The Football Cup Barcelona is an international youth football tournament for boys and girls, held during Easter and half-term holidays in Salou and Cambrils area in the south of Barcelona, Spain. The 2008 Boys portion of the tournament ran over the weekend of the 20th of October and was comprised of ten teams from four countries. Teams from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Sweden all battled in the group stage, with 5 teams to each group. The Bish topped their group, going undefeated in the process with wins over Champion Sports of England, Newtownabbey side St Mary's FC and Swedish club IFK Lidingo, they also recorded a 0-0 draw against Carlisle Centurions.
Their first place finish meant that St Joseph's got to play the second-place team in Group B for the semi-finals, which was the Clare Schoolboys Soccer League (CSSL) side comprised of the best players in the south west. Bish broke the deadlock 11 minutes into the game through the boot of Joe Colleran. The Galway side held their one-goal advantage to the end of the game to book their place in the final over their compatriots from Clare.
The final was set, Bish to play Champion Sports, the same side they had beaten in the group stages which no doubt would have given them confidence going into the match. That confidence was apparent early on, when Noah Ward and Dara McGauran scored in the 7th and 9th minute respectively, giving the Galway side a commanding lead for the first half of 20 minutes. Champion Sports opened the second half with a response when James Coat pulled one back. It was only a mere two minutes later however, that Daviti Tsukilashvili restored the two-goal cushion for the Bish, leaving them 3-1 up - the same scoreline as their group clash. It all looked set and done when regulation was over but a long period of added time allowed the English side some hope. Luca Vine made it 3-2 in the 42nd minute and that hope was bolstered as the English side found a late leveller from Jonas Guthrie, which proved to be the only score of the second half.
The stalemate left penalties to decide who would lift the cup. It was a nail biting affair and a great display of efficient shooting, with both teams slotting their first four penalties away. With Champion Sports first to go on the fifth penalty, Bish goalkeeper Paddy O'Connell had seen enough balls enter his net and made a brilliant dive low to his right to make the first stop of the shootout. Up stepped Ishan Jhurry for the Bish, his approach fearless and his penalty flawless, the ball nestled into the side netting to allow the Bish to lift the cup on the sun soaked fields of Barcelona.
