Ulster got off to a perfect start at the 2024 UK School Games with two wins over England this afternoon.
The girls had to come from behind to win 2-1, whilst the boys had a more comfortable 3-1 win with goals from Ethan Redford, Adam McKee and John Cunningham.
A strong start for the boys saw Redford give his side the lead with just five minutes on the clock.
His side broke down the right flank before a Matthew McAreavey strike from the top of the circle came off the post before landing at the feet of the Cookstown man who reversed past the goalkeeper.
We then doubled our advantage when Adam McKee drove into the England circle before winning our seventh penalty corner of the tie on the brink of half-time.
Having won the corner, it was the Banbridge forward whose drag flick picked out the bottom corner to make it 2-0 going into the halfway mark.
England managed to get a goal back of their own midway through the final quarter to set up a nervy final few minutes for Ulster, however, a last-minute goal from John Cunningham sealed the win.
Having thrown men forward, England were caught on the break before McKee found Cunningham in the circle and his sliding finish at the back post sealed a 3-1 win.
On pitch one it was England who took an early lead as they struck from a penalty corner in the ninth minute of play.
As the tie went on Ulster continued to threaten the opposition goal but with no avail despite winning several penalty corners.
Eventually, the pressure paid off as Rebekah Lennon drew her side level with her first goal of the game in the 38th minute.
Having won a penalty corner, it was Lennon whose straight strike from the top of the circle flew into the bottom corner and levelled the scoring.
Then with just nine minutes remaining the youngster gave her side the lead for the first time in the game as she struck from another corner.
A carbon copy of her first goal, the Ulster player struck from the top of the circle and picked out the bottom right corner.
Her strike proved to be the winner as we sealed a 2-1 win from behind to make it a perfect start for our sides in the competition.
Tomorrow morning is the turn of the Ulster White sides with the girls in action at 10am and the boys at 2:30pm.
A reminder that all games can be watched live on the Youth Sports Trust YouTube channel.
