A record number of 65 schools took part in the Xtra/vision FAI Schools 5-a-side in Tipperary last week: Five days of thrilling matches took place at the magnificent Borris/St: Kevins FC grounds at Newhill Park:
“A” Schools Section:
The qualifiers for the “A” Schools category took place on Monday and Wednesday: 71 schools took part in this category, 18 schools made it through the qualifying days to the finals on Thursday:
The finals consisted of 6 groups of 3, the group winners qualified for the quarter finals along with the two best runners up: The 8 teams that made it through were Rearcross NS, Gortnahoe NS, Birdhill NS, Kilsheelan NS, St Michaels NS, Drom NS, Dunkerrin NS and Bishop Harty NS: The quarter finals were all tight affairs, with the 4/3 win for Drom NS against the highly rated St Michaels NS the game of the round:
The semi finals were also very keenly contested with Bishop Harty progressing 1/0 against Rearcross NS and Drom NS beating Kilsheelan NS 2/1 on penalties after a 4/4 draw, this captivated an extraordinary comeback for Drom NS after they were 3/0 down at one stage:
In the final a fresher Bishop Harty NS progressed to the Munster Finals with a 5/1 defeat of Drom NS, who were beginning to feel tired after the efforts in the previous two games:
“B” School Section:
The qualifiers for the “B” Schools category took place on Tuesday: Schools were divided into 8 groups with the 8 group winners returning on Thursday to compete for a place in the Munster Finals:
Each of the 8 groups was keenly contested and a lot of excellent football was played throughout:
Qualifying for the finals on Thursday were Moycarkey NS, Knockavilla NS, Gaelscoil Bhride Thurles and Scoil Teampall Toinne, Ballyporeen: These 4 schools formed one group on the finals day with the other group consisting of group winners Sacred Heart Roscrea, Clerihan NS, Powerstown NS and Ballina NS:
The four teams played each other in the group stage with the top team in each group progressing on to play each other in the final: The group stage saw every game going down to the wire with very little between all the teams:
Eventually Moycarkey NS won group one by virtue of a last minute goal in their last group game and Sacred Heart Roscrea progressed through group two after some very high scoring games:
The final itself was another tight and tense affair with Sacred Heart Roscrea taking an early lead: Just on the stroke of half time they doubled their advantage and took a 2/0 lead into the break: Moycarkey NS came out in the second half knowing that an early goal would get them back into the game but the Roscrea defence held firm until the last minute when Moycarkey pulled a goal back but with little time remaining they couldn’t find a second so it was Sacred Heart Roscrea who advanced to the Munster Finals by virtue of that 2/1 score line:
“C” Schools Section:
The “C” Schools category took place on Wednesday with Monastery CBS advancing to the Minster Finals on May 12th: The Monastery CBS who also qualified from Tipperary last year will be hoping that this can be their year when they travel to the Waterford RSC for the Munster Finals: They played well throughout the day and deservedly qualified for the finals:
“A” Schools Girls Section:
27 teams took part in the Girls “A” category on Friday: Again another action packed day where the standard of games really illustrated how well girl’s football is developing in this country with some top class goals, skills and saves which was evident in all the games played:
Progressing out of the group stages and on to the quarter finals were Rahealty NS who were drawn against Ballinaclough NS in the first quarter final: Both schools served up a classic match with Rahealty NS just shading it in the end:
Last year’s All Ireland Winners Powerstown NS were drawn against neighbours Gealscoil Clonmel and it was Powerstown NS who advanced to the semi finals winning 5/2:
In the third quarter final Scoil Eoin Naofa Roscrea took on Scoil Teampall Toinnne from Ballyporeen: Scoil Eoin Naofa proved took strong for the Ballyporeen School as they progressed on to the semi finals:
In the fourth quarter final Moyglass NS defeated Moycarkey NS in another close match: The first semi final then saw Moyglass NS take on Rahealty NS and it was Rahealty NS who progressed to the final in this their first year in the competition:
The second semi final saw Powerstown NS take on Scoil Eoin Naofa from Roscrea: This was a fantastic game and was a wonderful advertisement for girl’s football in the county with of many players on view being part of the Tipperary Girls Winter Training Programme: It was Scoil Eoin Naofa that eventually advanced to the final after a thrilling match: The final itself was another tight game with Scoil Eoin Naofa, Roscrea coming out on top and they in turn progressed on to the Munster Finals:
“B” Schools Girls Section:
6 teams competed in this category with each team playing each other on a round robin basis with the top team eventually going on the Munster Finals:
The teams involved were St: Marys ‘A’ and ‘B’ Nenagh, St: Joseph’s Templemore, Sisters of Charity Clonmel, Our Lady of Mercy, Cahir and Ballina NS:
Another set of closely fought matches were viewed by the large crowd in attendance: Our Lady of Mercy Cahir looked very strong with a couple of early victories and as the day went on, the momentum carried with the Cahir School as they went on to complete a 100% set of victories which enough to see them progress on to next weeks Munster Finals in Waterford:
FAI Development Officers for Tipperary David Lenane and James Scott would like to say a big thanks to Borris/St: Kevins FC for providing them with their magnificent facility for 5 days:
They would also like to thank Colaiste Mhuire Co: Ed Thurles and the High School CBS Clonmel for supplying them with students to referee the games and members of local clubs who also assisted us throughout the week:
Thanks also to Cian Healy, a work placement student from UL who undertook a lot of work in the organisation of this tournament: Finally, thanks to all the schools for participating and all the teachers and parents who travelled with their team throughout the week: Best of luck to all the schools who qualified for the Munster Finals which will be held on Wednesday in the RSC, Waterford
Tipperary Winners
“A” Schools: Bishop Harty NS
“B” Schools: Sacred Heart Roscrea
“C” Schools: Monastery CBS Tipperary Town
Girls “A” Schools: Scoil Eoin Naofa Roscrea
Girls “B” Schools: Our Lady of Mercy NS Cahir