Celtic U-7 side are champion

Celtic U-7 side are champion

CELTIC Bhoys tasted success in the annual Annalong tournament with the U-7 side winning their respective age group and the U-11s finishing runners-up to Glenavon.

The tournament was split up into morning and afternoon sessions with the U-7 and U-9s  competing in the morning. Both teams started off flying and following three out of four victories in each of their group stages they both found themselves in the semi-final stage of the main cup competition. 

The U-9s were up first and they faced a well drilled Annalong side in their semi-final, but despite a gallant performance they fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat.

It was then the U-7s and they faced Portadown Youth in their semi-final before running out comfortable 3-0 winners to set-up a cup final showdown with Annalong. The young U-7s performed brilliantly and right up to the final had played some excellent free flowing football. 

They didn’t let up either in the final and overcame Annalong 3-2 to seal the cup for with Mark Leahy netting the winner for the Hoops and sending the young starlets into wild celebrations.

After watching the younger age groups perform so gallantly in the morning it was then the turn of the U-11 and U-14 sides to kick off their competition. 

The U-11s were in blistering form and with James Perry on top goalscoring form they cruised to five wins out of five in their group matches to top the group and set them up for a semi-final clash against Annalong. 

Perry was on blistering form again and found the net twice in the early stages to give the young Hoops a 2-0 lead, it was then the turn of the defence to keep this lead and it was well marshalled by Ben Hynds, David Shields and Cormac Moore and they let very little through with the score remaining 2-0 at the final whistle, setting up a cup final showdown with Irish league Academy side Glenavaon FC. 

As expected, the Glenavon side were very well drilled and quick on the ball and the young Hoops found them hard to combat. However, they put up a brave fight in the final and had good chances through Perry, Daibhi Ennis and Peter Carberry, but they were well thwarted by the Glenavon ‘keeper.

The Irish league side raced into a two goal lead in the closing five minutes when they caught the young Hoops side on the counterattack. To their credit, the Hoops never gave up and fought to the very end and got a deserved consolation goal with the final finishing 2-1.

The U-14s also performed well in their respective age group, but ped points in their opening game which proved costly for them as due to other results meant they found themselves third in the group, qualifying for the plate competition were they faced Rathfriland in the final. 

Having taken the lead in the opening minutes of the game the Hoops made the cardinal mistake of taking their foot off the gas and allowing the Mourne side back into the game. This proved costly for the Hoops as they ended up losing the game 2-1, but they will take a lot out of the experience.

Speaking about the tournament Celtic Bhoys grassroots co-ordinator Cahal Hynds said: “As I have said before, at Celtic Bhoys, it’s not always about winning, but giving the boys the techniques and skills to become winners. 

“Tournaments such as these will develop their skills and techniques and should be an enjoyable day for all involved. This is also an opportunity to promote Celtic Bhoys as a football club which is going from strength to strength. 

“Celtic Bhoys is managed and organised as how we believe football should be played and developed.Thanks you to all the parents, members and committee for their support and belief in the club”.