Our u12 boys performed brilliantly at the annual Carryduff tournament, winning the main Terry Lawlor Cup competition and reaching the semi-final of the shield. This event attracted teams from all over Ulster and gave our lads an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best clubs from Down, Tyrone, Derry and Donegal.
In the group stages, the Cup squad eased past the Moy, Maghera and Naomh Mhuire from Donegal, before coming from behind in the deciding match to beat a strong Carryduff team by 5 points. The knock out games produced some wonderful football and great excitement.
The Shield team which had also topped its group with wins against Carryduff, Enniskillen and St Eunans, lost narrowly to Naomh Mhuire in the semi final. The boys played great football in the first half, but a couple of quick goals late in the second turned this game on its head, but the boys will be very encouraged by the high level of performance.
In the Cup semi-finals the boys encountered a very talented team from Donegal. This was a really tight game, which we edged by 2 points to set up a final clash with Enniskillen Gaels, easily the most physically big team in the competition. Watched by a big crowd, including some very nervous parents, the final proved to be a fitting show piece for this tournament with end-to-end football, some heroic defending and great scores. A feature of this team is that they have tremendous character and didn’t lie down when Enniskillen surged 2 points clear with 5 minutes to go. In a grandstand finale, late points by Harry O’Connor and Ronan Agnew brought the game into sudden death extra time. Following a lovely forward move the ball was worked back out to Ronan Agnew, who stroked it over from 30 yards to clinch an exciting end to this prestigious event.
This was a real chance for our u12 lads to see how they match up against top players from other counties and they didn’t let us down! The future is bright. Well done boys.
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