On Saturday 1st August a depleted St Brigids u10 football squad assembled at the YMCA for the long journey to An Riocht in south Down. With the holiday season in full swing the management struggled to gather 11 players and but for a last minute call up for Thomas McCarney the journey to south Down would have been made with one player short.
With thirty teams in attendance the clubs were divided into groups of five, with six teams in each group. St Brigids matched against opposition from Atticall, St Michaels, St Johns, Ballyholland and Kilcoo.
Match 1: St Brigids v Atticall
First game in the group for St Brigids got underway shortly before 11am against Atticall. The game started with some good passages of play from both teams – with Atticall dominating most of the possession. It was evident that the team had not played any football in the previous 4 weeks. The dominance of the Down side was shown on the score board with a powerful shot beating Luke O’Sullivan in the St Brigids goal. After a good half time talk from coach Damian the boys in blue came out for the second period with a renewed vigour and it wasn’t long before Phelim Lennon opened their scoring with a good point from a free. St Brigids had now a renewed belief with Oran Boyle and Callum Herity strong at the back, whilst up front Rory Brolly and Stephen Quinn were causing problems for the opposition defence. St Brigids were dominating play and had a series of good scoring chances, but failed to register on the score board. With full time fast approaching they launched another attack on the Atticall goal with the ball breaking to Phelim Lennon who drove the ball low and hard to the Atticall net. This proved to be the crucial score and with less than a minute remaining the Belfast boys held out for a victory in their first game. Final score St Brigids 1-1 Atticall 1-0.
Match 2: St Brigids v Ballyholland
After a short break and a shower of rain, second up in the group stage was the local challenge of Ballyholland. From the outset it was clear this would be a very stiff challenge for the boys from Belfast against the physically stronger lads from Ballyholland. The game got underway with Ballyholland dominating the early possession around the midfield area. Their dominance was reflected on the scoreboard as they opened up a lead of 1-1 to no score. Ben Power and John Toner were battling hard at mid filed against physically stronger opponents and they managed to set up some good scoring opportunities, which St Brigids failed to take advantage of. Ballholland finished the half by adding a further point to lead b 1-2 to no score. Once again St Brigids were facing an uphill struggle in the second half – but once again the team raised their performance. At the back Brian McCarty and Conor Kelly got to grips with their opposite numbers and sniffed out a number of attacks. Phelim Lennon brought St Brigids back into the game with a fine point and shortly afterwards the same player flicked a high dropping ball to the Ballyholland net to set up a great finish. However in the final few minutes Ballyholland increased the tempo again ad finished strongly with a goal to leave the full-time score St Brigids 1-1 Ballyholland 2-2.
Match 3: St Brigids v Kilcoo
With one win and one defeat St Brigids took the field for a third time against Kilcoo in what turned out to be a very tight and exciting game between two teams who would ultimately top the group. Unlike in the previous two games St Brigids got off to a good start with Oran Boyle, operating at midfield, registering a fine long range point. However Kilcoo quickly hit back with a goal and a point to take the lead. The football was flowing end to end, with the St Brigids full forward line of Rory Brolly and Thomas McCarney causing a lot of problems with the Kilcoo defence. The second period got underway with Kilcoo registering a further point, before Phelim Lennon registered with a fine point from play. Ben Power, who had reverted to goals kept St Brigids hopes alive a some good saves. Likewise, in defence Conor Kelly was proving to be a real rock repelling numerous Kilcoo attacks. As time was running out Luke O’Sullivan launched an attack by delivering an inch perfect pass to John Toner who turned to place a great pass to Rory Brolly on the edge of the square. Rory took full advantage of the opportunity and drove the ball low to the Kilcoo net. With less than a minute remaining a solitary point separated the teams. St Brigids continued to drive forward in search of an equalising or wining score, however Kilcoo managed to hold out. Final score St Brigids 1-2 Kilcoo 1-3.
Match 4: St Brigids v St Johns
With two defeats it looked as though St Brigids would be heading to the Shield (2nd tier) or the Plate (3rd tier) for the knock out phase. However if the team were to stand any chance of making the Cup competition (1st tier), then a win in their next game was essential.
The team from St Brigids were aware of the importance of dominating the game from the outset, however despite dominating play the failed to register on the score board. Callum Herity and Brian McCarthy were in complete control in defence, while Oran Boyle in midfield and Thomas McCarney upfront had the better of their markers. The dominance of St Brigids eventually made its way to the score board when Stephen Quinn crashed an unstoppable shot to the St Johns net. The second period followed the pattern of the first with St Brigids dominating, but failing to register on the score board. As the half wore on Phelim Lennon, with his third goal in four games, effectively ended the game. However St Johns we not about to let the game slip by easily and mounted a series of attacks. However the St Brigids defence were in no mood to let them back into the game and held the opposition to a solitary point. Final score St Brigids 2-0 St Johns 0-1.
Match 5: St Brigids v St Micheals
With two wins and two defeats St Brigids took the field for the final group game knowing a victory would secure a place in the Shield competition and depending on the score difference might even see them reach the Cup competition. With a reshuffle of the playing positions Callum Herity moved to midfield, John Toner to full back and Stephen Quinn to half back, St Brigids started the game with all guns blazing. Rory Brolly opened the scoring with a fine point, which was quickly followed by a point from Oran Boyle. St Brigids were dominating all sectors and in particular Stephen Quinn at half back who was in front of his man for every ball and setup a series of attacks. Equally at midfield Callum Herity was utilising his physical strength to gain a lot of possession. As the half wore on St Brigids consolidated their control on the game when Rory Brolly crashed the ball to the net. As the second period got underway Rory Brolly put the Belfast side further ahead with a fine point from distance. With St Brigids practically camped in the St Micheals half, Phelim Lennon continued his goal scoring streak when he found the net for the fourth time in the tournament. With full time approaching Rory Brolly made the result an absolute certainty when he found the net to round off his best game of the day and a man-of-the-match performance. Final score St Brigids 3-2 St Micheals 0-0.
Cup Competition: St Brigids v Clonduff A
With the fantastic performance and by registering high score while holding the opposition scoreless in the final game of the league competition St Brigids had qualified for the 1st tier Cup competition. With a quarter final draw against local team Clonduff A, St Brigids knew they faced a very stiff challenge.
A much physically bigger Clonduff dominated the early stages of the game and took the lead through an unfortunate “scrambled” goal and quickly tagged on a point from play. However for the closing period of the first half St Br
igids gained the upper hand, but unfortunately didn’t translate this to the score board. The second half got underway with Clonduff again attacking strongly and extended their lead with a goal and a point. Despite battling hard the lads from St Brigids could not break down the strong Clonduff defence. Clonduff closed out the game with a further point to run out deserved winners on a score line of 2-3 to 0-1.
As it proved this was a game too far for the team from St Brigids who had played a full one hour of football throughout the afternoon with the bare minimum of 11 players and no available substitutes. Throughout the course of the day the lads had shown great determination playing against quality opposition in the group and knockout stages of the tournament. At all stages the squad showed great determination, skill and most importantly respect for their opposition, the referee and the team coaches. With a great squad spirit and high level of skill the team have plenty to be proud of by reaching the quarter final of the Cup competition. Well done to the full squad for a great performance.
A special thanks to the coaches – Damian Power & Oliver Lennon for taking the children to An Riocht and for their positive encouragement throughout.
The squad and scorers on the day were: Luke O’Sullivan, Conor Kelly, Brian McCarthy, Callum Herity, Oran Boyle (0-2), Ben Power, John Toner, Phelim Lennon (4-3), Rory Brolly (3-2), Thomas McCarney, Stephen Quinn (1-0).
