Chris Harrington wonder goal wins Munster soccer title for Spioraid Naomh
Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh celebrating their Munster title.
COLÁISTE an Spioraid Naoimh are the Tom Ticher Junior Munster Cup champions after they beat Thurles CBS 2-1 in Mitchelstown.
A free-kick from Chris Harrington in the 70th minute has brought the title back to Bishopstown for the first time since 2019.
It was a true final as chances were few and far between as both teams battled each other and harsh wintry conditions at the home ground of Park United in north-Cork.
Spioraid Naomh took the lead in the 53rd minute when Dylan McCarthy took the ball inside the box and he hit the roof of the net.
The Cork school, who enjoyed the majority of possession, were left shellshocked on the hour mark when a corner from Finn Jones got knocked in by Conor Gleeson. They quickly steadied themselves with some good passing play, and this allowed them to take back control of the final.
Spioraid Naomh’s key moment came through a foul on striker Jeoffrey Zeph and this gave them a free-kick at the edge of the box. Cork City U17 player Harrington stepped up and put them back ahead by curling the ball into the top right corner with a brilliant strike.
Thurles did everything to try and equalise but they were denied by goalkeeper, and Spioraid Naomh, captain Senan Dorgan, and the school’s organised defence.
The team were managed by Richard O’Regan and he was assisted by Martin McElligott.
“I’m on cloud nine, it’s been a long year and a lot of work has gone into it,” O’Regan told .
"They even had their own training sessions on their own over Christmas.
“We started training back in September. To be fair to the lads, some of them are training three or four nights a week. The amount of time we train as a team is limited but we meet as a team quite regularly.
“Michael Buckley in fifth year, he’s our stats man. Before each match, he does his research on the opposition and he sits us down and lets us know what we are up against.
“He’s an integral part of the team even though he is not on the team. It’s the bigger picture of everybody in the school involved and he is a fundamental part of what we do here.”
The Spioraid Naomh squad has representatives from all clubs in Cork, with five from Everton involved while Geoffrey Zeph and Jayden O'Leary play with College Corinthians.
Senan Dorgan (c); Dylan McCarthy, Gary Holand, Mark O’Brien, Robert O’Leary; Jayden McCarthy, Odhran Foley, Chris Harrington; Ryan O’Leary, Joffrey Zeph, Jordan McCarthy.
App?
