St. Joseph’s College, Galway 3-0 Wexford CBS
Darragh O’Malley (25), Conall Gallagher (48), Luke O’Gorman (55)
St. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE, GALWAY commonly known as The Bish claimed the Bank of Ireland FAI Schools First Year Boys National Cup title with a comprehensive performance over newcomers Wexford CBS in Leah Victoria Park, Tullamore Town FC this afternoon.
A hat-trick of goals from the Galway side was enough to see off the Nolan/Whitty combo of the boker boys who were relishing the opportunity of top flight football which saw them claim some big scalps on route to this afternoon.
St. Joseph’s College last held this title back in 2011 so it was a welcome return for the Bank of Ireland Cup as it made its return to the prestigious School.
Grealish & McDermott had a fantastic campaign this season and had the bish squad well prepared for this epic encounter.
The Connacht Champions started positively and the versatile Wexford keeper Cian Roche kept his side in contention early on when he was alert to some of the Saints advances.
The deadlock however was broken five minutes from the interval as Darragh O’Malley slotted a rocket past the helpless Roche to claim a slender advantage going into the break.
Wexford’s Kyle Clancy had a classy long range effort cause netminder James Egan problems as the ball hit off the crossbar with 46 minutes on the clock.
However, Galway’s lead was doubled two minutes later courtesy of Conall Gallagher as he got a slight touch on a superb corner from Captain Gary Higgins to ensure some breathing space in this pulsating Cup tie.
The hat-trick of goals were complete for St. Joseph’s College following a brilliantly taken goal from the impressive Luke O’Gorman as his initial attempt was saved bravely from Roche.
Wexford tried in vain for a way back into this contest but Egan claimed another clean sheet to add to his impressive résumé.
It was disappointment for the Wexford crew but they put in some stunning performances all season and will look forward to their Bank of Ireland FAI Schools First Year Boys Division One Leinster Champions League FINAL appearance with St. Benildus College, Kilmacud on Monday afternoon when they do battle in Arklow Town FC, hopeful of claiming the silverware this time out.
SAFIB Allen McKinstry Cup
St. Joseph’s College will savour the opportunity to represent the Republic of Ireland at the Home Nations Tournament next season as winners of this year’s FAI Schools National Cup. The bish will face the School Champions of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in May 2018 as Scotland play host.
JOSEPH’S COLLEGE, GALWAY | James Egan, Ronan Bambara, Churchill Idemudia, Harry Browne, Conall Gallagher, Rory O’Brien, Luke O’Gorman, Adam White, Darragh O’Malley, Liam Melody, Gary Higgins (Captain)
SUBS | Michael O’Connor for O’Malley (61), Michael Moughen, Daithu Killilea, Cian Griffin, Darragh O’Leary, Jake Fahy, Kyle Lamb, Patrick Dillon, Ciaran Kinsella (GK), Oisin Keane, Caleb Glavee, Dylan Ronan, Ruaidhri Forde
TEACHERS | Barry McDermott & Robert Grealish
WEXFORD CBS | Cian Roche, John O’Sullivan, Calum Corcoran (Captain), Darragh Carley, Jack Foley, John Hore, Eoin Hartigan, Michael Mackey, Kyle Clancy, Jack Wilde, Aaron Roche,
SUBS | Jack Mullen for Mackey (HT), Josh Howlin for O’Sullivan (52), Jack Dempsey, Eoin Doyle, Tommy Gallagher, Adrian Jasiewicz, Conor Heath, Pablo Carrasco, Kyle Carroll, Jack Corcoran, Luke Cullen Ryan
TEACHERS | John Nolan & Padraig Whitty
REFEREE | Martin Kelly (Offaly)
