Belfast Boys Model, the holders of the inspiresport Senior Cup, showed that they have no intention of relinquishing their grasp on the trophy but they had to battle all the way to overcome Ashfield 4-3 in a thrilling third round encounter.

St Columb's College has been the most successful school in the Senior Cup, lifting the coveted trophy three times in the past five years.  A trip to Lisburn to take on Fort Hill looked to be a daunting task but St Columb's came away with a hard fought 2-nil success.

Biggest winners in the third round were St Joseph's who put seven goals past Grosvenor without reply.  They were runners up 3 years ago and look to be a force to be reckoned with once again.

Results in the third round were

The remaining ties to be completed this week are

Northern Ireland were unable to keep hold of their stunning comeback against Norway as they had to settle for a 4-4 draw.

A Leo Brown inspired Under 16’s turned around a 2-0 deficit to go 4-2 ahead but two late from the visitors left them the happier of the two sides.

Northern Ireland started the brighter on a glommy afternoon but it was Norway who took the lead. Erling Braut Haland shot from the edge of the box took a deflection to give keeper Rory Brown little chance.

Norway gained confidence from their lead and scored a second straight after through Erik Bother, but his effort was disallowed for offside 

However, Norway wouldn’t be denied a second time as Haldor Stenevik was able to convert a pull back from Ali Anas Farah.

It looked like staying that way till half time, but a great pass from Ethan Warnock found Leo Brown who calmly slotted in to reduce the deficit to one.

Leo Brown was involved again just safter half time as his run and pass into the area found fellow striker O’Neill who had the simple job of tapping in to complete the comeback.

Norway would score once again but for a second time their efforts were thwarted by the linesman’s flag which they were made to pay for by man of the match Leo Brown.

The striker once again beat the Norway defence and his selfless cross found Harry Robinson to give them the lead for the first time.

That wouldn’t be the end of the action with Leo Brown in the mood for more. Another run by the pacy striker gave him the chance to setup substitute Alex McIImail who chipped over the onrushing keeper to give the Under 16’s a beforehand unimaginable 4-2 lead.

Norway continued to push and found their third goal through fortunate circumstances as Rory Brown couldn’t stop the ball from being put past him by his own player.

And the unthinkable occurred just two minutes later as Norway also turned round a two goal deficit. A calm finish from inside the area from captain Colin Rosler was too much for Brown and levelled it up at 4-4.

NI U16’s: Rory Brown, Sean Wallace, Ethan Warnock, Ian Maxwell, Aaron Donnelly, Luke Ferguson ©, Jordan McEneff, Harry Robinson, Jack Chambers, Leo Brown, Paul O’Neill. Subs Used: Josh Tipping, Andrew Scott, Alex McIImail, Barney McKeown,

NOR U16’s: Klausson, Rimestad, Daland, Sandberg, Rosler ©, Stenevik, Haland, Botheim, Hove, Bjaamer, Farah. Subs Used: Ugland, Uran, Hansen, Krygaard,

The Northern Ireland Under 16 team is expecting a stern test in their contests against Norway this week.  The teams meet at Queens Malone Playing Fields on Tuesday, kick off 2.00pm, while Solitude is the venue for the second encounter two days later, also with a 2.00pm start.

Under 16 Manager Declan Devine is relishing the prospect of taking on Norway.  "The boys benefited greatly from the early season encounters with Finland and Poland and produced a great improvement in their display in the Victory Shield recently.  This is the first time that Norway has played here and it will be interesting to judge ourselves against them as they have gone up in the world rankings" added Devine.

Naturally the Manager retains the squad which finished as runners up in the Victory Shield two weeks ago.  Missing, however, are midfielder Ethan Galbraith who was injured in the win over Scotland while Liverpool winger Reece McGinley is unavailable.  Grosvenor goalkeeper Scott Pengally, who is a year young, is included for the first time.

Captain of the Norwegian team is Colin Rosler, who is the son of former Leeds United Manager Uwe Rosler and is a member of the Manchester City Academy.

The Northern Ireland Schools’ Football Association is offering free entrance to any school or youth group wishing to attend these games.  Any group wishing to gain free entrance should send their details by email to Edwin Ferris, NISFA Treasurer, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to obtain a group permit.