MATCH REPORT : YOUNG TERRORS TAKE ALL THREE POINTS IN BREATHLESS WIN IN PAISLEY

ST MIRREN 3
DUNDEE UNITED 4
CAS UNDER-18S ELITE LEAGUE
19:00 FRIDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER
ST MIRREN TRAINING COMPLEX

The Young Terrors were on the road for the first time this season, Paisley the destination as a clash with newly promoted St Mirren awaited.

Last Time Out
 
United were punished for a slow start last Friday as Hamilton Accies took all three points back to Lanarkshire thanks to two goals inside the opening 21 minutes, Samuel Cleall-Harding finding the net on his return from injury not enough to claw his side back into the contest.
 

Line-Up

Ryan Moon made two changes to the side defeated by Accies, defenders Liam Trotter and Cleall-Harding dropping out of the squad all together as Keir Bertie paired Arron Donald in the centre of the back four.
 
Bryan Mwangi made his first start since recovering from a long-term ankle knock, deployed in a deep midfield two with Craig Moore rather than the wide role to which he is accustomed, whilst 2007-born Ollie Simpson made his competitive Young Terrors debut.
 
Further up the park, Alan Domeracki supported Rory MacLeod in the hole and Adam Carnwath and Stuart Heenan operated off the flanks.
 
Midfield duo Mwangi and Moore looked to execute sharp combinations with their defenders when looking to break the first line of St Mirren’s press, drawing the opposition’s front four narrow to open space for attacking-minded full-backs Simpson and Sean Borland.
 
At the other end, the Buddies looked to find the feet of target man Owen Foster at the earliest possible opportunity, with the 16-year-old attempting to bring others into play with his back to goal.

Sharp Start
 
Just six minutes had elapsed when the deadlock was broken, United drawing first blood through Andrew Gaffney who misjudged a Simpson cross from the left and glanced the ball into his own net from 12 yards.
 
Simpson was once again at the heart of things soon after, lofting the ball into the box for Domeracki to pluck out the sky but Gaffney raced over to snuff out the danger, partially redeeming himself for his early blunder.
 
Gaffney then had a chance of his own on 27 minutes, meeting Ethan Sutherland’s deep corner but the Saints’ number five could only find the roof of the net with his looping header.
 
The Young Terrors hit back, the tenacious Borland winning a 50/50 with Ryan Porter in the middle of the park which broke to Carnwath who in turn found Heenan making a run in between the centre-halfs. Diminutive winger Heenan raced towards the area unchallenged but perhaps pulled the trigger too early as his miscued effort trundled well wide of the target.
 

Visitors Rising

The hosts began to turn up the heat on United, launching the ball down the centre of the pitch in an attempt to find a chink in the tangerine armour, and eventually they found it. A second ball dropped to Porter 35 yards from goal and he dinked into the box for livewire Elliot Dunlop to cushion into the bottom corner beyond onrushing United stopper McCabe eight minutes before the break.
 
Domeracki found himself on the end of a fierce MacLeod cross from the left but the unmarked United man failed to test the keeper with an unorthodox effort with his thigh.

Back In The Driver's Seat
 
After the break, Moon’s men regained control of proceedings, probing for a way through a compact and deep Saint Mirren backline. MacLeod looked to pick up pockets in the left-half space in which to swing teasing crosses into the middle with his wand of a left foot however a tangerine shirt failed to connect with his deliveries on multiple occasions.

Mwangi Magic
 
It took a piece of magic from Mwangi to unlock the Paisley's outfit’s firmly shirt door 12 minutes after the restart. The midfielder received on the half-turn more than 40 yards from goal and began to dance beyond multiple despairing challenges, eventually being challenged just outside the area having taken more than five Buddies out of the game.
 
The loose ball ran through to Heenan in acres of space, but his first-time strike was saved by Evan Anderson’s feet. Luckily, the rebound fell for Carnwath who confidently buried it into the empty net, reinstating a deserved lead for the Young Terrors.
 
Connor May could’ve doubled the United lead on 65 minutes when he connected with a Borland cross from close-range following quick combination play with Mwangi but the substitute’s effort lacked the requisite power to trouble Anderson between the sticks.
 
It was almost three when MacLeod stood the ball up to the back post for Bertie to bullet goalward following a short corner routine, but somehow Saints stopper Anderson managed to acrobatically paw the United defender’s header onto the bar.

Saints Strike Again
 
Against the run of play, the home side equalised. United pressed hard into a corner but Callum Penman managed to play a sharp one-two with Potter to escape the clutches of Simpson and strode forward with the ball. The full-back would send Shaun Phinn through on goal and he made no mistake, sending a perfectly weighted lob over McCabe from 30 yards.
 
Soon after, Rory MacLeod had the opportunity to put his team back into the lead from the spot after Mwangi was felled in the area by a rash challenge from Evan Mooney, but the 16-year-old uncharacteristically cannoned his penalty back off the underside of the bar.
 
Opportunities for Saints began to open on the counter as United pushed for a winner, with Dunlop hitting the woodwork from close-range after an exquisite Cruyff Turn from Potter took more than five opponents out of the game completely, allowing the midfielder time to spray the ball wide for Penman to whip into the corridor of uncertainty.
 
The visitors failed to heed this warning though, and Potter caressed a 20-yard strike into the bottom right corner with eight minutes to play following a rapid fast-break, Foster’s hold-up play pivotal in keeping the chance alive as he used his physicality to fend off Donald’s advances.

Grandstand Finish

 
However, just 60 seconds after falling behind, the pendulum swung back in favour of the Young Terrors. From kick-off, Bertie sent a route one ball down the middle and St Mirren failed to clear their lines, opportunist Adam Carnwath on hand to stroke across the face of goal for Heenan to turn home as he ran across Gaffney’s blind side. A rapid response from Moon’s men.
 
It was two in quick succession as striker Connor May hit a late winner after coming off the bench to great effect. May used his pace to latch onto a lofted pass over the top from Borland, beating the onrushing keeper to the ball and bundling his way past him, leaving the sub with the simplest of tasks to roll into the unguarded net.
 
There was time for one more chance in a thrilling contest at Ralston, an audacious Rabona from MacLeod setting May free but he rolled the ball off the post from an acute angle, MacLeod then stinging the palms of Anderson after Heenan recycled the rebound.
 
A deserved three points in a never-say-die showing from the U18s as they claim their second win of the Cas Under-18s Elite League season in dramatic fashion.
 
Teamlines
 
St Mirren: Anderson, Penman, Sambi, Delvin, Gaffney, Porter, Dunlop, Montagu, Foster, Grady, Sutherland (Kelly, Logue, Phinn, Hutchison, Mooney)
 
United: McCabe, Borland, Simpson, Bertie, Donald, Mwangi, Heenan, Moore, MacLeod, Domeracki, Carnwath (Haldane, May, Lowe, Emslie, Cameron)