Ribena F.A.I. Schools soccer competition Longford
The first ever Longford Ribena F.A.I. 5 a sides chools soccer competition was held in Flancare park last week.Primary schools in the county were invited to enter teams in the boys and girls competitions. The teams were then grouped according to the number of pupils attending the school. There was keen competition and no shortage of skill on show in all sections.
Girl's A cup
In the girls A cup Ardagh and Melview played the first game. The teams were very evenly matched and were level at 1 1 at half time. In the second half Melview took complete control and went on to win 4 1 with goals from Aoife Darcy, Shannon Woods and Helen Joyce(2).
Melview then took on Clondra who had a strong skillful team. They scored a goal in each half to win 2 0. In the final match in this section Clondra had a comfortable win to become Longford champions in the Girl's A cup. Squad:Muireann Murtagh, Sioran Murtagh,Orla McCormack, Rachel Bourke, Sarah Shannon, Amy Cousins, Rachel Dowd,Caoimhe McManus.
Boy's A cup:
Only 2 teams entered this competition. On the day Clondra coached by Eamonn Shannon proved far too strong for the Gaelscoil running out easy winners by 5 2.
Squad:George McDermott,Ryan McKiernan, Jason Carrig, Gary Egan, Robert Dowd, Patrick Feeney, David Shannon,John Gorman
Girl's B Cup:
Due to the appalling weather conditions it was decided to run this competition on a knockout basis. In the first semi-final Newtownforbes played very well and showed all their experience and put on a very convincing performance by defeating the Gaelscoil by 3 1.
The second semi-final between Killoe and St.Emer's was a very tense affair. Both teams played very well and the match was only decided on penalties. After the first round of the shoot out (-3 penalties each) the teams were still tied at 2 2. Only after 6 penalties each did a sudden death penalty give St.Emers a win by 4 3, exciting stuff! Well done to all involved for keeping your nerve. An anxious St.Emer's coach Carol Hackett watched nervously as she was afraid she would have to step up next!!
The final was also very keenly contested with both teams creating good scoring chances. In the end St.Emer's won 2 1 and they were crowned Girl's B cup Champions.
Boy's B Cup:
The standard of football on display in this competition was very high with all 6 teams very evenly matched. Local F.A.I coach Padraig Nicholson who was referring the competition was very impressed with the level of skill shown by the players.
In section 1 Ardagh (many peoples favourites to win the tournament) played St.Michaels in the opening game. St Michael's provided the first shock of the day by winning 2 1. Coach Niall Gannon was obviously using his experience from last year's competition in Westmeath to good effect.
Next up for Ardagh was St. Emers. They too proved that they were going to be no pushovers by winning 3 1.They had top performers in Séan Hackett, Brian Walshe and Conor Clarke.
The final match in the section between St. Michael's and St. Emers would decide who would top the group. The game ended all square at 2-2 but St. Emer's finished top on goal difference.
In section 2 Melview ( last years winners in the Westmeath section of this competition) played Newtown . The Melview boys coached by Carmel Browne took an early lead with a well taken Christopher McKenna goal. This was followed by constant pressure from the Melview boys but Gavin Kiernan in the Newtown goal pulled off a string of superb saves before half time. In the second half Newtown came more into the game and finally made the break throuhg with a well taken goal by Conor Devlin. Both teams had a number of chances to score the winner but the game finished 1-1.
Killoe were next up for Newtownforbes. Once again this was a very close match. This time stephen McLoughlin opened the scoring for Newtown. They then conceeded a soft goal as a result of a long speculative shot from David Lennon. In the second half Newtown once again took the lead and another brilliant performance from their goalkeeper ensured victory.
The final game in the section was between Melview and Killoe. It was a very tense affair as both teams still had a chance to qualify for the semi-finals.For the second match in a row Melview took an early lead when a passing movement brought them the whole length of the pitch for Daniel Mimnagh to score. Conor Shields then made some fantastic saves to keep Melview's lead intact until the break. Killoe equalised in the 4th minite of the second half with a Patrick Thompson goal.
Melview piled on the pressure but couldn't score again. The match ended 1 1. This meant Newtown topped the group and Melview finished runners up.
The first semi-final was between Newtownforbes and St.Michael's. Newtown passed the ball well and created many scoring chances. In the end their superior fitness and teamwork resulted in a 2-1 victory oveer a gallant St.Michael's team.
The second semi-final was between Melview and St. Emers.
The melview boys had grown in confidence as the competition progressed and they showed great belief in their own ability in this match. They passed accurately and moved the ball quickly. Their tackling skills were also impeccable as time after time a clean tackle prevented their opponents from getting a shoot on target. Most impressive in this area were nathan Clabby Kyle Cronnogue and Daniel Mimnagh. The extra space thir passing created was ably used by Christopher McKenna. He scored two superb goals in the opening minutes. St Emer's could not respond. Early in the 2nd half Nathan Clabby played a one two with Daniel Mimnagh before crashing the ball to the net. Christopher Mc Kenna soon made it 4 0 before St. Emers scored a late consolation goal in the dying moments.
In the Final Newtownforbes again played Melview. The Melview boys started where they finished in the semi-final passing the ball quickly and effectively. Their first goal was fortunate when a Daniel Mimnagh shot was deflected into the Newtown net.However this gave then the confidence to continue playing well and minutes later Christopher McKenna raced through from the half way line to score an excellent individual goal.. He added another early in the second half before Billy Stokes made it 4 0 with three minutes to go. Newtown pulled a goal back just before the final whistle, but it was all too late and Melview were worthy champions.
The winners in each section will now go forward to represent Longford in the North Lenister finals at Albion Rovers ground in Louth on Wednesday May 10th. Congratulations to all who took part.
Many thanks to all the teachers who accompanied their teams, to Ballymahon AFC and especially to referees Dennis O'Brien and Padraig Nicholson.
A special thanks to Longford Town FC for the use of their excellent facilities and John Donlon for the tea. We hope this very high profile competition will be even bigger and better next year.