Courtesy: FAI Futsal Portal


Leinster Post Primary Schools Futsal

Thursday, 28 January 2010

The winners from North Leinster, South Leinster, Mid Leinster and Dublin battled it out for the overall Leinster title in the BRL/Umbro Futsal Arena in Ballymun last Tuesday, January 26th. Both Boys and Girls tournaments had a group of four teams which saw each team play against each other, after which the top two teams qualified for the Leinster final whilst the third and fourth placed teams in the group played off to determine their final placing.

The Girls section consisted of Moyne Community School (Co. Longford), St. Marys College (Naas, Co. Kildare), Loreto Balbriggan (Dublin) and eventual winners Loreto Kilkenny. After six high scoring group games which saw 30 goals scored Moyne C.S. topped the group and were joined in the final by Loreto Kilkenny. The 3rd/4th place playoff was won by St. Marys College after a narrow 2-1 victory over a spirited Loreto Ballbriggan outfit.
The final proved to be an exciting affair and both teams had early chances before Loreto Kilkenny opening the scoring midway through the first half, the talented Kilkenny girls added a second before half-time and went into the break two goals to the good. Moyne C.S. were forced to go on the offensive and as they tried in vain to break down the stubborn Kilkenny defence they were caught on the counter attack and Loreto sealed a fine victory with a brilliant individual goal. The final score was 3-0 and the Kilkenny girls will now represent Leinster in next month’s All-Ireland finals.

The Boys section was contested by Gaelcholaiste Na Mara (Arklow, Co. Wicklow), Maynooth Post Primary (Co. Kildare), Skerries Community College (Dublin) and St. Peters College (Dunboyne, Co. Meath). The teams were very closely matched and the group games were all very competitive and entertaining. St. Peters College and Gaelcholaiste Na Mara finished first and second respectively and advanced to the final whilst Maynooth Post Primary defeated Skerries C.C. 5-3 in the 3rd/4th place playoff.
The final was a tense game as both teams took very little risk for fear of conceding a goal and the teams were scoreless at half-time. In the second half the game began to open up and there were chances at either end but both goalkeepers and defences came out on top and the game finished 0-0 after neither team could break the deadlock. The game went to penalty kicks and although St. Peters College missed their first spot kick, they went on to win 2-0 in the shootout to earn the title of Leinster champions.
Loreto Kilkenny (Girls) and St. Peters College, Dunboyne (Boys) will now move on to the All-Ireland finals on February 23rd in the Futsal Arena where they will compete with the winners from Munster, Connacht and Ulster for the All-Ireland titles.





Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com