Knockbridge and Ballapousta in seventh heaven
KNOCKBRIDGE NS girls wrote themselves into the history books and Ballapousta boys also had reason to celebrate as the annual Allianz Cumann na mBunscol Mini 7s Football Finals took place.
Every primary school in Louth takes part in these competitions, and with a clever age limit structure balancing the ties evenly, even the smallest of schools can compete against some of the large urban schools.
As always, O’Connell’s GFC kindly welcomed the eight teams from all corners of the county to their home in the Grove Field for the finals.
The girls of Knockbridge NS faced strong competition but managed to complete a unique three-in-a-row of titles.
Perennial finalists Callystown gave the eventual winners a run for their money and Kilcurry NS also showed well. However, it all boiled down to the last match of the day when Kilkerley and Knockbridge faced off in a winner-takes-all encounter.
There was very little between the teams throughout, but when Kilkerley failed to convert a free in the last minute Knockbridge managed to hold on for a onepoint victory.
Great credit goes to all four schools for the standard of football displayed and captain of Knockbridge, Sarah Brennan, thanked O’Connell’s for the use of their facilities, Allianz for their sponsorship, Cumann na mBunscol for organising the day and Kilkerley for a very sporting contest.
The boys final also came down to a final showdown as both St Peter’s NS and Ballapousta recorded tight wins over Tullyallen and Monastery Ardee respectively, with St Peter’s victory coming from the last kick of the game.
It was no surprise, therefore, that the final was a tight affair, with both teams only registering a single point each in the first half.
In the second period, however, the team from Ballapousta showed their class and experience – drawing from their victory in last autumn’s nine-a-side competition success – as they scored three quick-fire points to defeat the team from Dromiskin by four points to one.
Both teams had chances to score a goal that would have made all the difference, but the two netminders were superb in guarding their goals during the match, with the Ballapousta goalkeeper boasting a clean sheet in every one of his team’s games.
And so Ballapousta added the Allianz All-county 7s title to the Sciath Mhic Raoise which they won in October and they will prove difficult to beat in the final competition of the year, the Corn Peadar Ó Céarnaigh.