Presentation College Athenry capture Rod Houston Cup
Galway school wins international competition for the second time in four years
Presentation College Athenry has captured the SAFIB Rod Houston Cup for the second time in the school's history, wining all three of their games to lift the 1st Year international title.
The team, under the management of Joe Finnerty, Dom Coll, and Áine Hynes, opened their tournament with a 7-0 thrashing of last year's runners-up, Stanwell School from Penarth in Wales.
The Galway starlets followed this up with another dominating display against another Welsh side, Ysgol Glan Clwyd, running out 5-1 winners; and they completed the clean-sweep when defeating Our Lady’s Catholic High School from Preston in England 2-0 to add the title to the crown they won in 2023; while they also finished as runners-up in 2022 in their first year in the tournament.
Aoibhinn Burke was Presentation’s top scorer, netting eight of their 14 goals, including all five in their win over Ysgol Glan Clwyd; with Mia Lawless, Roisin Sammon, Clodagh Collins, Ailbhe Brady, and Lily Mae Forde also getting on the scoresheet, with an OG completing their tally.
The squad was Ailbhe Brady, Aoibhinn Burke, Clodagh Collins, Sophie Coen, Abbie Cussen, Amelia Doherty, Lillie May Forde, Roisin Hannon, Cerys Johnston, Laoise Larkin, Mia Lawless, Lucy McDonald, Keelin Murtagh, Molly Moran, Roisin Sammon, and Kayla Poniard.
The cup is named after Rod Houston, a retired school teacher who was President of the Scottish Schools FA for many years, and has been played for since 2016. This year's tournament was held at Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Shropshire.