Colts
boss eyes cup final win
28th April 2008
Ards Colts will take
to the field at Dixon Park on Wednesday night against Cliftonville
Strollers as they try to win the IFA Youth League Cup for the first
time.
The game will bring the
curtain down on the most successful season in years for the Ards under
18 side, who for a time this season led their section of the Carnegie
Youth League. A latter season run in the League Cup competition has
ensured the players stayed focused right until the end, with all efforts
now concentrating on winning this trophy.
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| Lee
Forsythe |
For team manager Lee
Forsythe the game is a culmination of four years work with players Ards
have brought from under 15 level. He explained, "A few of these
players have come right through from Ards Youth, some have taken part in
the Milk Cup along the way and for a number of them this will be their
last game at under 18 level."
Several of the players are
well known to Ards followers from their fleeting spells in the first
team. On Saturday past Tommy Kincaid took five of the squad to the game
with Coagh United, and Lee is adamant that none of them looked out of
place. "Once again Ryan Newberry was very impressive,"
he says. "Then keeper Jason Mooney made a few good saves and
Kerri Grant, on his first team debut, looked confident and only improved
as the game went on. And then there are others who haven't been chosen
for the first team, but so easily could."
While several of the Colts
were lining up against Coagh on Saturday, opponents Cliftonville were
still locked in a battle to try and win the Youth League section.
Eventually they fell to fellow title contenders Ballymoney, meaning the
league will go down the final game. Despite the young Reds' side having
beaten Ards twice this season in the league, coach Lee isn't fearing for
his team.
"I saw
Cliftonville against Larne a week ago and didn't see anything to fear
from them. Yes, we've lost to them twice, but we've a lot of players to
come in, many that Cliftonville wont have seen before, Ryan Newberry for
example. But we'll give them respect, I know they have quick players up
front, so our tactics will need to be right."
The Colts team have
finished the season strongly and have been unbeaten since mid-January.
Their last league game against Linfield a week ago was won 3-2 with Lee
able to field what he calls his strongest team for the first time this
season. Lee, who was a player with Carrick Rangers in his late teens,
says he'll keep the preparation for the final simple.
"We'll train on
Monday night and then will get together for a pre-match meal on
Wednesday. I'll be sending the players out with a simple goal. In the
two years this squad has been together we had never beaten Linfield or
Cliftonville. We finally got Linfield last week, so now it's
Cliftonville next."
The final is at Dixon
Park, Ballyclare on Wednesday night, kicking off at 7.30pm.
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