19 November 2010
The fantastic facilities at Gormanston College played host to the Meath Primary Schools Futsal event which this year saw a record number of 58 teams from 33 schools across the county taking part in the boys and girls small, medium and large schools competitions.
The small schools kicked things off on Tuesday November 2 and the girls section was very competitive with Kiltale and Cortown eventually reaching the final where Cortown came out on top by the narrowest of margins winning 1-0 in a close fought game.
The boys section was equally as exciting and Rathregan and Cushenstown reached the semi-final from Group 1 where they were joined by Lismullen and Carnaross from Group 2.
Rathregan held of Carnaross in a high scoring 4-3 game in the first semi-final and Lismullen also qualified for the final after a tight 3-2 win against Cushenstown. In the final both teams had spells where they were on top but in the end Lismullen secured victory with 3-1 victory to the delight of team manager Pat Sheridan and his team.
Next up were the medium schools on November 4 and the girls section provided plenty of drama with eventual winners Stackallen coming through both the semi-final and final with extra-time golden goals. In the semi-final they defeated St. Josephs Mercy from Navan 2-1 and they then met Dangan in the final after Dangan overcame Kentstown 3-0 in their semi-final.
The final was scoreless at full-time and Ashling Martins troops dug in deep to score the golden goal and secure the title for their schools.
The boys section also went right to the wire and Rathbeggan beat Kentstown 1-0 in the semi-final to set-up a tie against Kilcloon who defeat Dangan 3-1 in their semi-final.
The final certainly didn’t disappoint and after a pulsating 2-2 draw, which saw some great goals and fantastic goalkeeping, the game went to penalties and Rathbeggan held their nerve to come out victorious by 3 goals to 2 and team manager Kieran Rushe was delighted with the spirit shown by his team throughout the tournament.
The large school section finished of the 3 days of action with probably the best football of the week.
The girls section was not for the faint hearted with penalty kicks deciding one of the semi-finals and the final.
It was Dunshaughlin’s Gaelscoil na Rithe that proved to be the penalty kings defeating the highly fancied Whitecross N.S. in the semi-final. That set-up an all Dunshaughlin final after St. Seachnalls had earlier beaten Duleek 3-0 in the other semi-final. With no goals for either side in normal or extra-time Gaelscoil na Rithes earlier penalty experience proved crucial and they won 2-1 to win the local battle and emerge victorious.
The competiveness of the boys section was shown by the fact that there was only 1 goal separating the teams in both semi-finals and the final.
Realt na Mara from Donacarney defeated Gaelscoil na Rithe 2-1 in the first semi-final and Enfield defeated Whitecross by the same scoreline in the second semi-final.
In the final the highly skilled Enfield team shaded the game to overcome Realt na Mara who were unlucky to lose the final for the second successive year by a 2-1 scoreline but Enda Flynns Enfield charges were well deserving winners to cap off a fine tournament.
On completion of the tournament FAI Meath Development Officer Mark Scanlon said: “I am delighted with the success of this year’s tournament and the increase in schools taking part was very positive to see. It is great to see the 3rd and 4th class students getting the chance to represent their schools and the 612 players who did so this week did so superbly. The big plus for this year was the use of Gormanston College and the sports hall which is without doubt the finest in the county. The Transition Years students who refereed the games and helped me throughout the week were excellent and I just want to thank the school and their principal for all their co-operation. Well done to all schools who took part and I am already looking forward to next year’s event.”
SCHOOLS
