The biggest and best competition in the 2011
Primary School Soccer Calendar
The Leitrim Finals of the FAI Schools 5-a-side Primary Schools competition had an exciting conclusion at Leitrim Village Community Field on Thursday last (April 14)
The competition caters for boys and girls with the emphasis on small sided games played on reduced sized pitches and using goals suited to the children’s size:
On a fantastic sunny day all the schools and players served up a feast of football with goals, upsets and surprises along the way as a total of 25 teams took part in this year’s event:
The event was organised and run by FAI/Leitrim County Council Development Officer Damon Kearney:
Both the FAI Cup and League Cup added to the glamour of the occasion as Keith O'Dwyer Sligo Rovers Club Promotion Officer was on hand to show off the silverware that ended a great year for soccer in the North West in 2010:
The ‘A’ Cup Section was played out in the wonderful grounds of Leitrim Community Pitch, Leitrim Village: 9 teams came together to fight for the chance to progress onto the Connacht Finals: One Group of 4 and a second Group of 5 was the order of the day with the top two in each group progressing on to the semi finals:
On what turned out to be a fantastic day, the football side of things more than matched the occasion with all teams matching their skill with great spirits:
In Group One Aughava NS 'A' dominated the proceedings and they would prove hard to stop as they run out group winners undefeated scoring plenty of goals along the way: The runner up spot was taken by Diffreen NS after the last group game:
Group Two Winners Leckaun NS in their first appearance in the competition surprised everyone as they provided great entertainment as they seen off the challenges before them including last year's 'A' winners St: Mary's, with plenty of goals: St: Mary’s NS, Aughnasheelin was to follow them into the semi finals in second place:
The semi finals saw both group winners face off against the runners up in the opposite group:
So Aughava NS showed their class again with an 8/2 win over St: Mary's NS whose spirited display couldn’t stop the Aughava side going through: The second semi final saw Leckaun and Diffreen play it out in a North Leitrim local derby provided a very close contest with very little between the two sides throughout the game: The Diffreen side managed to pull out the win 2/1 in the end as it really could have gone either way:
The final left two teams who provided plenty of goals along the way face up against each as Aughava NS met Diffreen NS: In an entertaining final, with some lovely football being played it was Aughava who ran out 3/0 winners in the end after Diffreen found it tough after a difficult semi final: Aughava NS were worthy winners as they played good football throughout the competition:
The ‘B’ Cup Section saw10 teams take to the field in hope of progressing further in the competition:
Both groups were keenly contested with a lot of skill being displayed on the pitch, but it was Four Masters NS, Kinlough who emerged as winners with Leitrim Village 'A' who finished runners up in Group One:
With Fenagh NS finished first in Group Two with Leitrim Village 'B' following them through to the semi finals in second place:
The semi finals saw Four Masters at their clinical best to see off the challenge of Fenagh 4/0 in a highly entertaining encounter:
In the other semi final, it was Leitrim Village ‘A’ against the boys from Leitrim Village 'B': This looked like a close contest before the game started and proved to be the case in which both teams competing well and finished 0/0: Great display from both teams with some well taken goals but it was Leitrim Village 'A' who held their nerve in the penalty shootout winning 3/2:
The final was going to be a close affair with some talented players on both side as Leitrim Village ’A’ and Four Masters teams battled it out to represent Leitrim in the Connacht Finals: Some excellent football was displayed from both sides as the play went from one end to the other and indeed it was Four Masters who came out 2/0 winners with two brilliant finishes on the counter attack:
In the Girls ‘A’ Cup showcased some great games and some very talented teams and footballers: 6 teams came together to fight for the chance to progress on the Connacht Finals:
A Group of 6 it was with the top two in group progressing on to the final: In a closely fought group with all teams’ seemly taking points off one another it was Fenagh NS who finished top with Aughawillan closing following by a point from the nearest challengers who progressed on to the final:
The final itself turned out to be an epic: Two talented teams in the Fenagh and Aughawillian provided great entertainment to the watching crowd as they played some fantastic football:
It was close game, with the play going from one end to the other as each team tried to gain the upper hand: The woodwork, loose misses, brave defending and some fantastic goalkeeping meant neither side could be separated: Fenagh pulled away to win 3/1 in the end, a cruel blow to Aughawillan who performed so well all day but well done to both teams for putting on such an entertaining display:
In the Girls “B” competition The Marist NS, Carrick/on/Shannon entered two teams so automatically went through to the Connacht finals:
FAI/Leitrim County Council Community Development Officer Damon Kearney would like to thank all the schools who took part and compliment all the teachers and mentors for the great sporting behaviour displayed by all the children on and off the field:
A big thank you to Leitrim Community Pitch Committee for the use of the facilities and to all the referees who done a fantastic job throughout:
Congratulations to all the winners who will now represent Leitrim in the upcoming Connacht Finals on May 11 in the Shiven Rovers FC in Newbridge, Co Galway: Good luck to all!
Section ‘A’ Cup Winners 2011 Aughava NS
Section ‘B’ Cup Winners 2011 Four Masters NS, Kinlough
Section Girls ‘A’ Cup Winner 2011 Fenagh NS
Section Girls ‘B’ Cup Winner 2011 Marist NS, Carrick/on/Shannon