Under 16 National Cup Final Tie May 15th – Belvedere 0 – Cobh Ramblers 1

Cobh Ramblers Under 16 National Cup Winners 2011

Last Sunday May 15th was a great day in the history of Schoolboys Football in Cobh as the Under 16 Premier League team from the Springfield Ramblers Club playing under the Cobh Ramblers banner won the SFAI Michael Barry National Cup Competition. The team became the very first Cobh side to win a National Cup competition at schoolboys’ level and one of the very few teams from Cork to win. The boys defeated a brilliant Belvedere team full of Irish International players some of whom are bound for careers with English clubs.

On a windy afternoon in Kilternan the Cobh side started well and took the game to the Belvedere side not allowing them to settle into their passing game. With the strong wind behind them in the first half the Ramblers side landed plenty of balls in behind the Belvedere defence keeping them on the back foot for long periods. The front line of Dave Cahill and Daniel Santry kept a high line and concentrated the minds of the opposition back four not allowing them to settle. Midway through the half Dave Curran got on the end of a cross from the left only to see his header saved at the far post. As the half progressed the Belvedere side began to get their passing game together and created some chances in the Cobh penalty area but the Cobh defensive line of Lloyd Spillane, Brendán Frahill, Tony O’Donovan and Adam Thompson coped ably with everything that was asked of them, while Shane Hallahan in goal dealt with anything that breached the defensive line. At the half time whistle there was a quiet confidence among the travelling support that the Cobh lads had withstood the test and were more than capable of achieving a great result.

Winning goal scored by Jason Abbott in the U16 National Cup on Sunday against Belvedere in Dublin - Photo by AnneMarie Van Wijnen

The Cobh side began the second half with a belief that was evident in the second half of the Semi-Final tie against St Francis as they sensed that the Belvedere side were becoming frustrated that they hadn’t stamped their authority on the game. Dave Cahill in particular was a renewed force as he began to run menacingly at the Belvedere defence. And it was Cahill who sparked the deciding moment of the game as he raided down the Belvedere left flank, skinned the full back, cut inside and slid a perfect pass into the path of the inrushing Jason Abbott who rifled the ball home in his stride past the hapless goalkeeper. There were wild scenes of delight among the Cobh mentors and supporters on the sidelines. Belvedere were now stung into action and upped the ante to try and retrieve the situation. They sprayed passes around the Cobh midfield line trying to carve out an opening but the work rate of the entire Ramblers side seemed to rise again and to a man they threw themselves in front of every pass and flew into tackle after tackle to thwart the opposition attacks. The frustration for the belvedere side boiled over when after a corner kick went harmlessly wide of the Cobh goal one of the belvedere players vented his frustration across the legs of Dave Curran right under the nose of the referee and was shown a straight red card. It was at this juncture that skipper Tony O’Donovan was seen leave the melee and to run to the centre of the field and to beseech the midfield and forward lines to up the tempo again and to win more tackles to keep the advantage.

Champions

As Belvedere chased the game gaps began to open up in midfield and the Cobh lads were able to make runs at their defence. Jason Abbott, Jason Dunphy and Dave Curran played some good passing movements to try and create another chance, with Paul Ronan holding the defensive line in front of the back four. It was Cahill again who could have put the game beyond doubt when he brilliantly beat the defence again at the corner flag, and cut inside but with three team mates rushing into the penalty area he just couldn’t come up with the killer pass this time. As the game drew to a close Belvedere were not quite finished and to their credit they carved out two gilt edged opportunities. The first of these came about when a forward burst through on the right and was left one on one with Shane Hallahan in the Cobh goal but in a moment of sheer brilliance Hallahan stood tall as the striker approached and blocked the shot for goal. As the ball broke from his body he threw himself on the ball to save the day. Then a long ball out of defence after another Cobh attack found the Belvedere centre forward straight through on goal but with only Hallahan to beat he blasted the ball high over the bar. The remaining minutes seemed like an eternity but the final whistle came eventually and sparked wild scenes of celebrations among the Cobh team and the travelling supporters.

Tony O'Donovan receives U16 National Cup

There was a roller coaster of emotions on the pitch in the following minutes as the sense of achievement of this bunch of players began to take hold. Players, coaches, parents, club officers, friends and supporters shared in the emotion of the moment. As the cup was presented to captain Tony O’Donovan he graciously acknowledged and thanked the Belvedere team for their efforts and commiserated with them on their loss. He paid special tribute to the team manager Niall Abbott and coaches Mossie O’Mahony and Frank Collins and acknowledged the time and effort they had put in in bringing the team to a National Cup success.

This game was the final chapter in a long run of successes in getting to the final. The boys emerged from the Cork side of the draw with a 2-0 victory over Rockmount. They then beat Carrigtwohill on a 4-0 score line in the round of 64, had a brilliant 2-0 victory in a difficult away tie against Clonmel Town in the round of 32 and at the last 16 stage they had a 2-1 victory against Killarney Celtic in a tough encounter at home. They then overcame a very strong Ballyheane side from Mayo in the Quarter Final at the VEC grounds on a 3-1 score line. Then came the first of two difficult trips to Dublin for a semi-final tie against St Francis in Baldonnel which was won on the dreaded penalty shoot-out on a 6-5 score line and finally the final tie against Belvedere for a history making cup win.

Cup Winners After The Game

After the game the team and supporters returned to the Cobh Ramblers club where the celebrations continued into the night. The Springfield Ramblers club chairman Cathal Rasmussen thanked the team and their management for efforts in securing this historic win for the club. Team manager Niall Abbott gave a rousing speech in thanking and congratulating the players twelve of whom started for Niall at Under 6 level.

In what are heady days indeed for the club this was the second piece of silverware that the club has secured in a week as our Under 12 team won the Premier League title last week and both these sides will be looking for more success this week as they both contest Cork Cup semi-final ties. The Under 16s face arch rivals Ringmahon on Wednesday evening at the VEC Grounds at 6.45pm and the Under 12s face a local derby tie against Midleton again at the VEC grounds on Thursday evening at 7pm.

To finish off the week there will be the Official Opening of our Astroturf facility at the VEC grounds on Saturday next 21^st May by Ray Houghton and John Delaney in a ceremony which will see the grounds re-dedicated as John Murphy Memorial Park.

The club strongly urges the public to come out and support both sides in their respective cup ties this week and to come along to the celebrations at John Murphy Memorial Park on Saturday afternoon.