P5’s do their club proud at St Gall’s May Day tournament
The St Brigid’s P5 squad caused shock waves throughout Belfast football circles by reaching the final of the annual St Gall’s May Day tournament and only losing narrowly to a well-drilled St John’s outfit. This is the blue riband annual event for this age group and attracted teams from the top 16 clubs in the greater Belfast area. Last year Naomh Bríd won the Shield title at the same tournament. This year’s squad was determined to build on that success and set themselves a target of qualifying for the Cup competition.
Qualifying rounds:
In the qualifying round robin games St Brigid’s ended up in a tough group with St John’s (eventual winners), local rivals Bredagh and a determined St Paul’s outfit.
St Brigid’s 5-5 St Paul’s 0-0
The opening game saw a convincing victory for Naomh Bríd. They quickly developed their shape and rhythm and took their scoring chances with coolness and precision. Most impressive was the willingness to pick off points when the chances came, even in the second half when the game seemed well won. Matthew McBride and Abigail Carleton showed a particularly cool head in front of goal.
St John’s 0-6 St Brigid’s 0-0
A wake up call in the second game. St John’s brought physical presence and a high skill level to their midfield and their forward and back lines were able to feed off this midfield dominance. This was no surprise as they had scored a comprehensive win in their first game over Bredagh. Their points were evenly spread through the game and there was no question of the Naomh Bríd panel giving up even to the final whistle.
St Brigid’s 5-0 Bredagh 2-2
The crunch game featured local friends and rivals Bredagh. This would decide whether we would compete in the Cup or Shield competition. We knew all about Bredagh’s playing and organisational skills having shared a coaching day with them during last year’s Summer Scheme. Bredagh did not disappoint and in fact took an early lead. However the Naomh Bríd boys didn’t panic and calmly created and took their scoring chances. The finish was tense but great defensive and goalkeeping displays maintained the margin and St Brigid’s had achieved their first target of getting into the Cup competition.
The knockout stages:
At this stage the St Brigid’s team knew that any game lost would be their last. They were also in uncharted territory, only having seen one of their potential opponents (St John’s) in action before.
Quarter final
St Brigid’s 2-4 Rossa 1-1
A relatively anonymous game with both teams a little nervous knowing what was at stake. St Brigid’s were worthy victors and led from start to finish. This was the confidence boost they needed that they could go all the way at this level of competition.
Semi final
St Brigid’s 3-3 St Gall’s 1-3
Taking on the hosts would never be easy and this was a huge step up for the visitors from South Belfast. The tension among the players was nothing to the tension among the visiting supporters who played every tackle, pass and shooting chance themselves on the sideline. An early lead at half-time was wiped out by a second half onslaught by the home team and suddenly things were all square. Again St Brigid’s faced up to the challenge and two outstanding individual goals by Kealan McAllister and Peter Morgan closed out a tight encounter.
Final
St John’s 2-3 St Brigid’s 1-1
Another tense affair with supporters being banned to behind the crowd barriers (surely a first at this level!). The Naomh Bríd parents, families and friends were the more vocal supporters and gave great heart to the players doing the real work on the pitch. Again St John’s physical strength in midfield was telling, although Dominic Mooney displayed plenty of physical courage and skill in this area to minimise the threat. An early injury to ace goalkeeper Dermot McMenamin meant a hasty reshuffle with Shane Boyle deputising ably. Midfield general James Guinness set up several scoring chances and defended heroically. In the end the result was fair and St John’s were sporting and gracious winners.
The personal qualities shown by this young team bode well for their future. They played each game with determination and cool heads. They defended and tackled ferociously but fairly and were positive ambassadors for their club. The fine turnout of 22 players was a tribute to the club motto: Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh siad. No individual performance was greater than that of the squad as a whole but there were prolific scoring contributions from Rory Smyth and Kealan McAllister, midfield heroics from James Guinness, Dominic Mooney and Peter Morgan and incredible defensive coolness from Finn McKernan, Niall Lundy and Caolan Lynch. Naomh Bríd abú.
Squad: Kevin Ballentine, Shane Boyle, Conor Burns, Abigail Carleton, James Diamond, Edward Gildea, James Guinness, Patrick Herity, Niall Lundy, Caolan Lynch, Henry McAllister, Kealan McAllister, Matthew McBride, Peter McElroy, Finn McKernan, Dermot McMenamin, Dominic Mooney, Peter Morgan, Shea Nancarrow, Neil O’Reilly, Rory Smyth, Eoin Woods
Mentors: Declan Boyle, Fred Smyth, Peter Lynch, Damien Diamond, Niall Herity
