West Cork Schoolboys League Kennedy Cup 2008 Review

The West Cork Schoolboys League Under13 representative side completed their involvement in this season’s SFAI UMBRO Kennedy Cup tournament with back to back wins over the Carlow and North Tipperary Schoolboys Leagues in Limerick last week.

It brought a positive end to a frustrating week for the West Cork outfit who never earned the results their attractive football deserved. Drawn in Group7 along with the North Eastern Counties (NEC), Longford and Galway Schoolboy Leagues, West Cork opened their account with a well deserved draw against NEC on the 9th of June. A tight opening half ended scoreless with little to choose between the sides. The WCSL broke the deadlock a quarter of an hour into the second period with a well constructed goal. Tadgh O’Mahony found the net with a neat finish following good approach play from Conor O’Neill. West Cork failed to capitalise on their lead and allowed NEC to equalise only five minutes after hitting the front. A mix-up in defence allowed an NEC striker to pounce on some hesitant defending to chip Liam Cahalane and tie the score at 1-1. Despite both sides creating a host of chances the game eventually ended in a draw.

The second round of Group7 matches on the 10th of June produced some surprising results. NEC defeated the much fancied Galway and West Cork lost 2-0 to a spirited Longford performance. The WCSL spurned a great opportunity to take the lead during a dominant opening half when Gavin O’Shea saw his penalty brilliantly saved by the Longford goalkeeper. The Leinster side rallied to score twice and take all 3 points following a determined second half display despite West Cork dominating possession for long periods. The early morning results meant WCSL needed to defeat Galway in their final evening Group7 fixture to have any chance of making the Kennedy Cup quarter finals. Alas, the Connacht and top-ranked side in the group proved too strong and emerged with a 2-1 victory. Galway raced into an early 2-0 lead to leave their opponents with a mountain to climb. West Cork put in a terrific second half performance and deservedly pulled a goal back through Gavin O’Shea spot-kick but it proved too little too late.

West Cork emerged from a string of disappointing results in Group7 to face West Waterford / East Cork in the knockout phase of the competition on Wednesday the 11th of June with the two sides clashing in the quarter final of the Kennedy Trophy. WWEC took control of the game early on and enjoyed a 2-0 lead going into the second half. West Cork fought back with another cracking second half performance and took the game to penalties following goals from Conor O’Neill and Ian Falvey. WWEC eventually emerged with the victory following a tense 4-3 shootout to send the WCSL into the Trophy Play-Offs and end their last hope of any silverware. Carlow provided the opposition on the 12th of June in the first of the Kennedy Trophy play-offs. A single Kevin Davis strike earned West Cork their first victory of the tournament and the relief was evident at the final whistle. The WCSL saved their best performance of the week for their final fixture against North Tipperary Schoolboys. Connor O’Driscoll put the WCSL 1-0 ahead in the second minute with a fine effort. North Tipp levelled just before the interval only for O’Driscoll to round the goalkeeper and restore West Cork's advantage early in the second period. The Bunratty United striker completed his hat-trick with a fantastic individual effort midway through the second half to put West Cork 3-1 ahead. North Tipp demonstrated admirable battling qualities to reduce the deficit to a single goal until Kevin Davis made sure of the win in the dying moments of the game and earn West Cork a deserved 4-2 victory.

Some of the individual players who stood out during the competition for West Cork included Adam Collins (Bunratty United) who impressed in his central midfield role in each of the games. Brendan O’Dwyer (Skibbereen) and Martin Scally (Clonakilty AFC) were the pick of the defenders while Kevin Davis (Skibbereen) and Tadgh O’Mahony (Ballydehob) played starring roles in midfield. Conor O’Neill (Riverside Athletic) made a telling contribution when introduced as an impact substitute and found the net during the West Waterford/East Cork game. Conor O’Driscoll (Bunratty United) demonstrated his undoubted skills with a superb hat-trick against North Tipperary and worked tirelessly throughout the tournament in his lone striker’s role.

Finishing 29th overall in the Kennedy Cup tournament is a disappointing result for the West Cork Schoolboys League but the squad can hold their heads high having responded to a poor start to play some of the most attractive football in the tournament. It still proved to be a very enjoyable week for the West Cork squad and mentors who will be back again next year determined to improve on this season’s performance. Coach Martin Henwood best summed up the tournament from a West Cork perspective: “Nerves showed in our opening games but once the side grew in confidence we displayed our true potential and played some excellent football”.

2008 SFAI UMBRO Kennedy Cup Results:
Monday 9th June, Group 7: West Cork 1 NEC 1. Tuesday 10th June, Group 7: West Cork 0 Longford 2, Galway 2 West Cork 1. Wednesday 11th June, Kennedy Trophy Quarter Final: WWEC 2 West Cork 2 (WWEC won 4-3 on penalties). Thursday 12th June, Kennedy Trophy Play-Offs: West Cork 1 Carlow 0, West Cork 4 North Tipperary 2.

West Cork squad for 2008 SFAI UMBRO Kennedy Cup: Liam Cahalane, Alfie Hyland (Drinagh Rangers), Martin Scally, Ian Falvey (Clonakilty AFC), Daniel Nyhan (Lyre Rovers), Conor O’Neill, Niall Kelleher (Riverside Athletic), Tadgh O’Mahony, Bosko Minihane (Ballydehob), Gavin O’Shea , Stephen Casey, Ciaran McElhinney (Bay Rovers), Conor O’Driscoll , Adam Collins (Bunratty United), Stephen O’Driscoll (Togher Celtic), Brendan O’Dwyer, Kevin Davis, Daniel Rowell, Brian Leonard and Sean Deasy (Skibbereen). Coaches: Martin Henwood, Conor Uhl and Paddy McCarthy.