Local lads County Antrim took on Mexican side Zacatepec, at the Riada Stadium, Ballymoney today in the Milk Cup Junior Section, in what proved to be a routine victory for the boys in yellow.
Antrim, backed by a crowd of local supporters started brightly, and began to exert their dominance over the game. An early freekick gave them the lead within five minutes, with Zacatepec Goalkeeper Emmanuel (Manzo Lara) parrying a shot out to Antrim leftback Jack O’Mahony, who made no mistake in beating the ‘keeper to open the scoring. Around five minutes later, things went from bad to worse for Zacatepec when Caolan Boyd Munce scored a well placed freekick to double the local team’s lead, as their Mexican opposition were once again, outdone by a setpiece. The match itself became a more physical affair, with plenty of tackles and scuffles on the pitch, the referee having to have words with several players, whilst Zacatepec’s management team were particularly vocal throughout the half.
Zacatepec improved after the break, following stern words from their coach, who sat them down on the pitch during the interval, as opposed to taking them to the changing rooms. Despite this improvement, Antrim’s dominance could be seen throughout the second half, as they continued to enjoy more possession, whilst also remaining defensively solid, with captain, Aaron Donnelly impressing. Zacatepec were again undone by another freekick, which was met by the head of Matthew Shannon, who headed the ball into the met with ease. Antrim then had a chance to kill the game off again, but Paul O’Neill was unfortunate not to slide the ball past the advancing Zacatepec Goalkeeper. A comfortable game for County Antrim, who dominated during today’s game.
Nathan Thompson
Twitter: @theNatthompso14