Chelsea opened up their Junior Milk Cup bid with a narrow victory over Danish side Brondby 1-0 at Ballymena last night.

George Bowerman’s stunning goal from the edge of the penalty area decided the contest.

Everton got the better of County Antrim in a five-goal thriller. After a scoreless first half Ross Barkley found the net twice and Hallam Hope added a third for the Toffees Francis McCaffrey and Michael Roddy replied for the Ulster boys.

Nigel Talbot’s Tyrone terrors weighed in with an upset, handing former champions Swindon Town a shock defeat on the opening day. The County kids came up trumps against the 2006 winners with Stuart Glasgow and Dillon Arnold finding the net.

Today the local side faces Watford who will be desperate to secure a result after losing to Rosenborg. The English side twice found the net through Michael Kalu and Charles Kasler but the Norwegians reeled in all three points with Jonas Svensson, Kim Riksvold and Ole Kristian Langas on target.

Paul Ritchie was delighted with the performance of his County Down players as they chalked up a 2-0 victory against Mexico’s Necaxa. The Ulster boys took the lead after 16 minutes from a Michael McLellan penalty and ensured success with a second strike two minutes from the end, deliv

ered by Luke Wilson who converted Johnny Kernoghan’s cross at the back post.

The result sets them up nicely for this afternoon’s second qualifier against Plymouth Argyle who ended up losing out 2-1 to Queen of the South yesterday. Luke Young scored for the Pilgrims but goals from James McHarrie and Dean Thompson clinched it for the Scots. However, Clyde couldn’t make it a Scottish double, losing 2-0 to County Armagh. Gerry McKee’s star turn was Paul Brown who delivered a double.

A solitary strike from Paddy McBrearty was enough to hand Donegal Schools success against Qatar’s Aspire, while second half goals from Andre Landell and Zele Ismail made it a winning start for Wolves against County Londonderry. Maccabi Tel Aviv opened up with a 4-1 result against Dundalk Schoolboys.

Mauro Costa and Lorenzo Faravelli scored for Argentina’s impressive Club Jorge Griffa in their 2-0 success over County Fermanagh. Crumlin United, beaten finalists in 2006, lost to Maccabi Haifa.