It’s an extremely busy period for the Roscommon & District Youth Soccer League representative teams ahead of some major national tournaments including the Kennedy Cup, which will see the county’s U-14 elite soccer players travel to Limerick in June.
Over Easter, the U-12 and U-13 teams travelled to the Preston North End Academy for the Blackpool Cup and returned home with silverware.
The U-13s were victorious in their trophy final after exiting the cup competition at the semi-finals stage. They comfortably overcame Dungannon United in the final 3-0.
The U-12s meanwhile were split into two teams and played in separate groups. Both played well through the group stages following a slow start on day one. Both U-12s sides finished second in their respective groups which meant they would contest the Trophy Final with silverware guaranteed!
So a great weekend for players, coaches and parents as the RDYSL teams took two trophies back across the Irish Sea.
I’m reliably informed by their stats man that between them, the three teams played sixteen games, won twelve, lost four (including one against each other), scored 86 goals and conceded only 11, and drank about 350 bottles of water!
A great weekend was had by all and huge credit must go to the organisers, players, U-13s manager Gerry Davis and his assistants David Farrell, Robbie Kelly and Jason Tarmey, U-12s coaches Andy McKelvey, Callum McKelvey, Evan Fahy and Patrick Kelly.
Well done also to the parents who travelled over in support of their youngsters. I’m reminded of something a former Manchester United Academy Director once said when asked in an interview who would make it at the club. He replied by telling the journalist to look around the carpark and figure out which players’ loved ones were parked there.
