A cold but dry morning greeted 12 excited players, their parents and the coaches early on Sunday morning. St. Brendan’s Park had been invited to take part in a tournament being organised by Aisling Annacotty and taking place in Limerick. Some of the big name teams from all over the country in schoolboy soccer were going to be taking part and it was going to interesting to see how St. Brendan’s Parks finest would measure up against the likes of St. Josephs Boys and St. Kevin’s from Dublin as well as Rockmount, College Corinthians and Mallow from Cork as well as clubs such as Newbridge, Nenagh, Clonmel and Aisling Annacotty.
St. Brendans Park 1 – 2 Newbridge Town
We were drawn in a tough group with Newbridge and St. Josephs Boys. Our first games was at 11am and with the group games being only 10 minutes a half it was going to be important to get off to a fast start. As it turned out it took a bit of time for both teams to settle into the game but in the first period the Park had the better of the exchanges but couldn’t turn the slight advantage into an advantage on the scoreboard and the sides were level at the break. HT 0-0
The second half started in a similar vein with the Park lads again doing well. However we conceded a goal against the run of play and then conceded quickly again to be 2-0 down in a flash. The boys were having to learn fast and one of the lessons was that mistakes were going to be punished at this level.
This team has character though and went on the offensive. Cianan finished really well to the bottom right hand corner to get us back into the game but time was running out. We came really close to getting a deserved equaliser but it was not to be on this occasion. We had lost the game but spirits were still high given that we had performed well against a good side.
St. Brendans Park 0 – 3 St. Josephs Boys
St. Josephs Boys went on to contest the Cup Final in the tournament but other than a crazy 5 minutes in the second half of this encounter in which St. Josephs scored all three goals, the Park gave every bit as good as they got. The half time score in this one was even at 0-0 and there were very few occasions where our goal was under sustained attack during that half. In the second half we again started well. At times we possibly didn’t move the ball quickly enough because at this level time is not always as available as it may be in the games that we are more used to playing. While not looking like we were going to score we were again not under big pressure when St. Josephs scored their first and like any good team they got a second and a third in quick succession and their was no way back.
Although we had lost our two group games we were confident that the boys were playing well and with a change of fortune could compete well in the Shield.
St. Brendan’s Park 2 – 1 Freebooters
The semi-final was against Freebooters from Kilkenny who had just missed out on second place in their group on penalties. Again we looked to make it hard for ourselves in going 1 – 0 down but again the character of the side shone through. Luck didn’t seem to going our way as we hit the crossbar a couple of times as well as the post. But our luck turned when after a pass from Cianan, Colin stuck a peach into the top corner from distance and we were back in it. From this moment on their was only one team going to win but it was just a matter of whether the goal would come. Cillian was the one who got the vital touch to another ball that had hit the upright to put the lads into a deserved final.
St. Brendan’s Park 5 – 3 Nenagh FC
The final was against a strong Nenagh side who had won their semi-final in emphatic fashion but the boys had played well in all their games and we were hopeful that the day would end on a high. It didn’t look like it though when in the first half the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty to Nenagh following a goalmouth scramble. 1-0 to Nenagh. Not long after it was 2-0 and this while St. Brendan’s Park were playing well.
It was important the the boys responded before the break and after being fouled, Colin got up to place a well struck free kick into the top right corner, back in the game. H.T. 2-1
The second half was not long on when we were back to all square in somewhat fortuitous fashion with Cillian getting the final contact. Game on and looking good. However we conceded another penalty almost straight away for a possible handball. 3-2 down and chasing again.
This time it was the turn of Josh who after a great run finished really well and all square again. St. Brendans Park had scored three but still hadn’t lead in the game. This was to change when Colin played in Darragh who finished with a really strong shot and the excitement was building.
The tie was finally put to bed when Colin got on the end of a cross and lobbed the Nenagh keeper. F.T. 5-3
Shortly afterwards Ben who was captain for the final picked up the Shield on behalf of his teammates and they all received medals.
Its fair to say that everyone enjoyed the day, even the rendition of Uptown Funk on the way home. More importantly the lads played with huge character and no little skill on the day. They were not out of their depth in any way and they hopefully noticed where the little differences are that can be made to their games in order to get to and surpass the level of the very best teams at this age group in the country. Their coaches were proud of the way they played but also proud of how they behaved and represented St. Brendans Park on the day.
Thanks to all the parents that travelled, your help and support is appreciated.
The squad on the day was: Liam Carmody, Jack Kearney, Darragh O’Connor, Sean Hill, Ben Hanafin, Edward Sheehy, Josh Connolly. Cianan Cooney, Colin Doody, Danny Jeffers, Conor Kerins, Cillian Murphy.
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Report and Pictures by P.Doody
