STUDENT TOMAS EARNS TOP MARKS FOR GREAT STRIKE

BILLY YOULE hailed a wonder goal from Tomas Mccaffrey as UUJ moved three points clear at the top of 1B with a 3-1 defeat of Dromara Village. The victory was a fourth in five league outings, and their best to date for Youle, coming against a side which challenged for promotion last season. A Philip Simpson brace put the students in the driving seat, but it was Mccaffrey’s stunner which stole the show, with Youle describing it as fit to grace any game. He said: “The ball bounced into him and he took a touch and lifted it over their centre half’s head and onto his weak foot and he just caught it on the half volley, sweet as a nut from about 25 yards and nearly broke the top corner. “When he lifted it over his head, I thought, right, he has space to run into, just run in and slot it home. “But he just pinged it into the top corner, the keeper couldn’t do anything but watch it. “When Tomas first came to us – he’s been here about a year – I thought he was a winger. “But I asked him and he said he only started playing wide during his last few months at St Mary’s, but he’s very tricky so I played him centre forward against Ballynahinch United and he scored two. “And then he’s played centre forward the last two games and been the best player on the pitch. “He’s playing up there with Dom Melly who has been unbelievable, so he’s helping him a lot because everything that goes to Dom sticks, and he’s bouncing wee one-twos off him to get him in. “But the goal Tomas scored was unbelievable.” Despite their strong start to the season, Youle feels there is plenty of room for improvement, warning his table-toppers against complacency. “We’ve had a good start apart from the Mossley game,” explained the UUJ chief. “We came into that game after winning six and scoring loads of goals and not conceding, but our boys were just too confident. “We should have been about three up but when we didn’t take them, we never gave ourselves a foundation to build on, we never set our stall out because that’s what we have been doing. “We’ve been making ourselves really hard to beat first and foremost.”