Futsal Competitions
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Waterford Secondary Schools First Year Futsal Blitz
ST PAUL’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE hosted the first ever Futsal Soccer blitz to take place in Waterford in early February and it has to be said that the new innovative of playing this game is certainly set to grow in these parts.
Five secondary schools took part in the event that was run by the FAI, under the guidance of the new FAI development officer in Waterford, Gary Power and it proved a massive hit with students and teachers alike.
Six teams, two from the host college, St Paul’s, together with Abbey Community College, Waterpark, Mount Sion and De La Salle played each other in ten minute games and without a doubt, it was a fantastic day for all concerned, with St Paul’s B coming out on top.
But while many will say that it wasn’t all about winning, it was great to see so many players, whether playing or just watching games, enjoy themselves and it was a real fun day and definitely Futsal is something that we are going to have a lot about in the future.
So what is the game of Futsal? Well it a game that develops the speed, technique, skill and quick thinking of a player and is an excellent game for all young players and it certainly contributes immensely to the development of the young player.
Let’s now take a look at the highlights of an excellent day’s entertainment.
IT was the first game to take place in the competition as the host college’s St Paul’s two teams went head to head and it was added to by the rivalry of the managers, Martin O’Neill and Brian Nolan, who looked after the A team, while Shane Nolan and Mark Phelan were in charge of the B team, both under the watchful eye of teacher, Mairead Collins.
A Brian Walsh strike was the difference between the sides in this game as St. Paul’s second team won by one goal to nil and it has to be said that the amount of talent on show in this game was incredible. Mount Sion started against Waterpark and two goals from Lee Crowley and a goal from Walter Croke gave them a deserved victory, while in the other game, Mark O’Keeffe and Kenny McEvoy were on the scoresheet as De La Salle got the better of Abbey by three goals to nil
After both St Paul’s B and Mount Sion had winning starts, there was always going to be little between these two teams and when push came to shove, it was Craig McLawrence, who was the hero as he netted the only goal of the game.
St Paul’s A couldn’t believe their impressive start to this contest as they led by three goals to nil after less than five minutes of their game against De La Salle, with Ryan Sinnott and Adam Caulfield landing the goals, with Kenny McEvoy netted for his side.
There was no denying that the highlight of the contest between Abbey and Waterpark was the first hat-trick in Futsal football in Waterford and it came from a Abbey player in the shape of Mark Howard, who put in an excellent display.
Some of the highlights of the third series of fixtures saw St Paul’s A win their second game when proving too strong for Mount Sion by three goals to nil, with a lone Mark Russell goal from the kick off enough to Abbey a deserved victory over St Paul’s B, while De La Salle proved too strong for Waterpark in their game.
Onto series four and there were two classic games here, with Abbey and St. Paul’s A playing out an absolutely thrilling game that saw Abbey race into a two goal lead thanks to Mark Russell but the hosts fought back but it was Mark Howard that scored the winner. Mount Sion and De La Salle went into battle and this was expected to go the way of the latter but they had to wait till late to get the win. A lone goal in the dying minutes separated the sides as Mount Sion defended superbly but it just wasn’t to be.
St Paul’s B and De La Salle was going to decide whether or not there would be a playoff after Abbey went top with four wins thanks to victory over Mount Sion and a win for either side would have ensured a playoff. It was a Ryan Sinnott penalty that gave his side victory that led to a playoff that St. Paul’s B won by five goals to two against an Abbey Community College side that looked very tired.
There was no denying that St Paul’s were delighted by their victory and in fairness when push came to shove, their management team of Shane Nolan and Mark Phelan can be more than happy with the roles that they played in their schools’ success.
Gary Power, FAI Development officer in Waterford City said afterwards, “I am absolutely delighted with the success of today’s inaugural Waterford City Secondary School 1st year Futsal Blitz.
Today’s blitz was our first Futsal schools blitz for Waterford City and I think as you saw today the players had a brilliant day, some terrific games were played with great goals, and skill on show, with all the teachers and players were extremely positive with today’s blitz and we will now be looking to schedule some more blitz days before the end of the school year for the other school years and of course nothing forgetting the girls.
I think what we saw today can only be a positive for the development of Football in Waterford as the skill and technique that player’s like Mark O’Keeffe, Kenny McEvoy, Mark Russell, Glen Sweeney and Ryan Sinnott displayed was superb.
Another thing is that we can now look to develop Futsal throughout the school system and within the schoolboy league here in Waterford at the younger ages from 6 -11 years old. We need to start moving away from full size games at 10-11 and instead looking to play a lot more 4v4 and 5v5 as it is without doubt the only way to develop the players to the best of their ability and I hope to sit down now with the schools and Schoolboy league to see how we can take this further,” concluded Gary Power.
Leinster Futsal Finals, 23 January
The Leinster Futsal Finals (Boys & Girls) took place on the 23 Jan in the National Basketball Arena. 16 Schools from counties Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Longford took part.
The aim of this FAI grassroots event was to introduce First Year students to the game of Futsal. This event was piloted in Leinster schools this year. Each county had a qualifying blitz day prior to Jan 23rd. Schools participating received a Futsal ball and Futsal DVD. It is hoped to run this event on a provincial basis in the future.
