East End Triumph in Tynemet Rangers Cup
Newcastle East End Whites put in a dominant display against Newcastle City Juniors Milan with goals from Liam Paul, Ben Ramsey and a hat-trick from Corey McKeown to get their hands on the Tynemet College U16 Rangers Cup for 2017/18.
East End started the final how then intended to finish - retaining most of the possession in the early stages which led to the first chance of the game, Jackson Ward turning his man and switching to teammate Ben Ramsey to cut inside and force a low save out of Arron Stevens in the 10th minute.
Milan seemed to shake off any pre-match nerves after failing to get a foot on the ball in the early stages, but it was East End who struck first on 21 minutes – Corey McKeown latching onto a flick on by Jackson Ward and finishing smartly over the ‘keepers head to give his team the lead.
Shook after going one behind, East End capitalised on Milan’s vulnerable state and smashed in another goal high into the roof of the net on 31 minutes – credit to a well worked one-two between Liam Paul and Jackson Ward.
Kieron Tullen nearly brought one back before the half time whistle, outmuscling his man and fizzing a shot just wide of the post from outside the box, giving East End a two goal advantage going into the break.
After an early misplaced volley from Jackson Ward from outside the area, Milan pushed for a goal early in the second half as Daniel McGrane wreaked havoc down the left flank with his pace and trickery – just failing at the final hurdle as his heavy pass to Joe Nicholl in the box was too much for the frontman to control.
This led to a one-on-one between Jackson Ward and Arron Stevens at the other end, Ward granted acres of space, but the Milan defence doing superbly well to track back and block any chance of a third goal.
The Cup final was end to end in the final 40 minutes, Milan having the ball in the back of the net, only for it to be brought back for offside with little complaint from the team in black and white.
But the game turned on 61 minutes when Milan goalkeeper Arron Stevens went down following a collision in a packed box and had to be substituted for outfield player Charlie Grieveson.
Corey McKeown took advantage of the situation with eight minutes remaining and added to his tally, tapping the ball past Grieveson when through on goal to put the game beyond doubt.
It was a chaotic end to the game as Milan converted a penalty late on to spark a late comeback before this was cancelled out by two East End goals in injury time. Firstly, Ben Ramsey from the left hand side, then who other but Corey McKeown from the spot for his hat-trick.
After the full six minutes of added time, a passionate Harvey Dickson lifted the Tynemet College Rangers U16 Cup for Newcastle East End Whites – the final score a comfortable 5-1 victory at Whitley Park and a brilliant display of football from both sides.
Newcastle City Juniors Milan: Stevens, Blenkinsop, Hutchinson, Walker, Grieveson, Wombwell, Tullen, Fawcett, Clavert, Nicholl, Dart
Subs: Preen, Missier, Walton, Edgar, McGrane
Newcastle East End Whites: Stewart, Croft, McHarg, Wade, Davy, Paul, Dickson, Black, McKeown, Ward, Ramsey
Subs: Baty, Hepburn, Soper