Clifford Cup competition in St Mary’s
THE annual Clifford Cup was held in St Marys recently and was another successful weekend of football
The Clifford Cup, now in its eleventh year, is an U12 Boys football competition which was initiated by the Clifford family in 2008 in memory of their late father, Paddy.
The competition involved teams from Sligo (St. Mary’s, St. Molaise Gaels), Galway (Corofin), Mayo (Castlebar Mitchels), Leitrim (St. Mary’s, Kiltoghert) and Donegal (Aodh Ruadh, Four Masters & St. Eunan’s).
The tournament is divided into two groups of four, involving a Cup and Shield competition. Group matches are played in Kent Park and Mitchell Curley Park, with semi finals and finals played in Kent Park.
Each club entered an A team to the Cup competition and a B team to the Shield.
The day turned out to be another fantastic festival of underage football.
In the A competition, the first round of the matches defined the Groups with 3 of the eventual semi finalists (Castlebar, Four Masters and St Molaise) showing from the start.
St Marys had a narrow loss to Four Masters by 8 scores to 7 but showed strongly and eventually got through to the semis in the tightest of groups.
However the semi final proved a step too far losing out to eventual winners Castlebar Mitchels.
The other semi final proved a thriller with St Molaise carrying the Sligo flag and defeating a very good Kiltoghert side by 9 scores to 7.
Castlebar Mitchels prevailed in the final and deservedly took the cup back to Mayo by 8 to 4. The Shield competition if anything was more exciting with eventual finalists Corofin and Four Masters initial meeting in the group stages ending in a draw. They beat their opponents (Mitchels and St Molaise) at semi final stage to set up a mouth-watering rematch in the final and what a final it turned out to be. A jubilant Four Masters eventually took the honours in a skill packed final on a scoreline of 5 scores to 4. Well done to the players and their management who participated in the day’s competitions and many thanks to all the people who helped make the day a success by assisting in the organisation and running of the tournament, St Mary’s added.