Saturday May 5th 2017 saw Colemanstown United F.C. Academy bring their 2016-17 season to a close in the form of a Mini World Cup & Skills Competition and what a day it was!! It was a success beyond our wildest dreams. The kids had plenty of games; the more matches, the better for them and one could see there was real passion and pride in their performances. Players, friends, parents & family enjoyed a tasty spread of food, compliments of all the mammies, a day filled with soccer and other fun skills. DJ Gilly also added to the atmosphere belting out the tunes. It was a slightly cold day but that didn’t matter too much as the future of Colemanstown soccer is definitely bright with fantastic displays from 6 year olds to 11 year olds. Every girl and boy were a credit to their five top-class mentors who’ve worked tirelessly and so enthusiastically since last September developing the game and the players. And this was rewarded with all players receiving medals for their hard work and numerous awards. The day simply ran like clockwork with 6 teams of 7/8 players as follows:
Blue Jerseys – Diarmuid Ryan, Tom Holohan, Donagh Keogh, David Walsh, Tommy Nutley, Sean Keating, Darren Moran.
Green Bibs – Jonah Donnellan, Ryan Concannon, Eoghan Ryan, Nathan McGuire-Greaney, Larry Murrajovs, Eric Muravjovs, Tadhg Bardell & Jude.
Blue Bibs – Eoin Keague, Joshua Buckely, James Feeney, Martin Mellody, Eanna Burke, Dermot Parker, Alex Kelly
No Bibs – Conor Laffey, Shane Quirke, Scott O’Donoghue, Jonathan Keane, Jamie Nutley, Stephen Murphy, Sean Keating.
Orange Bibs – Ciaran Keating, Cian Ruane, Noah McDonnell, Cian Burke, James Somers, Dylan King, Anthony Feeney and John Parker.
Green Jerseys – Nathan Mannion, Joe Carroll, Ross Lally, Adam Cleary, Kyle Concannon, Angelica Feeney, Aoife Walsh, Sean Connolly
Red Bibs – Fionn Flattery, Jamie Lally, Joshua McDonnell, Matthew Harte, Thomas Mellody, Thomas Screene, Cathal Keane.
Yellow Bibs – Cian Cleary, Tadhg Hart, Darren Quirke, Killian Hughes, Aidan Ruane, Adam Devaney, Daniel Moran.
The skills competition involved 6 different types of skills which included the ‘short’ pass, the ‘long’ pass, ‘chip’ pass, header, long throw and keepie-uppies. These skills were undertaken by each child during the day. It was extremely noticeable that the skills of each child had improved greatly from their time and effort throughout the year. This is also a testament to the mentors.
There were skills winners for each of the eight teams as follows:
Blue Jerseys- Tom Holohan; Green Bibs- Jonah Donnellan; No Bibs- Conor Laffey; Blue Bibs- Dermot Parker; Green Jerseys- Adam Cleary; Orange Bibs- Cian Burke; Red Bibs- Tommy Mellody; Yellow Bibs- Tadhg Harte
In addition, the mini world cup involved all eight teams playing in a group style format similar to the real thing. Even Rob Parker’s handmade trophy was the same! There was a number of highly entertaining games throughout the group stages with many top performances from each side. Each team played a minimum of three games in the group and this was followed by two semi-finals and a final to finish off the day. The four teams that qualified for the semi-finals were: Red Bibs, No Bibs, Blue Jerseys and the Orange Bibs.
Semi Final 1 – Red Bibs vs No Bibs:
In a tightly contested semi-final the two teams ended 1-1 after full time with the Red Bibs winning 4-3 on penalties.
Semi Final 2 – Blue Jerseys vs Orange Bibs:
The blue Jerseys beat the opposition by 2-1. Darren Moran scoring twice for the Blues. Anthony Feeney scored for the oranges.
World Cup Final – Red Bibs vs Blue Jerseys:
A large crowd looked on as the two teams battled it out for the World Cup trophy. There was tremendous effort & determination etched on the player’s faces as they fought for every ball. A mighty effort was put in by both sides. David Walsh scored the opener for the Blues but Thomas Mellody levelled matters. Young Tom Holohan scored what turned out to be the decisive goal for the Blues to great jubiliation and so David Walsh accepted the coveted World Cup trophy on behalf of his team.
There were also 4 individual awards given out on the day:
Player of the tournament: Diarmuid Ryan.
Best Goalkeeper- Fionn Flattery
Player of the final- David Walsh.
Top Goal scorer- Cian Cleary
Colemanstown Academy thank all the parents for their constant support and feedback throughout the season & the players who made the academy work while Robbie Parker gave a brief insight into the future of the academy. We as a club wish to thank the coaches namely Jayo Finn, Robbie Parker, Gareth Lally, Ronan Carr & Lee Murphy for their commitment & dedication as they turned up week in week out, rain, hail, sunshine or snow. We also wish to thank Skehana Community Development for the use of their fine astro facility during the winter months & thanks to all the mammies who provided the wonderful spread of food for Saturday’s event & to all the parents with the efforts in getting their children to training and matches throughout the year.
Finally, thank you all for making 2016-17 a fantastic season for our underage academy!
