GARY MESSETT HELPS IRELAND TO THIRD IN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Bray’s own Gary ‘Messi’ Messett has captained the Irish cerebral palsy football team to third place in the European Championships held in the Netherlands.
This comes just two months after Gary lost his dad Bobby in a tragic shooting at Bray Boxing Club.
Also in the squad were Arklow’s Darragh Snell, and fellow Bray men Ryan Nolan and Sam Carroll.
Gary now lives in Wexford with his partner and their baby.
The FAI congratulated the team, and goal-scorers Messett and Aaron Tier, with their 2-1 victory over the host nation securing them the third place finish.
Before the tournament, Gary said: ‘I lost my father a month-and-a-half ago. All my family are coming over to support me, though. To be able to captain the team will be a great honour. I’m hoping to do the best I can for my team, my family and my friends.’
This was the 13th foreign tournament for the Bray man in a green jersey. He joined the squad in 2004 at the age of 16.
‘I remember what it was like being a young boy going away from family for a month,’ Gary told this newspaper before heading out.
‘I had other people to look up to at the time and now it’s nice for me after the career that I’ve had that I can be captain and reverse the roles.’
The squad came third in 2010, with Gary receiving the player of the tournament that year.
GARY MESSETT, Ryan Nolan, Sam Carroll and Darragh Snell left for the European Championships as heroes and they return as medallists following some remarkable performances in the Netherlands.
The Ireland CP team stormed through their group, defeating Northern Ireland, Denmark, Germany and hosts Netherlands to book a semi-final clash with powerhouses Ukraine.
Both Messett and Nolan were on target against Denmark, Messett notched again against Germany before he kept his hot streak up with a stunner against Northern Ireland. Nolan got his second of the campaign against NI too.
Messett would draw a blank against the Netherlands but his all-action performance inspired the Boys in Green to a 1-0 success against the Dutch.
That meant that Ireland - ranked seventh in the world - would not lock horns with the world’s top ranked side - Ukraine - in the last four on Friday afternoon last.
Messett was the only Co. Wicklow man listed in the starting lineup as Ukraine took a vital lead early in the first half and added to it three times as Ireland went for broke in the latter stages.
Ireland were then drawn against the Netherlands again in the third/ fourth place play-off. Messett and Snell both started the tie. Ireland got their noses in front on 47 minutes but then cometh the hour, cometh the man as Messett sealed bronze medals for his side late on before Netherlands landed a consolation in the dying seconds.
Speaking after the game, Ireland Head Coach Paul Breen was proud of the third place finish.
“We are absolutely delighted. I’m lost for words. Overall I think we deserved it not just for the performance today but across the tournament as a whole,” Breen said.
“We have progressed from a 6th place finish at the World Championships to a third place at the European Championships. It is no more than the players deserve for the work they’ve put in.
“Hopefully this will help raise the profile of CP football and encourage more players to take up the game. The funding from the FAI, Paralympics Ireland and Sport Ireland has been so important and without that then none of this would have been possible. We have put so much into this from youth and development level with the great work being done by Aidan Brennan, Ricky Tracey and Mick Boyle.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to the backroom staff here – Rob Sweeney, Graham Byas, Oisin Jordan, Fred Wenham, Paul Cassin and Bobby Moore. Without their expertise and tireless input this would not have been achievable.”