A couple of weeks ago I reported that first-year scholar Matt Ball had been selected to represent Northern Ireland under-17s in the Elite stage of the UEFA under-17 European Championships, I am delighted to report that Matt played a big part in all three matches of the Elite phase.
Northern Ireland were the hosts of the group which meant all group matches would take place at various football stadiums around Northern Ireland. They had been drawn in the same group as Poland, Belgium and Spain - who had won the tournament three times in the previous four years.
Their first fixture was against pre-tournament favourites Spain, Matt started the game in midfield but was unable to stop a very strong Spanish side from securing a 4-0 win.
The second game was against Poland and if they were to stand any chance of qualifying for the finals of the competition, Northern Ireland had to win.
It was to be a very tight contest and with just 10 minutes left on the clock, Matt topped off what was a good performance by scoring what proved to be the winning goal of the game. With the opposition unable to clear a corner, Matt was on hand to fire the ball into the Polish net to set up a nervous final ten minutes, they defended well and deservedly won the game.
Their final group match was against Belgium, who had defeated Spain in their previous match. Matt and his team-mates produced an excellent performance to beat the Belgians 1-0 on the night, meaning they finished joint top of the group.
Only one team from each group qualifies for the final stages of the tournament, and unfortunately Spain had a slightly better goal difference than Northern Ireland and Matt and his team-mates just missed out.
I have received good reports on Matt's performances from the staff at Northern Ireland and I am sure he will have benefited a great deal from taking part in the matches against differing footballing cultures. Hopefully Matt will continue to be involved in more international matches of this kind in the future.
Enjoy the game.
Ricky Martin
Academy Manager
