Three-sy does it for Albion on awards night
WEXFORD Albion had plenty of cause for celebration when the Wexford Football League Horse & Hound Player of the Year awards were announced last week.
Three players from the Coolcotts-based outfit, Jay Daly, Mark Lett and Jamie Thomas, were honoured by their peers, making them the first team to have a trio of individual award winners in the same season and further enhancing their status as a club going places since joining the league at adult level.
Albion have been riding on the crest of a wave of success in the past 12 months, with their first team winning Division 3A this term, following on from their Division 4 triumph last season.
Their second team were crowned Division 5 champions this season, while their Under-18 teams finished as runners-up in their respective divisions, Youths Premier and Youths Division 2.
Wexford Albion Youths manager David Hayes was full of praise for the players and said it was a marvellous honour for the club.
‘It’s an amazing achievement and it’s well deserved for the three players.
‘They’ve been a really positive influence on the Youths, the men’s ‘A’ and men’s ‘B’ teams all season. Jamie is a Youths player still but he’s involved with the ‘A’ team as well, he’s an enormously talented young lad.
‘Jay is your typical old-style defender. He gets stuck in and he’s a ball winner, and Mark, who’s with the ‘B’ team, has always been a good player.
‘He has experience and he’s a really good leader and he has been invaluable for the team this year,’ said Hayes.
‘A lot of hard work has been done in the background for the last two years, on and off the field. There’s still a lot to do, which we are working on, but the success we’ve had in the last couple of years has been amazing. We’re probably ahead of schedule, but long may it continue,’ he said.
Cloughbawn are another club on a high at the moment and they were rewarded for their Division 2A and Division 4A league successes with two awards, with brothers Willie Murphy and Kevin Murphy getting the nod, another first for the awards, with siblings being feted in the same year.
James Peare has helped Moyne Rangers to a position to challenge for league and cup honours and his performances earned him the Premier Division award, while his Oscar Traynor captain Gareth McCurtin picked up the Division 1 gong after starring in Corach Ramblers’ march to the Division 1 title.
Elsewhere Cathal Murphy (Stoney Rovers), Noel Roche (Bree United), Conor Cafferkey (Rosslare Rangers), Stephen Kavanagh (Bunclody), Seán Keane-Carroll (Curracloe United), Jamie Wallace (Campile United) and Kevin Kenny (Tombrack United) were rewarded for their outstanding seasons.
The awards night will be held on Friday, May 26, in the Horse & Hound in Ballinaboola and promises to be a wonderful night of celebration.
The full list of Wexford Football League Horse & Hound players of the year 2016-2017 is as follows:
Premier Division: James Peare (Moyne Rangers); Division 1: Gareth McCurtin (Corach Ramblers); Division 2: Cathal Murphy (Stoney Rovers); Division 2A: Willie Murphy (Cloughbawn); Division 3: Noel Roche (Bree United); Division 3A: Jay Daly (Wexford Albion); Division 4: Conor Cafferkey (Rosslare Rangers); Division 4A: Kevin Murphy (Cloughbawn); Division 5: Mark Lett (Wexford Albion). Youths Premier Division: Jamie Thomas (Wexford Albion); Youths Division 1: Stephen Kavanagh (Bunclody AFC); Youths Division 2: Seán Keane-Carroll (Curracloe United); Youths Division 3: Jamie Wallace (Campile United); Youths Division 4: Kevin Kenny (Tombrack United).