Two Galway players win FAI 5-a-side finals' awards

Two young Galway soccer stars were named player of the tournament in their respective divisions in the An Post FAI Schools 5-a-side national finals, which were held in Dublin last week.

Aaron Connolly from Brierhill National School in the city was named Player of the Tournament in the B (mid-size schools) Section; while Nathan Leamy from Letterfrack NS in Connemara was named Player of the Tournament in the A (small schools) Section.

There were three Galway schools in the national finals, with Brierhill and Letterfrack joined by Scoil Iognáid, who were the Connacht representatives in the C (big schools) section, with Brierhill finishing second in their section, and both Scoil Iognáid and Letterfrack finishing third.

Letterfrack opened their campaign with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Zion Primary School from Rathgar in Dublin, Mark Folan getting the Galway goal, but they bounced back in their second game, defeating Annagh NS from Clare 1-0, with Nathan Leamy getting on the scoresheet.

Their final game was against St Patrick’s of Killaneck in Cavan, and the Galway side needed to win to have any chance of claiming the trophy, while St Patrick’s – who won their opening two games – only needed to avoid defeat to secure the title, and the game finished 1-1, Leamy finishing a fine move to score an equaliser for the Galway side.

Zion won their last game against Annagh to leave the final table with St Patrick’s on seven points, Zion on six point, Letterfrack on four points and Annagh with no points.

In Section B, Brierhill suffered a 4-0 defeat in their opening game with O’Growney’s of Athboy in Meath, who went on to claim the title with seven points from a possible nine. The Galway side bounced back in their second game with a 4-2 win over St Colmcille’s of Tipperary, with Connolly scoring all four goals, and Jayden O’Malley got on the scoresheet in their final game to secure a 1-1 draw with St Mary’s of Virginia in Cavan.

O’Groweys took the title on seven points, and both Brierhill and St Colmcille’s finished on four points, with the Galway side taking second place as a result of winning the game against the Munster side.

In Section C, Scoil Iognáid opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw with Scoil Phádraig of Clane in Kildare, Marc Breathnach getting the Galway goal. The Jes side lost their second game, a seven goal thriller with St Anthony’s of Ballinlough in Cork, despite Breathnach giving them an early lead.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.