Portmarnock stun defending Champs to take title
FAI Schools Tom Ticher National Junior Cup Final (Under 17, Large Schools)
Friday, April 19, 2024
Portmarnock Community School 1-0 Rice College, Westport
Cian Wilson (4)
A solitary goal courtesy of Cian WILSON was enough to see Portmarnock Community School stun defending Champions Rice College, Westport in Athlone Town AFC on Wednesday afternoon (April 17) to take the Tom Ticher National Cup.
There was very little between the sides throughout the 80 minutes as Rice College piled on the pressure late on but Kyle Grainger was immense for the Portmarnock scholars between the posts.
The opening goal came within four minutes as Cian WILSON’S strike from 20 yards out seemed to deceive Michael McDonnell in the Westport goal as the ball nestled into the bottom corner.
Twenty minutes later, Rice College starlet Killian Conway had a delightful strike on target but Grainger pulled off a fine save to palm the ball over his upright.
Rían Durkan had a brilliant curling effort on goal just before the interval but the ball smashed off the post as Rice College trialled by one heading into the break.
Michael McDonnell saved superbly to stop Jamie Fynn’s attempt early in the second half while another effort soon after by Fynn’s goal disallowed for a foul on Seán Casey in the build-up.
Darragh Reynolds was next to test the prowess of Kyle Grainger just on the hour mark with a superb attempt but again the keeper was equal to the challenge.
Six minutes later, Seán Casey came close to equalising for the Mayo side but again it was Grainger who stopped the ball magnificently.
With Rice College putting everything into the attack, they were caught out on the counter, only for the heroics of Eoghan Moran as the youngster put in a colossal tackle to deny Wilson a second goal.
Portmarnock’s defence was solid with Goti and Chikoko linking up brilliantly to thwart any real danger as well as the stand-out performance from their keeper Kyle Grainger. The Dublin side managed to see the game out and hold on to capture that elusive National title for the first time in the Schools history.
Bitter disappointment for Rice College who were hoping for back to back titles. They had some outstanding moments in the game and were served well by Captain Jamie O’Malley, Darragh Reynolds and Jack O’Malley.
Portmarnock will saviour this win with a super Cup run which saw them notch up some unbelievable results in the provincial series as well as netting five in the semi-final as Seán Jones scored a fabulous hat-trick.
Both sets of management will be hoping that it’s building blocks for next season as they venture for the Senior title.
PORTMARNOCK COMMUNITY SCHOOL | Kyle Grainger, Matthew Reen, Tadi Chikoko, Matthew Goti ©, Senan Finn, Aaron McGlynn, Alexander Moore, Jack O’Hanlon, Cian Wilson, Jamie Flynn, Seán Jones.
SUBS USED | Seán Lowry for Jones (55), Ben Morris for Moore (73)
SUBS NOT USED | Rhys Gilmartin (GK), Cian O’Leary, Seán Breen, Conor Sheehan, Seán O’Meara
EXTENDED SQUAD | Brian Cottuli, Carl Doran, Raul Stan, Marc Garcia, Jake Beckett
TEACHERS | James O’Keeffe, Gerry Breen
RICE COLLEGE, WESTPORT | Michael McDonnell, Eoghan Moran, Seán Casey, Darragh Reynolds, Tom McGeogh, Jamie O’Malley ©, Rían Durkan, Killian Conway, Jack O’Malley, Simeon Popov, Ethan McGing
SUBS USED | Aron Heaney for Popov (52), Ben Holmes for McGing (68)
SUBS NOT USED | Daithí Nevin, Darragh Corrigan, Dara Dawson, Miki Grabowski, Josh Moran
EXTENDED SQUAD | Adam C Moran, Peter McGowan, Stephen Chambers, Shane Brennan
TEACHERS | Darragh Connolly, Brian Flannery
MATCH OFFICIAL | Paul Tone (Athlone)
