Many thanks to David O’Donoghue from Transition Year Journalism who has the following report on a Futsal Tournament which took place in Alsaa recently. The 1st year boys and 1st year girls went to compete to represent Fingal in the Leinster finals.
The teams were managed by Mr. Tiernan.
The goal was to win as many of the first four matches and then go through the knock out stages. The tournament had specific rules which were as follows: no slide tackles, all free kicks are in direct and no throw in’s just kick in’s off the floor.
The boys’ fixtures were against other North county Dublin school teams; Balbriggan, Skerries, Ardgillan and Malahide.
The 1st year boys’ team played their games first and they played the group favourites Balbriggan. The game began in a back and forth sort of fashion with a quick pace set from the start. This created some early chances for Donabate which led to an opening goal for Donabate through a good run by Conor Grant who finished very calmly into the bottom corner.
Then almost immediately Donabate went 2-0 up through David Halpin, from a quick move through the middle and another cool finish past the keeper. The game went to 3-0 and with a one sided score line it was not an even game. Good defending by both teams saw attackers coming back and helping out. Donabate won their first game, it ended 6-2 to Donabate.
Next Donabate boys played their second game against Skerries and like the first they took an early lead through Graham Doyle, followed shortly by another goal for Donabate through Callum Leonard from a long range effort that managed to beat the goal keeper for power.
But Skerries got the first goal through sloppy defending by Donabate. The game began to die down in pace due to attack after attack by Donabate which led to the other team losing faith after Donabate took their lead to 7-1. Skerries got a late consolation goal, but was not enough to bring the game back. The final score was 8-2.
Donabate played their next game against Ardgillan who were looking like a good team and a tough challenge. Donabate started extremely quickly making easy work of Ardgillan and set the game at a fast but comfortable pace, with goals going in left, right and centre. Ardgillan barely got a touch of the ball through good distribution in a small space showing good control. The game ended in a 7-0 victory, earning the talented Donabate keeper, Cian Cooke a well-earned clean sheet.
Next game for the team was the second game of recent group favourites Balbriggan. Straight off, the lads started better than the opposition due to a very important first goal from Callum Leonard, then another through a quick break from Conor Grant – good feet and a long range effort that beat the keeper. Balbriggan got a goal back from some poor defending from Donabate which made the game a rare close affair. Cian Cooke, the keeper, kept out the equalizer and with the scores remaining 2-1 to Donabate. Goals were in short supply due to both keepers showing an amazing display. Callum Leonard followed in an effort by Conor Grant but Balbriggan showed great determination to equalize twice. However, in the last minutes of the game Graham Doyle took a desperately hopeful shot which was turned in by their own defender to earn Donabate a well-deserved win in a tight contested match. The final score was 4-3 to Donabate.
Donabate went on to play Malahide who had played quite well up until this game. Again Donabate took the lead through an early goal which gave them something to show for, after having almost all of the possession in the first 4 minutes, but Malahide remained to look dangerous as they continued to test Donabate’s well organised defence. There were some perfect long balls over the top for Donabate, which earned a second and quickly then two amazing goals by Stephen McDermott, one of which was a brilliant glancing header across the face of goal from a well-weighted cross. Malahide left the pitch with through a late sloppy goal due to complacencey from Donabate. The game ended 5-1 to Donabate who continued their winning form.
Donabate went on to the semi-final of the fingal futsal tournament against Ardgillen feeling extremely confident from the 7-0 victory in the group stages. Donabate wasted no time to create chances through quick, sharp passes. Stephen McDermott scored again to earn the team their first of the game and with an outstanding goal-line clearance from Cian Cooke, Stephen McDermott showed a true striker’s instinct and got a second for Donabate. The lads looked good on the ball and with no shortage of chances looked clear winners early on. Donabate got two quick goals, including a scorching volley from David Halpin to make it 4-0. But soon after Ardgillan drew a solitary goal. This was cancelled out by two quick goals in succession from Donabate from a good period of the game. Ardgillan drew another goal back but the game finished with a resounding 6-2 victory which meant Donabate were through to the final where they would face tough challengers Balbriggan yet again.
The final kicked off and Balbriggan had many chances early on, proving it would be another tough game but maybe without the one-sided score-line. David Halpin got the opening goal out of nowhere which gave Donabate some breathing space. This put Donabate into their devastating cruise control mode earning them two very quick goals which made Balbriggan almost lose their faith as tempers began to flare and frustration crept into the game. However, Graham Doyle found the net again. Balbriggan found more space on the ball and created more chances. Donabate did not concede and nicked another goal through Callum Leonard which gave Donabate a 5-0 and easy win on paper. Nevertheless, this was the most even match through the tournament and the score does not reflect the battle they fought to win the honour to represent Fingal in the Leinster finals.
The 1st year girls’ fixtures were against Loreto Balbriggan, Lusk, St. Mary’s, and Skerries. The same rules applied in the girls’ league and a place in the Leinster Finals was also being competed for.
The Donabate girls teams first game was against Loreto. This was a nightmare for Donabate as Loreto’s girls had all played at a high level at school girl football leagues. Loreto scored three very quick goals from nervy defending from Donabate. Loreto managed to run the show through their two very skilled forwards who gave Donabate girls a hard time. Donabate conceded two more, making it 5-0 early on and while Donabate looked like a team yet to gel together Loreto looked as if they had been playing together since a young age. An error from Donabate’s goalkeeper cost them another goal to make it 6-0. But minutes before the final whistle Donabate scored a great team goal which started at the goalie’s feet and moved up to the forward resulting in a goal which gave hope for the remaining games. The final score was a 6-1 defeat.
The next game came too quickly and with a break Donabate found themselves a goal down from kick off against Lusk in their second game. Donabate were beginning to find their feet and created some good chances but were left deflated as Lusk merely flexed their muscles to get a second goal followed very quickly by another to make it 3-0. But the score-line told a different story to the game as Donabate showed more than enough moments of class through-out the game. Lusk were rewarded a goal after being let off by many chances for Donabate to get back into the game to make it 4-0 and an un-just result for Donabate.
Donabate were not given a break and were thrown back out against a tough looking St. Mary’s team. The opposition again looked very professional and seemed to have played the sport at a very high level. Donabate conceded two early on, from great co-ordinated play from the opposition. Then almost suddenly St. Mary’s scored two more seeming as though Donabate still had not of gotten over the first two. And within three minutes Donabate were 4-0 down. The girls showed one or two signs of promise and managed to drag themselves through the St. Mary’s well-organised team and created a handful of chances. But it was not enough and with the team still getting back from the attacking play they conceded another to make it 5-0 to the opposition. Donabate looked shattered as they had given so much to the game and had gotten nothing to show for it, and towards to end of the game St. Marys got another through a good, clever bit of play by the opposition. The game finished with an unfortunate score-line of 6-0 to St. Marys.
The girls last group game saw Donabate play Skerries, the favourites to win the tournament. Skerries took advantage of their break between their last game and stole the lead with almost two identical goals. They used the same tactics against Donabate and it came off twice more, but the ball over the top tactic began to be spotted by Donabate’s defence and the game stayed at 4-0 to Skerries. After solving Skerries tactics Donabate found a foot-hold in the game and began to play nice football through the middle, spotting a sign of weakness in the favourites’ game. But Skerries proved too strong a defence and with counter attacking play Skerries caught Donabate on the break and somehow got two more goals to make it 6-0 to Skerries. But it was not all doom and gloom!
Donabate showed even more class than in the whole competition against the group leaders and estimated winners. The girls earned many good chances and after conceding once more to make it 7-0, Donabate worked a move that lured the Skerries team forward and played a long ball over the top giving Skerries a taste of their own medicine and ended the match on a high. After a calm, calculated finish the game ended 7-1 to Skerries. Hard luck to the girls but there is certainly hope for future tournaments and great pride in the efforts of this team who played to the final whistle.