Crewe hammer the Harbour men from Larne as they continue their rise up the IFA Youth League table.
Larne U18 1 Crewe United U18 11
After a slight delay the match began on a bright and chilly Saturday afternoon by the sea.
From the offset the Crewe boys looked fired up and ready, dominating possession and controlling the tempo of the game. Crewe’s dominance went wasted as several chances were sent sailing wide of the mark in the first few minutes.
The breakthrough came courtesy of Ben Armstrong as he used his devastating pace to break free of the Larne defensive line and coolly slot home from 12 yards past the helpless Larne goalkeeper. Crewe maintained their dominance with free and open flowing football which Larne were unable to control.
Left Midfielder Mark Spence added the second goal of the game, which seen him score his third goal in three games with a fantastic finish following a powerful run from the left hand side of midfield.
Larne pulled a goal back shortly after, following a lapse in concentration from the Crewe defence which allowed the Larne centre forward through on goal to casually put the ball past Crewe goalkeeper Stephen McDowell. 2-1. Crewe United quickly pushed forward and grabbed another goal, proving the old cliché “your most vulnerable when you’ve just scored a goal,” to be more than true. A swift attacking move down the right-hand side allowed Mark “Squeak” Spence win a corner. As the corner came in the Larne defence removed the danger, but only as far as defender Craig Bailie who hit a blistering shot from out the 18 yard box, which was timely intercepted by Mark Spence who converted the attacking move which he started.
Crewe continued to pile on the pressure and added to their tally with a goal from dominant midfield maestro Mark McCullough opening his record for the game. With Larne heads drooping, Crewe United showed a relentless desire which has seen them annihilate Tandragee and Limavady in previous games, two more goals were added shortly before the half-time whistle as Mark McCullough added his second of the game and birthday boy Darren Harbinson scoring on the stroke of half-time.
HALF-TIME LARNE 1-6 CREWE UNITED
A confident Crewe United team kicked the second half off again showing comfort in possession in all areas of the pitch. They continued were they left off in the second half, again throwing Larne onto the back-foot. With defenders scrambling to recover, Jonny Abbitt added his first and Crewe’s 7th.
Despite the formidable scoreline, Larne continued to play football and had several chances to grab a goal back, goalkeeper Stephen McDowell had to be quick off his line to clear the ball several times early in the second half. One “clearance” was taken down by right midfielder Connor Magowan who skilfully controlled the ball and beat the Larne left-back to put in a fantastic cross which was kicked home with adequate skill from the silky Jordan Foster.
The deficit didn’t improve for distraught Larne team as Ben Armstrong added to his impressive goal-scoring record for the season with another casual finish which we have come to expect from a player of Ben’s quality.
With the winners in no doubt, defenders Craig Bailie and Nicholas Surgeon took the opportunity to play out of position, moving to the opposite end of the field. Craig had several chances to convert, and ultimately dye goalkeeper Stephen McDowell’s hair pink, but was unable to do so. He came close on several occasions and must have left the young goalkeepers heart in his mouth. Speedy attacker Gary Wilkinson added Crewe’s 10th of the game with a magnificent finish.
The goalscoring was concluded as Nicholas Surgeon rounded the stranded Larne goalkeeper to put a cherry on top of what was an extremely impressive performance from Crewe United.
FULL-TIME LARNE 1-11 CREWE UNITED
TEAM: MCDOWELL, SURGEON(1), BAILIE, WILSON, HUTCHINSON, SPENCE(2), MCCULOUGH(2), WALSH, HARBINSON(1), ARMSTRONG(2), ABITT(1.)
SUBS: WILKINSON(1), FOSTER(1), FINN, MAGOWAN, MONTGOMERY, TAGGART.
Man of the Match: Stephen McDowell
