On Sunday 2 October we hosted the Stephen Cahill Memorial U10 Football Tournament the variety of visiting teams was great for the players as they met with teams they would not normally meet. They came from Fermoy, Ballyduff (Kerry), St. Josephs Doorabearfield, Adare and Fr. Caseys, with Mungret St. Pauls producing two teams. Each team on the day played 3 matches each and a final. It was a beautiful sunny day and the football on display was a joy to watch.
Mungret St. Pauls Reds were in group one where they played Fr. Caseys, Fermoy and Doora Barefield “White”. After losing the opener to Fr. Casey’s, they regrouped again and went on to defeat Fermoy and Doora Barefield to finish the group with two wins.
Mungret St. Pauls White were in group two and were made up of a mixture of U9’s and 10’s and were up against Clubs who put out their first strength teams. They lost the first two games to Adare and Doora Barefield “Maroon” but they rallied well for the last game which ended in a draw against Ballyduff.
After a break for much needed refreshments, Mungret St. Pauls Red lined out against Adare in the “B” Final and Mungret St. Pauls White faced Doora Barefield Whites in the “D” Final. Both games played off at the same time.
Mungret St. Pauls Red game saw two well match teams put in a great game where some fantastic points were kicked from both sides particularly from the left boot of Mark Barrett. They turned the game on its head in the second half and edged ahead with some well-placed goals from Darragh Hogan. However, with seconds to go to the final whistle, Adare struck a goal and levelled the match. 10minutes of extra time was needed to separate the teams and Mungret St. Pauls edged out with a two point win. It was good to come out on the right side of these competitive matches and you could see the excitement on Players afterwards. Man of the match went to Steven Barry with other great displays from Darragh Hogan, Mark Barrett, Mark Galvin and Ross O’ Carroll. Panel: Rory Fox, Mark Galvin, Daniel O’ Connell, Billy Dervan, James Fleming, Cian Murphy, Alan Cleary, Steven Barry, Mark Barrett, Liam Ahern, Ross O’ Carroll [Captain], Rory Mullins, Darragh Hogan, Jake O’ Sullivan.
Mungret St. Pauls White faced the Clare Boys of Doora-Barefield and were not phased by the opposition. The match ended all square which was a fair result for both teams. All players excelled for the whites. Conor Crowley picking up Man of Match and we had great displays from Jack O’ Sullivan, Conor Mangan and Thomas O’’ Donnell. Panel: Conor Mangan, Josh Tynne, Jack O’ Sullivan, Oisin Patterson, Thomas O’ Donnell, Brian Lynn, Rory Gleeson, Aaron Morrow, Kevin Morrow [Captain], Sean Condon, Kian Meagher, Conor Crowley, Eoin Murphy, Oisin Markham, Daragh Condon, Evan Harrington, Eoin Balfe, Eoin Collins, Eamonn McSweeney.
Catering was provided on the day by the hardworking Parents of our own U-10 Group and we would like to thank them and Helen McKeogh for all the fruit, sandwiches, buns, biscuits, tea and coffee that was endlessly supplied. Thank you also to the referees who kept the games going and to the co-ordinators who kept track of all the games.
All who visited the club were entertained by the excellent football skills by all the young players on the day, this celebration of Juvenile Football was a fitting tribute to the memory of a man who, like many others, gave selflessly of his time and energy to promoting football in the club and in the local primary school. We welcomed Eoin, Stephens son who presented the medals and trophys and the Stephen Cahill Cup which was presented to the winner in the A section who were DooraBarefield who overcame a strong Fr. Caseys side. The C final saw Fermoy defeated Ballyduff.
Well done to all the players who represented their clubs honorably. We would also like to acknowledge SISK for their generous sponsorship. Photos from the day are available on our website by clicking HERE