Calasanctius College U-17 side claim FAI schools’ title
Calasanctius College Oranmore 2
Coláiste Phádraig, Lucan CBS 1
Kevin Egan at Athlone IT
“It’s the economy, stupid” was the famous phrase that James Carville, political strategist for former US President Bill Clinton, used to communicate with voters as to what was the number one issue in advance of the 1992 race for the White House.
It was all about economy in the Tom Ticher Junior Cup final at Athlone IT on Monday too, as Calasanctius College of Oranmore joined fellow Galway schools St Mary’s College and reigning champions St Josephs in the record books as winners of the Schools U-17 FAI Cup.
The victory came thanks to a fine late goal from Ronan Manning, just when it looked as if extra time was on the cards at the Midlands venue. In truth, Calasanctius College would have been the happier of the two sides in that instance. After a closely-contested first half in which both teams looked potent in different ways, their west Dublin opponents took complete control of the tie after the restart, forcing a series of crucial interventions from in-form goalkeeper Mark Greaney and his defensive colleagues.
Oranmore were reduced to trying to feed Aaron Connolly from distance, yet still offering far too little playing support to their captain, so while Connolly was certainly game when it came to chasing down lost causes and trying to take on the defence by himself, the lack of support he received ensured that the best he could do was a few hastily pulled snapshots on goal at various stages.
Cólaiste Pádraig, in contrast, were far more composed and deliberate in their play and it was no surprise that they created a far greater number of chances during the second-half. Emmanual Lawal and Josh Hogan put in outstanding shifts on either wing, and they created several excellent openings, but while it looked for a long time as if pressure was building inexorably on the Calasanctius goal, the all-important lead score never arrived.
Extra time appeared inevitable as the clock ticked down into the closing minutes, but there was to be a dramatic twist in the tale as Connolly broke free down the left wing and after collecting possession, he made good ground towards the endline before pulling the ball back into the path of Manning, who still had plenty of work to do from just inside the area.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.