St Brigid’s U10s produced a sparkling display of football on Saturday week last when they joined such illustrious names as Crossmaglen Rangers, Lavey, Burren and Enniskillen Gaels in the history books by winning the prestigious Newry Mitchels Plate tournament.
Bathed in resplendent sunshine, the pitches were a panoply of colour as over 40 teams from Ulster and Leinster descended on Newry to do battle for their clubs. The change in format from the 10-a-side of previous years to the full 15-a-side came as a welcome relief to the St Brigid’s mentors who had a difficult balancing act in ensuring match action for 20 eager children.
St Brigid’s were initially pitted against Newry Shamrock’s, Banbridge and Ballyholland from Co. Down, along with St Peter’s, Lurgan and Carrickcruppin from Armagh, in a tight qualifying group that saw some titanic struggles.
With a reminder of the self-inflicted damage of previous slow starts ringing in their ears, St Brigid’s were quickly out of the traps. The early signs were promising with a confident victory over Banbridge in their opening fixture. But a reality check was lurking around the corner when complacency and lack of concentration proved fatal and the team went down to a well-drilled St Peter’s side. Suitably chastened, St Brigid’s redeemed themselves immediately with a more disciplined performance that proved decisive against a skillful Newry Shamrock’s team.
With the news coming through from other results that only wins from the final two group games would ensure qualification, the squad steeled themselves for the job in hand. In a nail-biting struggle that saw just three scores, St Brigid’s edged a strong Ballyholland side by single point to pave the way for success in the final group game against Carrickcruppen.
Group results
St Brigid’s 4:6 Banbridge 1:1
St Brigid’s 0:1 St Peter’s Lurgan 2:1
St Brigid’s 2:3 Newry Shamrocks 0:2
St Brigid’s 0:2 Ballyholland 0:1
St Brigid’s 1:7 Carrickcruppen 1:2
Quarter-Final
St Brigid’s secured a favourable quarter-final draw when they were pitched up against the wild card qualifiers Carrickcruppen whom they had already defeated in the Group Stage. Nonetheless, there was no room for complacency as the tournament had now gone into sudden death. But by this stage the team had settled into a rhythm and was continuing to play with great heart. A strong central spine of Niall Lundy, Kevin McGovern, Dominic Mooney and James Guinness was the foundation for an eventually comfortable win over a spirited Carrickcruppen side, with decisive goals from Mooney and Hugh O’Connor.
Final score: St Brigid’s 2:5 Carrickcruppen 0:1
Semi-Final
There was now a real sense within the camp that St Brigid’s could be in contention for the honours. Only Shane O’Neill’s Camlough lay between the southsiders and a place in the Plate final.
The first half was evenly balanced before an excellent goal from Shane Moran and a brace of superb points from the irrepressible James Guinness gave St Brigid’s breathing space with a five-point lead at half time. However, the second half saw a complete turnaround with the south Armagh side gaining a stranglehold of the game and penning the city boys back in their last third, grabbing two points in the process to leave just a single score between the side. Worse luck was to follow as an injury to the influential Daniel Rainey, who was to take no further part, piled further pressure on a beleaguered defence. The St Brigid’s faithful had to endure a nervous last few minutes before the relieving final whistle sent their heroes into the final.
Final score: St Brigid’s 1:4 Shane O’Neill’s Camlough 0:4
The team then had a brief opportunity to size up their final opponents as the other semi-final between Bailieborough from Cavan and Oliver Plunkett’s Drogheda had gone into extra time. But on the evidence of play, it was clear that whichever side prevailed would provide St Brigid’s with the sternest test of all.
Final
The final against Bailieborough was a gripping affair from start to finish and the partisan supporters and proud parents who lined the pitch created a tremendous sporting atmosphere.
Playing with a slight wind advantage in the first half, the Cavan boys made a bright start, scoring an excellent point from play from the throw-in. However, St Brigid’s responded almost immediately when James Guinness burst through the opposition defence to split the posts and level affairs. Incredibly, despite a more-than-even share of possession, St Brigid’s could not add to their single tally and found themselves five points adrift at the interval, having squandered some decent opportunities before falling to a late sucker-punch goal.
To their credit, the team picked themselves up and took the field for the second half with a steely determination and belief that the deficit could be overcome… with a supreme final effort. On the restart Kaolan McAllister made an immediate impact with a well-taken point to give heart to the faithful. A minute later, the game was blown wide open when a well-worked move from defence saw Peter Morgan calmly slot home from close range to reduce the margin to a single point. This sent St Brigid’s confidence levels soaring and they quickly took a stranglehold of the game indeed, it seemed inevitable that an equalizer was only a matter of time.
But a combination of poor finishing, the woodwork (on countless occasions) and some heroic defending prevented further scores by St Brigid’s as the final minutes ticked away. Meanwhile Bailieborough were seeking to add to their own tally but were continually thwarted by O’Sullivan, O’Kane and Mooney, who had been moved into defence and was giving an exhibition of overhead catching.
The game had gone into its final minute when the ball was worked wide from midfield to Peter Morgan who immediately launched it into the danger zone. The St Brigid’s support held its collective breath as Hugh O’Connor gained possession on the edge of the square. The net bulged as the ball squeezed through a forest of defenders to an explosion of joy and relief from one side of the pitch. There was barely time for Bailieborough to respond before the final whistle went amid euphoric celebrations. Then it was time for well-deserved ice creams all round before the formalities, when a beaming Kevin McGovern proudly held the Plate aloft.
Final score: St Brigid’s 2:2 Bailieborough 1:3
St Brigid’s: K. McGovern, D. Rainey, J. O’Kane, T. Evans, N. Lundy, F. McKernan, P. O’Sullivan, D. Mooney, P. O’Boyle, C. Moran, S. Moran, J. Guinness, P. Morgan, H O’Connor, J. Cunnane, K. McAllister, E. Maguire, V. Harkin, D. McMenamin, R. McKernan.
Well done to all the children who took part over the course of the day. Their passion and skill throughout did themselves and their club proud. Great credit must also go to Newry Mitchels, referees and stewards for the tremendous organisation and professionalism that ensured that a tournament on such a scale went without a glitch.
Upcoming U10s fixtures: Jack McCartan Cup, Preliminary Round
Saturday, 24June 10.00am-12.00pm at St Paul’s, Shaws Road
St Brigid’s v St Paul’s
St Brigid’s v St John’s
This competition will be played over three consecutive weekends. Each club must field two teams of 11 players. Games will be 11-a-side, with Team A and Team B from respective clubs playing at the same time. Combined scores for Team A and B against an opposing club will be added together to determine the winner. Names will be taken at Sunday training.
