Northern Ireland’s Under-18 Schoolboys bounced back from a defeat to an Australia U18/U19 Schoolboys team last month with a resounding 5-0 win against Jersey U18s.
Competition
Youth international friendly
Scoreline
Jersey U18 Select 0-5 Northern Ireland U18 Schoolboys
Scorers
Sean Brown (30’, 47’), Michael Morgan (38’), Charlie Chapman (60’), Luca Doherty (88’)
Venue
Springfield Stadium, St Helier, Jersey
Date
Monday 6 February 2023
Team News
The first of two friendlies against Jersey teams this week, the game was part of ongoing preparations for this year’s Centenary Shield.
Before kick-off both teams observed a 30-seconds applause in memory of Frankie Wilson, who passed away in October. Frankie managed the Northern Ireland U18 Schoolboys team from 2014 until 2022.
Manager Simon Nicks made six changes to the 11 who started against Australia at the Blanchflower Stadium in east Belfast last month.
Ryan Kerr replaced Rian Brown between the sticks, while Charlie Chapman, Sean Brown and Joshua Ness all started after being on the bench last time out. And making their first appearances for the team this year were Corey Smith and Kyle McCloskey.
Nicks’ charges will play a Jersey U21 Select tomorrow (8 February) in their final warm-up match before the Centenary Shield kicks off next month.
How it happened
Jersey started brightly with Wolves-bound Carvalho creating plenty of openings for the home side.
The Northern Ireland defence, in which Kyle McCloskey and Callan Farley were outstanding, stood firm and Northern Ireland keeper Ryan Kerr expertly dealt with a number of dangerous crosses.
Michael Morgan waltzed through the home defence and smashed a shot against the post prior to Northern Ireland opening the scoring on 30 minutes.
Corey Smith turned his marker and fired in a shot which was blocked, however the ball fell to Sean Brown and he netted from close range.
Eight minutes later the visitors went two up. A clever back-heel from Brown allowed Morgan to drive into the box and the captain slammed the ball into the corner of the net.
Half-time: Jersey U18s 0-2 Northern Ireland U18 Schoolboys
Two minutes after the restart Brown produced a screamer for his second goal of the game.
Smith rolled a free-kick into his path and Brown netted with a thunderous drive into the top corner to put Northern Ireland firmly in the driving seat.
Jake Martin came off the subs bench to produce a fine cross for Charlie Chapman to tuck in goal number four. It was a great team goal.
Another substitute, Luca Doherty, made his mark on 88 minutes to make it 5-0. It was another fine finish after a smart turn allowed him to rifle the ball home.
Full-time: Jersey U18s 0-5 Northern Ireland U18 Schoolboys
Line-ups
Northern Ireland U18 Schoolboys: Ryan Kerr, Callan Farley, Ben Walker, Adhamh Towe, Corey Smith, Michael Morgan (captain), Joshua Ness, Sean Brown, Charlie Chapman, Ben McGonigle, Kyle McCloskey.
Substitutes: Rian Brown (GK), Logan Wallace, Odhran McCart, Diego McGann, Luca Doherty, Jake Martin, Connor Armstrong.
Jersey U18s: J Videgrain, D Huckerby, F Boyle, J McKinlay, C Brennan, TJ Woodley, H Scott, L Vieira, S Henia-Kamau, S McColgen, M Carvalho (captain).
Substitutes: P Roche, H MacManus, C Esnouf, B Shirley, C O’Keefe, B Beatson, C Ascencao.
