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
