Rod Houston Cup
Schools Association Football International Board (SAFIB)
First Year Girls National Cup Champions (U14)
Ursuline College, Sligo set for big stage
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
URSULINE COLLEGE, SLIGO will represent FAI Schools this weekend in the Rod Houston Cup for the first time ever as Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Shropshire plays host.
As host nation, England will have two representative teams in the tournament, namely their National runners up Thomas Telford School, Telford and Champions St. Ivo School, Huntingdon. Also competing against the Sligo starlets will be Welsh Champions Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, Ammanford.
Ursuline College, Sligo claimed the prestigious honours after defeating a talented Scoil Mhuire SS, Buncrana 3-1 in the Bank of Ireland FAI Schools National First Year Girls Cup Final in Kingspan Century Park, Monaghan last May.
Youngster Helen Monaghan bagged herself an outstanding hat-trick that afternoon so she will be one to watch out for come match day. Another formidable trio will be Sophie McDonagh, Laura Oates and Cathy Harrison who all starred heavily for Deirdre Cullinan’s side last season.
Their historic victory ensured them an invite to participate in this newly established level of competition, as three of the five home nation countries compete later in the week. Unfortunately Scotland and Northern Ireland were not in a position to participate this season but will be competing in 2017.
Our title sponsor, Mr. Rod Houston is a retired School teacher and was President of the Scottish Schools FA for many years. Rod also held the position of Treasurer and Secretary of the Schools Association Football International Board (SAFIB) and is honoured to be associated with this competition that promotes girls football to a larger audience. This competition will be run similar to the Allen McKinstry Cup that has been in existence since 2008 which caters for the Boys Home Nations Champions.
The three day series will kick off this Thursday (October 20) as both games in the group kick off simultaneously that evening. Friday will see games kick off at 10.30am with the final series of matches commencing on Saturday morning at 10.30am. We’re hoping the Sligo ladies will be in contention for some silverware come Saturday.
The competition is all about getting points on the board early on. The format makes for an exciting exhibition of football. Matches will be 30 minutes in duration. A drawn game will conclude with a penalty shoot-out (best of 5 penalties). Three points shall be awarded for an outright win in a game. Two points shall be awarded for winning the shoot-out in a drawn game and one point shall be awarded for the ‘losing’ team in a drawn game following the shoot-out. No points shall be awarded to a team that loses a match.
The Sligo ladies showed great form last season in the National Cup campaign and will relish the opportunity to showcase their talents on a bigger stage. FAI Schools wish Ursuline College every success in the tournament as they depart Dublin on Thursday afternoon.
URSULINE COLLEGE, SLIGO: Megan Byrne, Emma Corcoran, Allanah Gallagher, Shona Dalton, Oda Carty, Sophie McDonagh (Captain), Helen Monaghan, Aoife McLaughlin, Laura Oates, Cathy Harrison, Sarah Gillen. Sophie McGoldrick, Eden Rooney, Emma Shanley, Ingrid Shiels, Sandra Bladycz
TEACHERS: Deirdre Cullinan, Carmel Donelon ASSISTANTS: Darragh Healy & Laura McGinn
END