Monaghan & Donegal claim top spot in Ulster #SPAR5s
Friday, May 5, 2017
24 schools from Monaghan, Cavan, Donegal and Inishowen participated in the SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Ulster Finals which were held in Monaghan United FC, Gortakeegan on Wednesday, May 3.
The event saw 28,576 children participate this year. The competition has been running since the mid 1990’s, the event is more popular than ever with an impressive 1,495 schools involved in 2017.
The competition is run across six divisions, ensuring that schools of all sizes are catered for. Boys and girls are encouraged to play together but there is a separate competition for boys and girls dependent on school enrolment numbers.
This season saw 3 Monaghan schools make the final cut as well as 3 Donegal qualifiers which is a first for the Provincial stages. Flying the flag for the Farney Army in the Aviva will be Scoil Bhríde, Mullaghrafferty, St. Joseph’s BNS, Carrickmacross and Monaghan Town’s Gaelscoil Ultain who have been great servants to this competition each year. Alongside them representing Ulster will be our Donegal Champions, Dooish NS, Fánaid, Scoil Mhuire, Caiseal and veterans Woodlands NS.
Fergus McDaid, Secretary of FAI Schools stated, “This is our third year with title sponsors SPAR and the competition has grown yet again and now firmly holds the title of the largest primary schools’ competition in the country. SPAR’s ongoing support, both nationally and at a local level, has ensured the ongoing success of the programme and given children an opportunity to get involved in a professionally-run, fun and inclusive programme. The programme encourages children to become involved in soccer at an early age and emphasizes the fun aspect of the sport. FAI Schools look forward to welcoming schools to the National Finals on Wednesday, May 31 in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. We would also like to extend our thanks to all schools who have participated in 2017”.
Colin Donnelly, SPAR Sales Director said, “As a community based retailer, SPAR encourages a healthy and active lifestyle and is proud to be a supporter of primary schools’ soccer in association with the FAI. SPAR local retailers around the county have been getting behind the SPAR FAI Primary School 5s programme, which encourages children to get involved in soccer in a fun, safe and inclusive environment.”
Section ‘A’ (Small Schools, boys/mixed teams)
Winners Scoil Bhríde, Mullaghrafferty finished their outing on 7 points following 2 wins and a draw in this Ulster decider. The Carrickmacross scholars had a nervy start to their campaign when they came up against neighbours Scoil Mhuire, Lacken in Cavan as the game ended 2-2 to share the points. The next outing for the Monaghan players was completed with a flourish as they slotted five past Dobhair NS. Greencastle were equally as good as their opposition in the third match up which ended 3-2 to the Monaghan crew. Runners up were Cavan’s Scoil Mhuire, Lacken who bagged 5 points on the leader board. Well done to our Ulster finalists Greencastle NS and Dobhair NS who gave an excellent account of themselves in a wonderful day of footie.
|
Mullaghrafferty NS |
2 |
2 |
Scoil Mhuire, Lacken |
|
Dobhair |
0 |
4 |
Greencastle NS |
|
Mullaghrafferty NS |
5 |
0 |
Dobhair |
|
Scoil Mhuire, Lacken |
1 |
1 |
Greencastle NS |
|
Mullaghrafferty NS |
3 |
2 |
Greencastle NS |
|
Scoil Mhuire, Lacken |
7 |
2 |
Dobhair |
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
|
Mullaghrafferty NS |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
|
Scoil Mhuire, Lacken |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
10 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
Greencastle NS |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
|
Dobhair |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
16 |
-14 |
0 |
Section ‘B’ (Medium Schools, boys/mixed teams)
What a contest this turned out to be with three of our four qualifiers ending up on 6 points each following some heroics over the course of the day. With three schools tied, it goes down to goal difference. Ballybofey outfit Dooish NS were named in top spot with a greater goal difference of +3 over their counterparts. The crew were in superb form at the latter stages of competition as they bounced back from a narrow 2-1 defeat in their match day opener with Cavan Champions Gowna NS. The Donegal contingency then faced rivals Scoil Rois of Monaghan in the penultimate venture which proved fruitful with a 4-2 victory. They turned on the style in the final game with a 6-1 win against neighbouring Whitecastle NS to ensure the silverware and a place in this year’s National Finals. Gowna NS picked up a gallant runners up spot in a tough day at the office which saw Whitecastle narrowly miss out on a podium finish. Huge congratulations to Monaghan’s Scoil Rois who put in a solid display all afternoon. Unfortunately home advantage wasn’t in their favour this time out.
|
Gowna NS |
2 |
1 |
Dooish NS |
|
Whitecastle NS |
4 |
2 |
Scoil Rois |
|
Gowna NS |
1 |
2 |
Whitecastle NS |
|
Dooish NS |
4 |
2 |
Scoil Rois |
|
Gowna NS |
5 |
2 |
Scoil Rois |
|
Dooish NS |
6 |
1 |
Whitecastle NS |
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
|
Dooish NS |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
11 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
|
Gowna NS |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
|
Whitecastle NS |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
9 |
-2 |
6 |
|
Scoil Rois |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
13 |
-7 |
0 |
Section ‘C’ (Large Schools, boys/mixed teams)
This was yet another pulsating grouping that was decided from a three way tie. The contest was so equally matched that it was unfortunate to see third place Scoil Iosagain miss out on silverware by a one goal goal-difference from our runners up Lurgybrack. Our eventual winners were St. Joseph’s BNS from Carrickmacross. The Monaghan squad had a fine performance against Scoil Iosagain in the first of the day’s action. Maria Doherty/Jonathan Adair’s charges were missing three of the starting select from illness and injury but this didn’t deter the experienced crew. Scoil Iosagain bounced back from their defeat by winning narrowly 2-1 to St. Felim’s NS from Cavan. Lurgybrack also grabbed full points from the Cavan qualifiers as they netted 2-1 to take all three points. Scoil Iosagain eventually lost out 1-0 to Lurgybrack in the penultimate group game proving decisive while St. Joseph’s won 4-2 against St. Felim’s.
|
Scoil Iosagain |
1 |
3 |
St. Josephs BNS |
|
St. Felims NS |
1 |
2 |
Lurgybrack NS |
|
Scoil Iosagain |
2 |
1 |
St. Felims NS |
|
St. Josephs BNS |
0 |
1 |
Lurgybrack NS |
|
Scoil Iosagain |
1 |
0 |
Lurgybrack NS |
|
St. Josephs BNS |
4 |
2 |
St. Felims NS |
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
|
St. Josephs BNS |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
|
Lurgybrack NS |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
|
Scoil Iosagain |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
|
St. Felims NS |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
8 |
-4 |
0 |
Girls ‘A’ Cup (Small Schools, girls only)
Decisive winners Scoil Mhuire, Caiseal will definitely be one to watch out for in the Aviva when they face their counterparts on May 31 as they enjoyed three wins from three in the provincial stages. A solid performance from the Donegal girls as they played exceptionally well as a unit all afternoon. The squad netted 11 goals in 3 games only conceding once to Drumgosset in their penultimate game of the series. Cloontagh NS were runners up in the section with a win, a draw and a defeat. Congratulations were also extended to our qualifiers Drumgosset NS and Lacken’s Scoil Mhuire on a great outing this season for their respective schools.
|
Scoil Mhuire, Lacken |
0 |
4 |
Scoil Mhuire Caiseal |
|
Cloontagh NS |
2 |
1 |
Drumgosset NS |
|
Scoil Mhuire, Lacken |
1 |
1 |
Cloontagh NS |
|
Scoil Mhuire Caiseal |
6 |
1 |
Drumgosset NS |
|
Scoil Mhuire, Lacken |
3 |
3 |
Drumgosset NS |
|
Scoil Mhuire Caiseal |
1 |
0 |
Cloontagh NS |
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
|
Scoil Mhuire Caiseal |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
10 |
9 |
|
Cloontagh NS |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
|
Scoil Mhuire, Lacken |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
-4 |
2 |
|
Drumgosset NS |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
11 |
-6 |
1 |
Girls ‘B’ Section (Medium Schools, girls only)
It was a thrilling encounter between Gaelscoil Ultain, Muineachain and Scoil Phádraig, Rasheney as they both ended their day’s activities with 2 wins and 1 defeat. With two teams tied on points, it ultimately comes down to their head to head and Gaelscoil Ultain had produced the goods in their opening game with a slender 4-3 victory which proved critical in their advancement to the National stage. Killygarry had a good campaign with a win, a draw and a defeat which saw them slot into third place. Special mention to St. Patrick’s NS, Drumkeen, Ballybofey who performed very well during the day but were unfortunate not to collect more points in their series following some epic games which saw them draw with Killygarry NS and lose out narrowly to Gaelscoil Ultain.
|
Rasheney NS |
3 |
4 |
Gaelscoil Ultain |
|
Killygarry NS |
1 |
1 |
Drumkeen NS |
|
Rasheney NS |
3 |
0 |
Killygarry NS |
|
Gaelscoil Ultain |
4 |
3 |
Drumkeen NS |
|
Rasheney NS |
2 |
0 |
Drumkeen NS |
|
Gaelscoil Ultain |
0 |
1 |
Killygarry NS |
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
|
Gaelscoil Ultain |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
6 |
|
Rasheney NS |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
|
Drumkeen NS |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
-3 |
1 |
|
Killygarry NS |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
-2 |
4 |
Girls ‘C’ Section (Large Schools, girls only)
A brilliant display from Woodlands NS saw them securing all nine points on offer with a 2-1 victory over runners up Scoil Iosagain in their first outing. This was followed up with a splendid 2-0 win against a much fancied St. Louis GNS of Monaghan. The final game in their group saw them notch up a comfortable score line against St. Clare’s PS defeating them 5-1. The silver medallists were scoring for fun with a goal tally of 23 in their 3 games only conceding three all afternoon. A gallant performance from our other competitors St. Clare’s PS and St. Louis GNS who produced some splendid moments in their games but the competition was ultimately too strong with the top finishers.
|
St. Louis GNS |
6 |
2 |
St. Clare’s PS |
|
Woodlands NS |
2 |
1 |
Scoil Iosagain |
|
St. Louis GNS |
0 |
2 |
Woodlands NS |
|
St. Clare’s PS |
1 |
13 |
Scoil Iosagain |
|
St. Louis GNS |
0 |
9 |
Scoil Iosagain |
|
St. Clare’s PS |
1 |
5 |
Woodlands NS |
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
|
Woodlands NS |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
|
Scoil Iosagain |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
23 |
3 |
20 |
6 |
|
St. Louis GNS |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
13 |
-7 |
3 |
|
St. Clares PS |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
24 |
-20 |
0 |
The six Provincial Finalists will now travel to Dublin for the National Finals which will be held in the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday, May 31 (KO 11.30am). We would urge all participating schools to take the day off and travel to the Dublin finale to support their school in what should prove to be a phenomenal day for all involved, players and spectators alike.
It promises to be a fantastic fun filled family day with a “Player of the Tournament” accolade for each section, goodie bags and medals for ALL 192 participants as they’re all winners on the day!
Spectators will be entertained with a super day of footie as well as face painting, samba drummers, a well known DJ to play some great tunes to gear us up for the games and a chance f0r one special supporter to win an epic prize in the Young Sports Journalist competition. You’ll have to stay tuned on the day to see who will be crowned 2017 Champions.
Cheer on the schools from your sofa or office chair if you can’t make the trip to Dublin and follow the progress on the FAI Schools facebook and twitter pages!
Summary of our winners and runners up
Group Winner Runner Up
‘A’ Cup (small schools) Scoil Bhríde, Mullaghrafferty, Mon Scoil Mhuire, Lacken, Cavan
‘B’ Cup (medium schools) Dooish NS, Donegal Gowna NS, Cavan
‘C’ Cup (large schools) St. Joseph’s BNS, Carrickmacross Lurgybrack NS, Donegal
Girls ‘A’ Cup (small schools) Scoil Mhuire, Caiseal, Donegal Cloontagh NS, Inishowen
Girls ‘B’ Cup (medium schools) Gaelscoil Ultain Monaghan Scoil Padraig, Rashenny, Inishowen
Girls ‘C’ Cup (large schools) Woodlands NS, Donegal Scoil Iosagain, Inishowen
Follow the action on social media via #SPAR5s or at www.faischools.ie and www.spar.ie
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
PROVINCIAL
Ulster Final: May 03, Monaghan United FC, Gortakeegan, Monaghan
Connacht Final: May 04, Solar 21 Park, Milebush, Castlebar, Mayo
Munster Final: May 9, 10, 12 College Corinthians AFC, Cork
Leinster Final: May 11, MDL Grounds, Trim Road, Navan, Meath
NATIONAL
National Final: May 31, Aviva Stadium, Dublin
For more information:
Diane Fay, FAI Schools - Diane.Fay@fai.ie / 086 0404 952
Jennifer Kelly, PSG Sponsorship – Jennifer.Kelly@psgsponsorship.ie / 085 1076806
Scott Graham, PSG Sponsorship – Scott.Graham@psgsponsorship.ie / 086 3687548
IMAGES | Available upon request
https://www.facebook.com/pg/faischools/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1548973451800880
END
