GAA fans in for a treat as top schools meet in final
A 25 strong team of under-14 schoolboys headed off to the Netherlands on Good Friday to take part in the Holland Cup.
The Holland Cup is an International football tournament held in the town of Almere over the course of two days. Teams came from all over Europe from the ages of six up to 17.
Woodbrook Rovers sent two teams to take part in this event.
On Saturday, March 31, one team headed off at 8.30am to the training ground of the local team Almere FC, where they were to play three matches over the course of the day.
They finished up on the top of their group, undefeated with eight points. This meant that the next day they would be put into the fight for the Holland Cup.
The other team set out for the Almere Stadium on Saturday afternoon. They played some good football, but due to illness and injury they were defeated, and had to make the tough decision to withdraw from the rest of the tournament.
Unfortunately the weather was against Woodbrook the next day as it had rained very heavily throughout the night.
When they got to Almere stadium there were teams of all ages awaiting the organisers decision on how the day was to proceed, as all the pitches were flooded.
About an hour later it was decided that the under-14s would play seven-a-side on half of an astro pitch. After ploughing through puddles and muck they made their way to the pitch.
The lads fought hard to pick up their spirits. Having topped their group again, they advanced to the semi-finals where they faced some of the top teams in Europe.
They finished fourth out for 32 teams from all over Europe. An amazing achievement for a little team from Bray.
The boys were delighted to bring home a cup and each proudly received a medal for their wonderful efforts. THE Wicklow Senior Football Post Primary School final will take place this coming Monday, April 16, ay 5.30pm, at Joule Park Aughrim between Coláiste Bhríde Carnew and St Kevins CC Dunlavin.
The original date for the important game in the Wicklow schools calendar fell foul to the weather some time ago, but looks certain to be played in front of a good crowd at the county grounds on Monday evening.
Defending champions Coláiste Bhríde will look to bring another Senior crown over Kilcavan Gap, but they face a tricky task when they take on Alan Deering’s St Kevin’s side who boast some very capable players, none more so than midfielder and current Kildare under-20 panel member Mark Barrett.
Pat Nolan’s Coláiste Bhríde side possess plenty of firepower in their ranks as well, with a strong Wexford contingent back boning a team that also includes the likes of joint captain Rory Stokes, Eoin Darcy, and Carnew’s Cillian Gilligan.
It was in their semi-finals that these two teams were made to really work for their reward of a place in the flagship final for 2018, with Alan Deering’s men certainly having the tougher of the two tasks when they came up against a gallant Scoil Chonglais of Baltinglass.
Coláiste Bhríde had the more straightforward of semi-finals if such a term should ever be used. A bright start for Avondale CC soon faded as the Carnew side took control of the game. A miserly defence with the likes of Darragh Brookes in goal, Jim Sharry at full-back and Gearoid Donohue and Jason Bolger in the corners gave nothing away cheaply and will look to be equally tight-fisted come Monday afternoon. Expect Sharry to have an altogether more challenging afternoon in the final when he encounters St Kevin’s full-forward Aaron Kennedy, who bagged 1-7 in the semi-final while being marked by Kiltegan’s Adam Wynne.
The concession of 3-3 in the opening half of their semi-final against Scoil Chonglais might suggest that here is a defence ripe for the picking, but such thoughts would be foolhardy.