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~ St Brecans Derry ~ Soccer ~ Youth Teams ~ League ~ Diet ~
TOP OF THE HILL CELTIC FOOTBALL CLUB UNDER 13'S TEAM
WIN THE SCOTLAND CUP, AYR 2008 !!!!
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Top of the Hill Celtic F.C. took 2 teams to Ayr in Scotland this year, an Under 13's team and an Under 16's team. This was an amazing trip for Top of the hill Celtic F.C. for a few reasons. Firstly, it was the first time an Irish team has won the Under 13's competition and secondly, it was the first time in the history of the tournament that a girl had played in the final, so hats off to young Aoife Curran and all the boys in the Top of the Hill Celtic F.C. Under 13's.
TOTHC's group section consisted of Cramlington Juniors from Newcastle, Southside Boys Club and Cummock Juniors from Scotland. The teams first group game against Cramlington seen the boys play some excellent football with Loughlin Toland and Gareth Gallagher in particular having outstanding games. The team got off to the perfect start when Mark Murray played a perfect cross-field pass to Tomas Mc Crossan who finished with ease to make the score line 1-0. Mid-way through the first half, Cramlington got themselves back into the game when they equalized and found themselves well on top. This pressure nearly paid off but only for the heroics of Celtic keeper Cain Breslin and defender Shay Dunlop who kept their team in the game. Top of the Hill came out a different team in the second half and knuckled down to try to get what every team strives for in tournament football and get 3 points from their first game. This all out approach soon paid off when Emmett Mc Callion won a tackle on the half way line and found Tomas Mc Crossan who controlled brilliantly before putting his side 2-1 ahead. After this, Top of the Hill's mid-field of Ronan Tracey, Mark Magee and Conall Kelly totally dominated and only for some excellent goal keeping by the Cramlington keeper, Celtic could have increased their lead. Final Score - 2-1.
The second group game was against Southside Boys Club, which to both teams was a credit as the playing surface left a lot to be desired. This game turned out to be a real close encounter with Top of the Hill taking the lead with a goal from the dangerous Conall Kelly. Southside equalized shortly after when they scored a great team goal. On the stroke of half time, Celtic took the lead when great work by Daniel Neilis and Adam Molyneux saw the latter find Dylan Casey who unleashed an unstoppable shot which found the top corner of the net to leave the half time score 2-1. Southside started the brighter team in the second half and again forced an equalizer when a corner from the left was headed home. As the final whistle approached, Celtic went all out for the winner and with 5 minutes remaining, a great through ball from defence by Niall Logue caught the Southside defence off guard and the ever alert Tomas Mc Crossan was on hand to get his team a well deserved 3-2 score line and another 3 points.
The final group game saw Top of the Hill Celtic play Cummock Juniors with Celtic only needing a draw which would see them top of the group. Celtic started this game totally focused on the task at hand. Aoife Curran was to play a major part in Celtic's first goal when she cleverly beat her defender and set up Tomas Mc Crossan who opened the scoring. Mid-way through the half, Celtic doubled their lead when Conall Kelly rounded off a good team build up involving Loughlin Toland, Dylan Casey and Gareth Gallagher to give his team a comfortable lead of 2-0 at half time. Cummock Juniors upped their game in the second half and with Celtic taking the foot off the gas, they soon got themselves back into the game scoring 2 goals without reply. With the score now 2-2, Cummock nearly nicked all 3 points but only for a wonder save from Celtics keeper Cain Breslin. Final score 2-2. This was enough to see the boys top of the group.
The semi-final was against the host Club, Ayr Boswell Boys Club. This game was very tough for the Celtic team as they had to play in really hot conditions and as Ayr were the home side, they brought a lot of home supporters. Celtic opened the scoring after 5 minutes when Adam Molyneux went on a run down the right side of the pitch and his pin point cross found the head of Tomas Mc Crossan who made no mistake in finding the bottom corner to put his team 1 up. This goal shook the home team into action and they went all out for the equalizer but the Celtic defence of Daniel Neilis, Shay Dunlop, Gareth Gallagher and Niall Logue stood firm to deny them. Celtic doubled their lead on 20 minutes when Tomas Mc Crossan was sent clear by Dylan Casey. The Ayr Boswell keeper brought the Celtic forward down on the edge of the box and was red carded for the tackle. From the resulting free kick, Conall Kelly curled the ball around the Boswell wall and found the top left hand corner of the net to give his team a 2-0 lead at half time. The second half was totally dominated by TOTHC who were now playing with an extra man and they used this advantage brilliantly by passing the ball and making the Ayr Boswell team work hard which seen them tire and Celtic saw out the remainder of the game under no pressure to put them into the final of the Scotland Cup.
The final was played against Southside Boys Club who Celtic beat in their group games. Southside secured their place in the final by beating Queens Park in their Semi-Final on penalties. This final will have a lasting memory for each team member as they entered the stadium to the sound of Champions League anthem blasting out and the atmosphere of a packed stand which included Celtics Under 16 team who acted as a twelfth man for the Under 13's as they sang and cheered for the entire duration of the match. The noted dignitaries shook the hands of each player in the line up before the game began. The game was played on a surface worthy of any cup final and the match couldn't have started any better with Celtic taking an early lead. A long kick from Cain Breslin deceived the whole of the Southside defence and Tomas Mc Crossan couldn't believe his luck and the Centre forward took full advantage when he lobbed the advancing keeper to make it 1-0. This was a remarkable feat as this goal seen him score in every game. The early goal seemed to take the wind out of the Southside team and Celtic gained in confidence and pushed forward at every opportunity in search of more goals. With 18 minutes on the clock, the boys were to get their second goal when Shay Dunlop played a quick free kick to Conal Kelly who with a slight breeze at his back, shot from all of 30 yards to score a goal that would grace any game of football. The final 12 minutes of the half, the Celtic defence let nothing past and with the mid-field really compact, the boys were in no real danger and went in at half time leading 2-0. The second half started with Southside making a few changes and with the wind in their favour, tried to get back into this game. To their credit, Celtic stood firm and dug even deeper winning challenge after challenge with Ciaran Moore and Emmett Mc Callion playing well. With 15 minutes remaining, Southside threw extra players forward in the hope to claw back a goal but they were to be caught out with a sucker punch when Adam Molyneux rounded off a brilliant Celtic counter attack to make it 3-0. The remaining minutes were played out with the boys sensing that their names were on the cup. With very few chances created, the boys day was to be complete as they went on to deservedly lift the Scotland Cup.
With every tournament/competition every Club needs a squad and the Coaches couldn't fault the efforts of all 16 players involved. The Club would like to thank all the Coaches and parents who travelled with the team and helped out at every opportunity. Also, a special mention to the Under 16 squad who reached the Semi-Final in the Ayr Cup, where they were unlucky to be beat on penalties by St. Kevins F.C. from Dublin. The 18 young men involved were a credit to themselves and the Club.
Under 13's Winning Team were:
Cain Breslin, Shay Dunlop, Daniel Neilis, Niall Logue, Aoife Curran, Conall Kelly, Dylan Casey, Loughlin Toland, Adam Molyneux, Tomas Mc Crossan, Mark Murray, Mark Magee, Emmett Mc Callion, Ronan Tracey, Gareth Gallagher, Ciaran Moore.
Under 16 Team were:
Martin Healy, Daniel Devlin, Gavin Kelly, Eamonn Radcliffe, Stephen Campbell, Stephen O Donnell, Barry Mc Gilloway, John Cameron, Ciaran Curran, Jason Mc Colgan, Ciaran Fleming Eoghan Doherty, Colin Murray, David Mc Laughlin, Colm Mc Gurk, Garth Brown, Brian Robertson, Sean Doherty
~ Sunday morning ~ Top of the Hill Celtic ~ Cup ~ Coaching ~ |
