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Inishowen's Foyle Cup 2008
round-up
30.07.08
INISHOWEN Youth and
Schoolboys Academy fielded teams in the Foyle Cup at
under 11, 12, 14 and 16 levels last week and it was
a Super Tuesday for the Academy when it recorded
four wins from five games to get off to a flying
start.
Overall it was an excellent weeks work for the
academy with the Under 14s claiming pride of place
when they qualified for the Foyle Cup proper after
topping their group to finish seventh overall. |
The under 16s failed to
qualify for the Foyle Cup only on goal difference
and finished twelfth overall while the under 12s
recorded a win, draw and defeat in their group to
qualify for the Rosebowl which they won to end
thirteenth overall.
The under 11s had two teams and the youths performed
fairly well but the Colts struggled which was |
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disappointing given the
amount of work they put in.
Under 11
With two squads at this level Shane Byrne and his
assistants Paul Farren and Francis Porter saw the
Youths get off to a flying start when they defeated
St Oliver Plunkett Colts 5-0. Cathal Farren got two
goals with Shane McClean and Leonard Hegarty also on
the mark.
On Wednesday they lost to FS Academy before
defeating Coleraine while on Thursday they suffered
narrow defeats to the Bertie Peacock Youth League
and the D&D. This qualified them for the shield but
they again suffered narrow defeats in the semi-final
and the playoff.
The Colts faced a tough opening encounter against
Shankill Youth and were unlucky to concede a late
goal and fall to a 3-2 defeat with goals from Sam
Todd and Harry McCormick. Further defeats followed
to strong teams like Hearts, Crumlin United the D&D
Colts and Coleraine and this led them to the Vase
final against Coleraine where they recorded a
penalty shootout win after a scoreless draw.
Under 12
Hugh McGonagle’s squad got of to a brilliant start
when they defeated the Bertie Peacock Youth League
by 3-0 with two goals from Conor Doherty and a
brilliant strike from Ronan Doherty. They followed
this up with a 1-1 draw with Linfield coming from
behind to equalise when Dillon Ruddy’s free kick was
parried, allowing George Kelly to force the ball
home.
They failed to perform to their true potential in
their third group game losing to Maiden City Academy
to qualify for the Rosebowl.
In the semi-final we defeated East Donegal 2-1 with
goals from Ryan Varma and Caolan McBride. In the
final against Portadown it ended 1-1 with Philip
Carroll firing Inishowen into an early lead, but
Portadown levelled to force a penalty shootout which
Inishowen emerged victorious on a 5-4 scoreline.
Overall an excellent week with all players playing
their part and their commitment and attitude spot
on.
Under 14
Stephen Cutliffe and Anthony Doherty were delighted
with their narrow one-nil win over a strong Donegal
Celtic outfit and it was an excellent goal with Mark
Timlin advancing on the left and finding Kevin
O’Loughlin who flicked the ball on to Kevin Toner
and he drilled a powerful shot to the net.
They went close again with Jamie Coyle twice failing
to convert good openings but in the end they gladly
took three points from their opening game.
They followed that up with an excellent draw against
Hungarian side Ferencvaros coming from behind to
level when James Wallace’s free kick was glanced to
the net by Kevin O’Loughlin. Another 2-0 victory
over Ballinamallard, with goals from Jamie Coyle and
Kevin O’Loughlin meant that they topped the group
and qualified for the Foyle cup and in the quarter
final they lost 1-0 to the D&D before losing to
Linfield 3-0 also on Friday evening. They finished
the week on a high when they defeated Derry City by
4-0 with two from Kevin O’Loughlin and one each from
Jamie Coyle and Darragh McConway. This gave the
squad a seventh place finish which is a superb
achievement and we look forward to continued
improvement next season.
Under 16
This squad played a tough NEC schoolboys league at
Prehen on Tuesday evening and began well with Dean
and Denis Hegarty causing the NEC defence trouble
with their pace. Denis Hegarty was denied twice by
the outstretched legs of the keeper before on the
stroke of half time he raced on to his strike
partner’s pass but saw his effort clip the top of
the crossbar. The NEC threatened once midway through
the second period when a long ball over the top saw
their centre forward denied by a good save from
Padraig Doherty. Inishowen struck for the winner
with six minutes remaining when Ronan Doherty fed
Dean Hegarty on the left and he advanced to slide
the ball past the keeper from fourteen yards. Denis
Hegarty went close with a lob just over the top in
the closing minutes. In their second game they lost
2-0 to Sporting Lokeren from Belgium in what was an
extremely physical encounter with Inishowen losing
four players to injury as a result.
Nevertheless the squad performed really well to
defeat Ballyclare Comrades 2-0 with Daniel McDaid
getting both goals but were unlucky to miss out on
Foyle Cup qualification on goal difference and thus
qualified for the plate.
In the semi-final against Newmill Youth from Belfast
they struggled in the opening half but in a fine
second half performance they took the lead via a
Paddy McMyler penalty but despite having four or
five clear chances they failed to extend their
advantage and paid the price late on when the
Belfast side levelled and in the shootout Inishowen
lost 4-2.
In the final game they played a good Arklow Town
side and gave away a bad early goal but responded
well with Dens Hegarty twice and Daniel McDaid going
close but a second goal midway through the second
period saw it end 2-0 and a twelfth place finish
which was an excellent achievement.
The coaches and the academy would like to thank all
the players, their parents and the Youth and
Schoolboys committee for their support for another
season just ended. The conduct and attendance of the
players all season was exemplary and it is to be
applauded. We encourage all players to continue to
work hard at their game under their local club
coaches and to try and improve and develop
themselves along the guidelines learned at the
Academy.
We look forward to all players returning for trials
for next seasons squads and these trials will
commence in October and players will be notified
through their local clubs and press.
Finally in relation to this seasons under 13s and
under 15s it has been decided to take them away next
Easter in preparation for the Kennedy cup (U14) and
Foyle cup (U16) as it will prove much more
beneficial to their development and secondly that we
are finding it difficult to get quality opposition
at this time of the year as most youth leagues are
finished.
We would also like to thank the huge number of
parents who attended the games at the Foyle cup last
week. |
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