright combined to put Kyle Gilmore clear, but the Lisburn Youth keeper was quick of his line to block the shot and leave Loughgall with nothing to show for an excellent first half performance.

Lisburn Youth, now with the advantage of the slope forced a number of corners early in the second half. One of these corners was allowed to bounce at the front post by the Loughgall defence and a looping header was headed clear by James McCormack on the back post, but the referee adjudged the ball to have crossed the line for the opening score.

Much to Loughgall’s credit they continued to play good football and push for the equalizer which their performance deserved, but Lisburn always looked dangerous, and forced a fantastic full length save from the impressive Daniel Acheson.

Jordan Finlay and Dale Mulligan entered the fray as Loughgall continued to press. The energetic Jonathan Ewart was then brought down and Loughgall committed players forward for the free kick in search of the equalizer. Lisburn cleared the danger and broke at pace to add a well taken second goal to secure the three points.

Today was another case of missed opportunities, as Loughgall again failed to convert their chances when on top in the game and turn their possession into goals. The team continues to play excellent football, but really need to be more ruthless in front of goal, as the first goal is so important at this level.

Squad: Daniel Acheson, Jack Hamilton ,  Josh Woods, William Graham (Capt), Scott McCann , Kyle Gilmore, Daniel Neill, Adam Alexander, James McCormack , Jonathan Ewart, Luke Cartwright, Dale Mulligan & Jordan Finlay.

Loughgall Youths Scorers: None

Loughgall Youth Man of the Match: Adam Alexander

Dungannon won the toss and turned the teams around hoping to take early advantage of the wind, but with Loughgall’s goal keeper, Connor Brown in fine form and a strong back four of Ryan Parr, James Orr, Sam Gibbons and Joel Paynter, Dungannon only managed to come close on one occasion when a fine 18 yard effort struck Loughgall’s crossbar. Loughgall however had most of the possession with Tim Wharton, Rhys McMaster and Kyle West also having several near misses including hitting both uprights and the crossbar. With some excellent through balls by Ryan Faulkner who showed his ability to read the game, supported by the tireless Luke Murray, Loughgall  were unlucky not to be infront at half time.

With Jake Shields replacing the hard working Jamie Barbour at half time Loughgall started strong and again dominated, but were thwarted by a strong Dungannon defence on several occasions, until around the 40min mark, when Jake Shields hit the target with a well placed shot from just inside the box. Dungannon came back fighting and had a chance to equalise thwarted by an outstanding, perfectly timed slide tackle by James Orr inside Loughgall’s box. Despite some good breaks by Dungannon, Loughgall continued to dominate with Jake Shields and Tim Wharton causing Dungannon big problems on both wings it was only a matter of time, the 51st minute, when an excellent ball from Tim Wharton to the feet of Kyle West resulted in a score line of 2-0. Despite the best efforts of Ben Edgar in the last 10mins the score remained at 2-0 to the final whistle.

Loughgall 2-0 Dungannon Colts.

Squad: Connor Brown, Ryan Parr, James Orr, Sam Gibbons, Joel Paynter, Tim Wharton, Ryan Faulkner, Luke Murray, Jamie Barbour, Rhys McMaster, Kyle West, Jake Shields and Ben Edgar.

Loughgall scorers: Jake Shields & Kyle West

Man of the match Jake Shields.

Loughgall Youth returned to league action against a very physical Shankill side who are flying high in the league. Shankill, with the wind at their backs in the first half, started the stronger and pegged Loughgall back in their own half for long periods.

Scott McCann, James McCormack, Jordan Finlay and the debutant Josh Woods had to be at their very best to keep Shankill at bay. Loughgall struggled to get a foot hold in the game as Shankill’s no nonsense physical approach did not allow Loughgall to settle on the ball.

With 20 minutes on the clock the Shankill striker was allowed to run into the Loughgall box unchallenged and his mishit shot looped over the head of Daniel Acheson and into the Loughgall net to open the scoring.

Loughgall finally got some possession and a neat move involving Jordan Finlay, Daniel Neill and Kyle Gilmore saw Kyle Gilmores dangerous cross cleared at the back post. Shankills long ball tactics constantly had the Loughgall defence under pressure as Scott McCann and Joshua Woods kept coming up with timely interceptions and clearances.

A Loughgall clearance was then fired back towards their goal by Shankill and Daniel Acheson could only watch as the ball dipped over his head and into the net to double Shankills advantage.

Loughgall started much brighter in the second half as Daniel Neill and William Graham started to gain the upper hand in the midfield battle. Jonathan Ewart found Adam Alexander and his snap shot flew wide. Loughgall players were continually on the receiving end of some very rash Shankill tackles and from one of these free kicks, Kyle Gilmores cross was headed home by William Graham but the referee harshly adjudged it to be offside.

Loughgall continued to press and the pressure soon told when the impressive Daniel Neill lashed home a stunning goal from 20 yards. Luke Cartwright and Jack Hamilton then entered the fray as Loughgall continued to push for the equalizer. Josh Woods and Scott McCann were dealing comfortably with everything that came their way and James McCormack was having an excellent second half at left back.

The Shankill keeper then rushed from his goal and just got to the ball ahead of the hard working Jonathan Ewart. Adam Alexander was then put in by Daniel Neill, Adam Alexander then cut inside on to his stronger left foot and got his shot away, but the Shankill keeper made an excellent stop to keep his side ahead.

Shankill were now playing on the counter attack as a speculative long range dipping effort was brilliantly pushed on to the post by Daniel Acheson. Luke Cartwright then had to leave the field of play after another heavy Shankill tackle before Adam Alexander too could not continue after being blatantly kicked off the ball by a Shankill player, but the referee failed to see the incident.

With time running out another Loughgall move saw Jonathan Ewart burst into the Shankill box only to be brought down by a two footed tackle which saw the offending player being asked to leave the pitch. The referee, after an intervention from the Shankill coach, then adjudged the incident to have happened outside the box and only awarded Loughgall a free kick.

Kyle Gilmore’s cross was then gathered by the Shankill keeper and the referee blew for full time to bring to an end a bruising encounter which Loughgall were very unfortunate to finish empty handed.

Squad: Daniel Acheson, Jordan Finlay, Josh Woods, William Graham (Capt), Scott McCann , Kyle Gilmore, Daniel Neill, Adam Alexander, James McCormack, Dale Mulligan, Jonathan Ewart, Luke Cartwright & Jack Hamilton.

Loughgall Youths Scorer: Daniel Neill

Loughgall Youth Man of the Match: Josh Woods