United slip as NI sides march on
Another day of drama on the north coast as SuperCup nears end
As we reach the business end of the SuperCupNI compeititon, our reporter AARON O’NEILL wraps up another day of drama on the north coast.
Yesterday marked the halfway stage at the 2017 Super Cup NI. Some splendid performances and spectacular goals packed out the schedule for the first half of the week.
We also saw an early shock exit in the main Junior Section competition from favourites Manchester United who lost 2-0 last night to Southampton.
Also, in Juniors Co. Armagh took on Swindon Town. In what was a closely fought affair it was the Orchard County who emerged eventual 2-1 winners.
Club NI continued their winning streak as they made it three wins from three as they beat Middlesbrough 2-1 to book their place in the semi-final stage.
Counties Tyrone and Londonderry met in one of the 3pm games with Tyrone coming out on top with a 1-0 win.
Down and Fermanagh also tasted success as they grabbed wins against Colina and Dundalk SL respectively.
The Premier section witnessed all of the county sides face off against each other. Co. Down and Co. Antrim clinched all three points as they picked up victories against Co. Fermanagh and Co. Tyrone. Co. Armagh and Co. Londonderry played out a 1-1 draw in the evening kick-off in Portstewart.
Many of the players and teams will feel they have a lot left to give at this year’s event. Thursday marks the semi finals stage of the tournament with teams from both the Junior and Premier sections looking to push on and lift silverware on Friday as well as profiling themselves against top quality opposition in the remaining games.
Meanwhile, in the Juniors semi-final Club NI face Co. Antrim while Rangers take on GPS Bayern as the four teams bid to book their place in Friday evenings final at the Ballymena Showgrounds.
In the Premier section Super Cup NI semi-finals Right to Dream play Newcastle United and O’Higgins entertain Club America as all four teams do battle for a place in the Super Cup NI final.
As the 2017 Super Cup NI draws to a close teams are now at the sharp end of the weeklong festival of football as they look to become steeped in glory by the close of play on Friday.
Further information about the Super Cup NI can be found on the website: http://supercupni.com