Archive for the ‘U15s Fixtures’ Category

Portadown and Randalstown U15 were involved in an entertaining cup match on Saturday at Chambers Park. Portadown started on the front foot in perfect playing conditions, and scored two well-worked tries through Caleb Montgomery and Aaron Winter. Randalstown hit back with a try from their impressive number 8. After some excellent forward play Portadown added a third try when a super move was finished off by Montgomery just before halftime.

 Out half Graeme Currie was next to cross the Randalstown line when he used his power and pace to break a number of attempted tackles. The home team took their foot off the pedal and again Randalstown hit back through their number 8 and their dangerous centre who caused the home defence problems throughout.

A number of home substitutions helped Portadown to finish strongly and it was Montgomery who took his personal total to four tries to finally kill off Randalstown’s chances. Currie converted three of the home scores to leave the final score Portadown 36 Randalstown 21.

An obvious choice for man-of-the-match was Caleb Montgomery but Conor White also deserves praise for his sterling performance.

 Team: 1. Gareth Reid 2. Sam Close 3. Luke Burney 4. Aaron Winter 5 Conor White 6. Robert Bleakney 7. Caleb Montgomery 8. Joe Lavery 9. Michael Bennington 10. Graeme Currie 11. Stephen Shanks 12. Samuel Girvan 13. Philip McKeever  14. Dylan Marsden  15. Harry Anderson 16. Adam Anderson 17. Thomas Neill 18. Aaron Forde 19. Timothy Stevenson 20. Gareth Sommerville

This Saturday the teamtake abreak from the cup when they host Ballymena in an 11.00 kick off. The cup resumes on Saturday week with an away trip to Clogher Valley.

Portadown U15s travelled to face old rivals Lurgan on Saturday. The game was much needed in preparation for the forthcoming cup campaign. The boys started sluggishly and the game was littered with mistakes from both teams. Finally the team began to show some of their quality and put together some phases of play. After some good play by Caleb Montgomery, Joe Lavery and Gareth Reid, livewire scrumhalf Michael Bennington crossed the line. Graeme Currie added the conversion. The Portadown boys began to dominate and scored another excellent try through fullback Gareth Liggett who ran in from halfway. Again Currie converted.

 The second half was an opportunity for both teams to provide playing time for some of their squad players. Portadown again had the better of the possession and added two further scores through Liggett and captain Graeme Currie. Currie impressively slotted over both conversions. Lurgan to their credit stuck to the task and added a well worked try to leave the final score Portadown 28 Lurgan 7.

 This Saturday the boys host Randalstown in the group stages of the Cup.- match kick off is 11.00 at Chambers Park.

Portadown U 15s, minus 5 regulars who were on a school ski trip with Coach Karl Gale, returned to action after a five week lay off when they travelled to play neighbours Banbridge in a friendly. It was evident from the start that a much changed and rusty Portadown team were up against it as Banbridge looked the more assured.

Assistant Coach Paul Galway was however pleased with the performance as the Portadown side grew in confidence as the game went on. He commented, “Despite a 17-0 defeat the boys can take a lot of credit from their improved second half performance. All in all it was a very spirited performance against a good Banbridge outfit. We looked rusty, as I expected, because we have only had one practice since Christmas due to the weather and we had a lot of new faces in today’s lineup. The new players showed up well & hopefully when we return to normal training next week, with an increased squad available to select from, we will be better prepared next time out.”

 Paul singled out newcomers Luke Burney (prop) & Jason Lau (Centre) for special mention. He also praised the efforts of No 8 Caleb Montgomery who along with scrum half Michael Bennington and  centre Samuel Girvan carried the game to Banbridge when in possession

The U 15s have no match this week but return to full squad training on Monday night at 7.00p.m

Portadown U15s continued their excellent recent form, with a well-earned victory away to Ballynahinch. The boys started brightly and put Hinch under pressure straight from the kick-off. The pitch was in terrible condition, so it was never going to be a game for the backline. The forward pack dominated their counterparts, and after ten minutes their pressure was rewarded when lock forward Aaron Winter crashed over. Graeme Currie added the conversion. Hinch struggled to cope with the forward play of Portadown’s strong pack and it was no surprise when  openside flanker Caleb Montgomery crossed the line again. Currie once again slotted the conversion.

The second half followed the same pattern with Portadown coping the better of the two teams with the difficult pitch conditions. It was Montgomery again who used his power and pace to add a third unconverted try. The final Portadown try came ten minutes from full time, and once again it was a real Christmas cracker. After a succession of forward drives it was livewire scrumhalf Michael Bennington who scored. Graeme Currie added a superb touchline conversion. Hinch to their credit never gave up and they score a deserved consolation try with the final play of the game.

Final score: Ballynahinch 5  Portadown 26

This aturday thee U 15s host City of Derry in an 11 30 kick off at Chambers Park

After a two week break, Portadown U15s returned to action on Saturday with a friendly away to Lisburn. The team started well and put their hosts under some real pressure right from the kick off. Portadown made the breakthrough mid-way through the first half when after some impressive play by their young pack big second rower Aaron Winter crashed over from close range for his first try of the season. Captain Graeme Currie was successful with the conversion. Ten minutes later the Portadown boys went further ahead. This time it was an excellent solo effort by openside Caleb Montgomery. Once again Graeme Currie slotted over the conversion to give the boys a healthy halftime lead.

The third Portadown score was a corker from the forwards. After a succession of pick-and-drives it was prop Timothy Stevenson who crossed the Lisburn line. With a 19-0 lead the boys took their foot off the pedal. The loss of Conor White and Gareth Reid to injury hampered Portadown even further and  Lisburn took their opportunity to get back into the game when they started to use their dangerous backline, especially their second centre. They scored two quick tries and piled on the pressure on their visitors. Some poor tackling allowed them to score a third try close to the end, although their kicker missed the conversion which would have seen the game tied.

The young Ports team will have learned a lesson that they can never relax until the final whistle, but the coaching team of Karl Gale, Paul Galway and Niall Westland were absolutely thrilled with their overall performance. Special mention must go to young hooker Sam Close who had a great game, along with man of the match,scrum half, Michael Bennington.

Final score: Portadown 19 Lisburn 17

Team:Timothy Stevenson; Sam Close ;Gareth Reid  Aaron Winter ;Conor White ;Neill Wilson ;Caleb Montgomery ;Joe Lavery ;Michael Bennington ;Graeme Currie ;Dylan Marsden ;Samuel Girvan ; Stephen Shanks ;Phillip McKeever ;Harry Anderson ;Thomas Neill ;Robert Bleakney Adam Anderson ;Gareth Sommerville ;Scott McConville.

On Saturday the squad travel to Ballynahinch in the Brewin Dolphin League. Kick off is at 11.00 at Ballymacartan Park.

Portadown hosted top-of-the-table Malone on Saturday having lost 34-5 in the reverse fixture the previous week. Despite being without their captain,Graeme Currie, the local boys put in display of fantastic effort and commitment, epitomised by centre Caleb Montgomery who was outstanding on the day.

 Malone have an outstanding team and will not have faced a sterner test this season, and although the Portadown boys gave their all they suffered a 24-0 defeat in the end. The coaching team have asked all the players to hand their registration forms in as a matter of urgency.

This Saturday the boys host Rainey OB at Chambers Park in an 11.00 kick off with the coaches hopeful that the team will continue to show the improvement that has been evident in recent weeks.  

Portadown travelled to play top-of-the-table Malone on Saturday. Malone started brightly and opened the scoring after seven minutes. Portadown reacted very positively and had a period of sustained pressure in the Malone 22. Unfortunately they just failed to apply the killer touch and Malone held them out. A couple of defensive mistakes then allowed Malone to score three further tries before half-time. The coaches worked hard to keep the boys’ heads up and tried to focus them on the positive aspects of their play.

Michael Bennington switched to scrumhalf and this made a big difference to the team, who also had to cope with the loss of their inspirational skipper Graeme Currie through injury. The pack began to really compete in the loose and the backs began to run much better lines. Joe Lavery, Gareth Reid, Aaron Winter and Bennington were making a real impression up front and the boys were rewarded with a well deserved try with ten minutes remaining. This was no more than the boys deserved. With tired legs and minds hampering the boys, Malone ran in two late scores to leave the final score a rather flattering 34-5.

The boys are intent on working hard this week in training and are looking forward to the return match at home this Saturday – kick off 11.00. The coaches are appealing for club members and parents to come down and support the boys as Malone will have a very vocal support.

Portadown U 15s travelled to Rainey last Saturday with a side disrupted due to unavailability and injuries. Coach Karl Gale who had only 12 of his normal squad available used some of the younger members of a large U 17 squad in order to fulfil the fixture. As Portadown played overage players The coaches agreed that the match would be played as a friendly and Rainey would be awarded the League points. 

This decision meant that Portadown were able to field 15 players and in the end they won 22-0. Captain and number 8 Graeme Currie set a magnificent example to his rejigged team as he scored 2 tries and added a conversion. Centre Caleb Montgomery and back row Joe Lavery also touched down for the Ports.

Despite the disappointment of losing the League points the boys were happy to get a game and the U 17 players, who had travelled as subs were also delighted as they got a full match!

Coach Karl Gale who was delighted by the team’s performance added, “The most important thing at this age is ensuring participation, enjoyment and development. Without using the younger U 17s we would have had no game. In this way everyone gained.”

 There is no match for the U 15s this weekend-they travel to Belfast on 7 November to play Malone.

After achieving their first league win against City of Derry the previous week, Portadown went into this match with renewed confidence.  Hinch, whose out half displayed great game management and running skills ,tested the Portadown defence in the early stages as both teams showed a willingnes to run the ball. The only score of a closely contested first half came after twenty minutes when Ports’  Captain Graeme Currie broke through a number of tackles to score under the posts. He converted his own score.

 Hinch began the second half brightly and scored an excellent try when the ball was moved out to their pacey left wing. Portadown then proceeded to gift a second score to their visitors when a quick lineout went horribly wrong and the ball was collected by a grateful Hinch player to score enabling them to take the lead. This was a real test of the young Portadown boys’ character and they didn’t disappoint the watching parental support.

The Portadown pack picked up the pace and intensity at the breakdown which resulted in much better ball for scrumhalf Stephen Shanks. It was from an excellent ruck that Caleb Montgomery received front foot ball, and he used his power to crash over and level the scores.

 The decisive score came from a lineout on halfway. Young blindside Joe Lavery caught the ball and made a brilliant run deep into the Hinch 22. From the resulting ruck it was that man again Graeme Currie who bulldozed his way over the line. Prop Timothy Stevenson put the icing on the cake when he touched down with the final play of the game to leave the final score 22-12 to Portadown.