U-15 Footballers go all the way to Munster Final
Our U-15 footballers had a very good campaign, beating some very fancied teams on their way to the Munster Final.
The first round match against Douglas was played in Doneraile on October 1 st . It was evident after about ten minutes that High School were going to win. Douglas were under pressure in all sectors. High School played well, the backs giving nothing away all day while the forwards converted a lot of the possession to leave the score at half time 2-10 to no score. The second half continued in much the same fashion and when the referee blew the final whistle the score was High School 5-18, Douglas 0-2 .
Two weeks later High School made the long trek to Rathkeale to take on Listowel. After the journey it seemed to take the lads a little longer to assert their dominance on the scoreboard. It was only in the last ten minutes of the first half that High School started to score freely and leave the score 3-5 to no score. After the break Listowel came out with all guns blazing but our lads dealt with the pressure very well to leave the final score at High School 4-13, Listowel 2-2.
Back Row: L -R; Shane Lawlor, Jason Barnes, Sean Coleman, Greg Carroll, David Foley, Emmett Johnson, Daniel Harvey, Rory Kiely, Kevin Mc Lean, Andrew Heffernan, Luke Moore, Conor Walsh.
Middle Row: Mr Tony Gleeson (Coach), Alan Ward, Kevin McGrath, Paul Denn, Ciaran Lorrigan, Pat Burke, Keith Landers, David Ryan, David McGrath, Darren Guiry, Mr Mike O’Shea (Coach).
Front Row: Gary Doyle, Simon Scully, Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Lorcan Ryan, Liam O’Donoghue, Donal Lynch (Capt), Daniel Connolly, Brian O’Sullivan, Donncha Lonergan, Padraig Hickey, David McGrath.
The Munster semi-final was played in Ballygiblin on November 12 th against Glanmire. High School had early dominance and if they had taken the goal chances that presented themselves, the game would have been over at half time. That said Glanmire’s goalkeeper must be credited for giving an excellent display throughout the game. High School did eventually get a goal before half time to leave the score at 1-5 to 1-2 in High School’s favour. High School continued to dominate throughout the second half finishing on a score line of High School 2-10, Glanmire1-2.
The Final featuring High School, Clonmel and De La Salle, Waterford was played in Portlaw on Tuesday 25 th November. Expectations were high but unfortunately it wasn’t to be our day as De La Salle won on a score line of 0-11 to 1-3. It was a disappointing day as High School found themselves down a man after 6 minutes. After that incident it was always going to be an uphill struggle. A large group of supporters from the High School witnessed an excellent start from the Clonmel lads. David McGrath floated in a free; it hadn’t the power to go over the bar, but it deceived the goalie and the back on the line to drop into the goal. High School continued their dominance to add two points to leave the score1-2 to no score after 5 minutes. Every thing looked well at this stage until a moment of madness by midfielder Keith Landers got himself a straight red card and this just after seven minutes. The reshuffle brought Brian O’Sullivan to midfield, Donnacha Lonergan to the forty. De La Salle started to gain dominance from this point on, and this was reflected in the scoreboard. While High School still attacked they were unable to add any scores. De La Salle kept chipping away at the lead and at half time the score was all square. The backs led by Donal Lynch were excellent during this period as was goalkeeper Patrick Burke who produced a fantastic save to keep his goal intact.
The second half started in much the same fashion as the first had ended. High School were unable to gain any dominance in midfield, leading to High School backs coming under severe pressure all through the half, but they coped extremely well. They stopped attack after attack and delivered the ball to the half forward line where De La Salle had deployed the extra man, cleverly mopping up any loose ball behind the halfbacks. Despite the best efforts of Glen Nugnet and Brian O’Sullivan and their replacements Paraic Hickey and David Ryan, High School could make little headway in this sector. High School had all of the forwards crowding midfield with the exception of David McGrath, ploughing a lone furrow upfront. Despite being on his own he was still causing some danger but was being marked by two De La Salle players. He fought hard for the second half, scoring High School’s only score from a free. With about ten minutes to go High School were down 0-8 to 1-3 and needed a goal to have any chance. In the remaining ten minutes it was De La Salle who got the breaks and surged ahead of High School who were tired after making a fantastic effort. The final score was De La Salle 0-11, High School 1-3.
Best for Clonmel were Pat Burke in goals, Diarmuid O’Sullivan at full-back, Donal Lynch at centre back, Kevin McLean when introduced at half time, Paul Denn in the half forward line, and David McGrath at full forward.
Successful run for High School U-15 Footballers
The High School Under 15 footballers had a very successful year on the sporting field, firstly on reaching a Munster Final in which they were narrowly beaten after an enthralling encounter and later going on to win the Cusack Cup in the County Championship.
The Munster campaign started on the 8 th October with a comprehensive win over Douglas Community School ; 5-18 to 0-2 pts. Next up were St Michael’s of Listowel who quietly fancied their chances of going all the way. Michael Hassett, the Kerry footballer, coached Listowel. The High School team and management were not over awed by this fact as they ran out easy winners on a score line of 4-13 to 2-2.
The semi-final was against Glanmire Community School , played in Ballygiblin. After an enduring tussle we emerged winners on a shoreline of 4-12 to 1-4.
The Corn na mBandon Final was played in Portlaw against De La Salle, Waterford who were beaten in last year’s final. We got off to a terrific start with an early goal scored by David Mc Grath. After eight minutes, one of our players was sent off for retaliating to an earlier tackle. We felt that this was a harsh decision by the referee as it was so early in the game. Eventually De la Salle ran out winners by five points.
Our County campaign started with a victory over a gallant Templemore side that we defeated on a score line of 3-15-to 2-7. The final of the Cusack cup was played in New Inn against our old rivals Abbey C.B.S. The game was played at a frantic pace and the standard of play was of a particularly high level.
The lead changed sides on numerous occasions. With twelve minutes remaining Abbey were awarded a penalty, which if they scored, would have put them five points ahead. Fortunately our keeper, Pat Burke made a fine save and we rallied from this to draw level at the end of normal time. It was in injury time that we scored the winning point by Ciaran Lorrigan who was moved forward to help the attack.
This victory was just reward for all the commitment shown through the Munster and County campaigns and we now look forward to the next school year and another long and successful campaign.
Congratulations and well done to everyone involved.
Munster Youths Cup
High School students featured prominently in Clonmel Celtic’s Munster Youth’s campaign when, in their first season reached the Munster Youths final. This run really gathered pace after a 3-2 away win against Knockainey of Limerick. This was followed by great wins over Cobh Ramblers in the quarterfinal by 2-0 and by the same score against Johnville in the semi-final at Ozier Park .
The final was played against Bohemians of Waterford at the Dr. Pat O’Callaghan complex in Clonmel on the 18th of April. Eight of the starting eleven were past or present High School students. This being a very tense affair, it took a while to get going. The match turned in favour of the Clonmel side when the referee awarded them a penalty which was brilliantly converted. The match was made safe when, with about 5 minutes to go, Michael McHugh chipped the on-rushing keeper from 20 yards or more out. The final whistle was met with wild celebrations with the cup returning to Clonmel for the first time since Old Bridge won it back in 1993.
Congratulations to all and especially Andy Ryan, Adam McSherry, Michael McHugh and Johnny Cagney, all presently in the High School. Best of luck to Clonmel Celtic in their league title play-off match against Rock Rovers. What a season!
County Minors
Six High School students represented their county at Minor level in the first round of the Munster football championship when Tipperary recorded a 1 – 12 to 0 – 6 victory over Limerick in Fermoy on March 31 st . Daniel Lynne, Kevin Harney, Conor Morrissey and team captain Brian Mulvihill were all part of the first 15, while Tony Ryan and Mark Tobin were on the panel. Past pupil Ian Browne is also on the panel. They now go forward to meet Kerry in the Munster semi-final which is scheduled to take place on July 1st. They are wished the best of luck and here’s hoping that we will have Brian displaying the silverware here in the High School in September.
Young Footballer of 2003
Brian Mulvihill, who was a key figure in High School team that won last year’s Munster Colleges Senior Football B Championship, was deservedly chosen as Young Footballer of 2003. Last year he was instrumental in his club’s great minor football championship campaign that saw them capture both South and County A titles. He was an automatic choice for the county minor team last year and is captain of this year’s team that are through to the Munster Semi-final. Brian, who is a prolific scorer and an excellent playmaker, plays his club football with Moyle Rovers at minor, Under 21 and senior levels. Brian was also captain of the High School senior rugby team that won the O’Brien Munster cup this year. He used his football talents to great effect at full back on this team, time and again relieving the pressure with tremendous kicks down the line using both feet. Besides all these commitments he somehow finds time to successfully study for his Leaving Cert. No doubt, we will hear much more about the sporting exploits of this affable young man.