Northern win Inter Regional Shield

The Northern region won the 15’s Scottish Youth FA Inter regional shield when they beat Ayrshire 3-0 in the final held in Tranent on Sunday.

The North boys were never under any pressure from as early as the fifth minute when striker Ryan Whelan cashed in on the Ayrshire defence’s hesitancy to latch on to a loose ball and lob the Ayr keeper to open the scoring.

The North team’s slick passing game carved open the Ayr defence time and again but every chance was scorned until five minutes from halftime when Michael Swan doubled the North’s lead at the second attempt following a save by the Ayr keeper.

The tie was effectively all over as a contest when Ryan Whelan grabbed his second and the North’s third ten minutes into the second half. Good work down the left by Gary Dalgarno allowed Whelan a clear path to goal and the big striker doesn’t miss those kind of opportunities.

The North region Manager Hamish Annand was delighted with his side’s performance. “ At times the boys strung together twenty passes without Ayrshire getting near the ball. Its no wander the Newcastle scout was particularly interested in Michael Swan. But he was just one of number of boys who played at the peak of their ability.”