Glasgow glory for ADSL boys once again

THE Athlone & District Schoolboy League under-13 representative team are the toast of the town this week after returning from the prestigious Glasgow City Cup as champions for the second year running. Managed by Padraig Gaffey and Ronnie Coleman, the 18-strong squad set off for Glasgow last Thursday and were introduced to Celtic legend Bertie Auld during a tour of Celtic Park, before kicking off the campaign the following day with a convincing 6-0 win over Scottish outfit Broomhill, with Niall Boland (St Francis) registering two goals to send Athlone on their way. Boland added another brace as Athlone saw off GSC Athletic 4-0, with Dylan Jinks and Alex Gardiner also on the mark, before they suffered their first defeat of the competition - a 2-1 loss at the hands of Parkvilla, from the Govan area of Glasgow. This result meant Athlone qualified for the quarter-finals as the second placed team in their group behind Parkvilla but they quickly recovered from the loss to Parkvilla by beating East Kilbride 2-1 after extra-time, Oliver Milton and Niall Boland grabbing the important goals. Up next was a major test as Athlone came into contest with the famous green and white hoops of Celtic Boys Club in the semi-final stage. Alex Gardiner gave Athlone the lead after good work by Brian Gill but the Celtic Boys equalised with just six minutes remaining. Niall Boland and Emmet Kenny"s extra-time goals secured a place in the final for Athlone and a much anticipated rematch against Parkvilla. This time, Athlone overcame their Scottish opponents on a 2-0 scoreline, with Niall Boland and Cian Duffy of St Joseph"s netting the all-important goals. The Athlone squad for the Glasgow City Cup was as follows: Cathal Tighe (St Francis), Ross Keller (Ballinasloe), Brian Gill (St Francis), Eoin Monaghan (St Francis), Darragh Egan (St Joseph"s), James Shaughnessy (Ballinasloe), Joe Woods (Ballinasloe), Ian Dempsey (Willow Park), David Ward (St Francis), David Harrington (St Joseph"s), Conor Daly (Ballinasloe), Emmet Kenny (St Joseph"s), Oliver Milton (Hodson Bay), Cian Duffy (St Joseph"s), Niall Boland (St Francis), Alex Gardiner (St Francis), Alan Coffey (Willow Park) and Dylan Jinks (St Francis). At the same time, the league"s under-13 squad were competing in the Umbro Galway Cup, losing to both Derry City (1-0) and Donegal Schoolboy League (2-0), before earning a draw with Roscommon Schoolboy League (1-1) and beating South Tipperary (1-0). The team didn"t return home with any silverware but the event proved a useful learning curve for what will be Athlone"s Kennedy Cup squad next year. St Francis midfielder Robert Murray was also at the Umbro Galway Cup representing the Republic of Ireland Emerging Talent squad. Murray played in all six of the Irish side"s games and netted two goals as Ireland reached the final before losing 2-0 to Leicester City. Robert also had the honour of captaining the Irish side in the final. He wasn"t the only Athlone youngster to captain his country last week, however, as Kiltoom native Garvan Broughall skippered the Republic of Ireland Under-18 Development squad at the eight-team Rijnport Tournament in Holland last week. Broughall, 17, who plays for Belvedere in Dublin but learned much of his early skills at Hodson Bay Celtic, captained Ireland in four of their five matches at the tournament. The Irish team reached the semi-final stage before losing 4-0 to a hugely impressive Wolverhampton Wanderers side.