Square’s cup joy on home soil
SQUARE United provided a fitting finale to the school summer holidays with the staging of their annual Nettuno Cup, which featured 40 clubs, 79 games, 275 goals, penalty shootouts galore and glorious sunshine.
There was great excitement and plenty of nail-biting in all four age groups and the standard of competition was far stronger than last year, with teams from as far away as Arklow making the trip to Ardee.
Square’s own teams produced some excellent performances, with Brendan Woods’ side winning the Under-10 Cup in a very competitive section. They had to do it the hard way, though, defeating a very good Kingscourt team in the semis and DDSL side Swords Celtic in penalty shootouts.
Square United’s Under-11 Reds, managed by Paul Svender, came out on top of an equally tough group with some outstanding performances and went on to beat DDSL opposition in the final.
They overcame a very good Drogheda Boys team 2-1 and some solid defensive play ensured that the team only conceded one goal in their five games.
The Under-12 section was a brilliant advert for football and it included Drogheda Town (U-11 DCSL Cup winners) Boyne Rovers and Square United (who both made it to the U-11 DCSL Cup semis), Arklow United, Ballyjamesduff, Torro United, Walshestown and Termonfeckin.
Every game in the Under-12 section was played in great spirit and at a frantic pace, it was a joy to watch and each club deserves great credit for their performances.
Square United went through as group winners and faced Boyne Rovers in the semi-final, and Stephen Boyce’s Boynesiders took an early lead, but Brendan Caffrey’s lads showed real quality and composure to get back level before going ahead with minutes remaining.
Arklow United and Drogheda Town ended scoreless, with Arklow progressing via a penalty shootout.
Square United took control of the final from the off and never gave Arklow a moment to settle into the game. A well-taken Adam Gillespie header gave them an early lead and the free-flowing attacking football brought further goals from Cian Lane, Andy Murphy, Ciaran Russell and Darragh Murphy to secure a hat-trick of Cups for the host club.
The Under-9 section was another great advert for the game and this time Square United had two teams made up from their Under-8s and Under-9s who will start their Drogheda League seasons in the coming weeks.
Ballyjamesduff and Quay celtic also had two teams each taking part and this section was full of exciting, fun football, with each team gaining invaluable experience in the game. All the players had a great time and were full of smiles when picking up their medals afterwards.
Square United would like to acknowledge the huge work put in by the club and the hard-working committee and say a big thanks to O’Callaghans Butchers - the main sponsor of this event over the past three years.
Thanks also to Olive and Sean O’Brien, Helen and Sean Malone, Jessie and TJ Agnew, Thomas Malone, all the committee members that helped with setting up pitches and refereeing games, the referees on the day and Brian Murphy for organising them, Wee County Trophies for their amazing support and the beautiful cups, shields and medals, Robert and Carol McQuillan who co-ordinated the event and all of the coaches and volunteers who helped out.
Roll of honour
Cup winners: U-9 Quay Celtic, U-10 Square Utd, U-11 Square Utd, U-12 Square Utd Shield winners: U-9 Ballyjamesduff, U-10 Glenmuir Utd, U-11 Blayney Academy, U-12 Ballyjamesduff Trophy winners: U-9 Square Utd, U-10 Drogheda Town Eagles, U-11 Torro Utd, U-12 Boyne Rovers