F.A.I. schools (LONGFORD) 5- a- side competition
This year a record number of primary schools entered The Longford F.A.I. 5 a side soccer competition which was held in Ballymahon. The venue was superb and enabled the children to display their wide range of skills.
Girls' cups
For the first time we had teams competing in both the Girl’s A (smaller schools) and B (large schools) cups.In the A cup St. Emer’s emerged victorious from Group 1 with wins over killoe, Ardagh A and Colmcille. Killoe finished second in this group on goal difference.Ballinamuck and Cloontagh had victories over Ardagh B and Kenagh to emerge from Group 2. Melview and Forgney topped group 3.
Melview played Cloontagh in a playoff to decide semi-final pairings. A thrilling match ended 2 -2 with Mikaela Cox and Aisling Cosgrove netting for Cloontagh and Ruth Kiernan and Shannon Woods scoring for Melview. Lynn Gregg made a string of excellent saves near the end to keep Melview in the match. In the ensuing penalty shootout clinical finishes from Mikaela and Aisling ensured victory for Cloontagh.
Cloontagh then faced Killoe who proved too strong on the day and with goals from Megan Hughes and dervela Murphy they ran out easy winners.In the semi-finals Killoe played well again and they proved too strong for a gallant Forgney side for whom the Rowan twins shone.The second semi-final was the game of the tournament with St. Emer’s and Ballinamuck putting on a fantastic display of flowing football. There was nothing between the teams in the first half with Muireann Mulcahy and Aoife Jones excelling for St. Emer’s while Ellie Collumb and Mandy Cassidy running the show for Ballinamuck. In the second half Chloe Connell and Ellie scored two great goals to make Ballinamuck deserving finalists.
They were very confident going into the final as they had not conceded any goals in the whole tournament. True to form they opened the scoring against Killoe in the second minute with a classy finish from Mandy Cassidy. They continued to dominate proceedings and eventually ran out easy winners at the final whistle following goals from Michelle Masterson, Ellie and Mandy.
Three teams participated in the girl’s B cup. Stonepark played Edgeworthstown in the opening game and with the Harmon triplets to the fore they secured a 2 1 win. Next up were Newtownforbes whom they defeated with a hattrick from Megan smith. Newtownforbes regrouped and earned a hard fought 5 4 win over Edgeworthstown.
In the final Stonepark and Newtownforbes exchanged goals to leave the score 2 -2 at half time. Stonepark eventually scored the winner in the last minute . The final score was 5 4.
Congratulations to all the girls who took part. The high skill levels on display show that girls' soccer in Longford has a bright future. Good luck to Ballinamuck and Stonepark who will represent Longford in the North Leinster finals on May 14th at the JJB stadium Dundalk. Hopefully they will be as successful as last year’s representatives Melview who won this competition.
Boy’s cup
In the boy’s A cup (for smaller schools) the standard was very high this year. In group 1 The opening game was between Clondra and Abbeylasa B. Clondra had a comfortable 4 1 win. They played Ballinamuck in their second game and came from behind to win 5 2.This groups third game was between Ballinamuck and Abbeylara B. Balllinamuck score first and held on for a 3 1 victory.
Group 2 opened wuth a very talented Cloontagh side taking on Forgney. Cloontagh took control early on and some sweeping passing movements with excellent finishing paved the way for an easy 7 0 victory. Abbeylara A took on Forgney next and after a tough battle emerged victorious with a 2 1 score line.
Cloontagh played Abbeylara A in their last group game ond once again out played their opponents to win 3 - 1.In the semi- finals Clondra played Abbeylara A. After a very keenly contested match Clondra snatched victory 3 2 .The other semi- final between Cloontagh and Ballinamuck was a very close match with both sides performing well. The final score was 2 2. A penalty shoot out resulted . Both sides missed their first kick and scored their second. The crucial third penalty was scored by Cloontagh while their keeper saved the final Ballinamuck effort.In the final Cloontagh once again raised the standard of their play and they proved too strong for a gallant Clondra winning 3 1.
Teams: Cloontagh: Cian Kavanagh, Raymond Dolan, Liam Duffy, Rian Whitney, Shane Cosgrove, Daire Regan, Michael Burke, Aisling Cosgrove
Clondra: Eoghan McManus, John Gorman, Robert Dowd, Patrick Feeney, Sean O’Meara, Rachel Dowd, Caoimhe McManus, Lee Casey.
Boy’s B cup
In the boy’s B cup 16 teams competed in four groups. The early games in this competition were spoiled somewhat with heavy wintery showers and severe gusts. However in Group 1 last year’s winners Ardagh A took control and recorded victories over Melview B, Kenagh C and Stonepark to top the group. Daryl Carrigy, Rory Sullivan, Mark and Sean Farrell were in top form. Stonepark defeated Melview B and Kenagh C to finish second in the group.
In Group 2 Colmcille A won all their matches with Fergal Sheridan and Vincent Hourican playing very well. The matches between the other three teams in this group ( Melview C, St. Emer’s, and Edgeworthstown A ) were very keenly contested. Indeed the St. Emer’s and Melview C boys played some of the most skillfull football of the competition.
In Group 3 Melview A had good wins over Ardagh B and Killoe before struggling to defeat Kenagh B. Only a last minute goal from Ronan Sweeney secured a 4 3 victory after Melview had fallen behind on three occasions.
In group 4 Newtownforbes proved too strong for Colmcille B, Edgeworthstown B and kenagh A. Fine performances from Evan Glackin, Alan Sorohan and Darragh McLoughlin secured a semi-final place for them.
In the semi-finals Colmcille A took on Ardagh A. The North Longford boys started well and with superb finishing they earned a 4 2 victory over last year’s champions.
In the second semi-final Melview A played Newtownforbes. Melview started brighrly and applied all the early pressure. They created four good scoring chances but failed to convert any of them. Newtownforbes then scored a fortuitous goal straight from a darragh McLoughlin corner with the wind playing a big part. This gave them new confidence and they increased their lead at the start of the second half when Evan Glackin pounced on a shoot that came back off the post to score their second.
Melview fought back and pulled a goal back with a well struck shot from Niall Kelly. They continued to pile on the pressure and Niall was unlucky on two occasions when he volleyed the ball just over the crossbar. Newtown held on for victory although Melview also squandered two close range shots right at the end.
In the final Colmcille A continued where they left off in the semi-final and took control straight from kick off. Early goals from Fergal Sheridan and Cormac Hughes ended the game as a contest as the Newtownforbes boys appeared to loose composure.
Colmcille A dominated proceedings for the remainder of the game and further goals from Vincent Hourican, Cathal Reilly and Sheridan enabled them to record an easy victory.Well done to all the children who participated and made this the most competitive tournament in Longford to date.
Good luck to Cloontagh and Colmcille who will represent Longford in the north Leinster finals at the JJB Dundalk on 14th May.
Many thanks to Ballymahon AFC, in particular Aisling and Veronica for ensuring that the facilities were in tip top shape for the tournament. Thanks also to Robbie Stokes for refereeing both competitions, Tony Ghee, Cormac and local FAI women’s development officer Eoin Killlackey for all his help.
This prestigious competition is getting more popular in Longford every year. We hope to have even more schools involved next year. Any school interested in information on ths competition please contact local organiser Carmel Browne .