Young guns shine for Lee Gaels as they win John Kerins Shield with victory over Brian Dillon's

Lee Gaels 2-6 

Brian Dillon’s 1-3 

Lee Gaels clinched the John Kerins Shield on Saturday afternoon, rounding off a special day of football at Páirc Uí Rinn.

With the sun beating down, every player gave their all, and their coaches and parents deserve plenty of praise for getting them prepared for what was a brilliant occasion.

Honouring the memory of former All-Ireland winning goalkeeper John Kerins, who won the Sam Maguire trophy in 1989 and 1990, the U11 competition was played in good spirit amidst the sunshine at the famous old stadium.

Crosshaven, Lee Gaels, Brian Dillons and Passage West all contested the semi-finals, having come through a tough qualifying path.

In the first semi-final, Lee Gaels produced a stunning display to beat Crosshaven 4-5 to 1-2, with goals and scores coming courtesy of Joseph O’Sullivan and Ciarán O’Riordan, while Noah Ormand and Alex O’Riordan also found the back of the net to seal a statement victory.

Afterwards, Brian Dillon’s met Passage West. A low scoring first half yielded just four points, leaving the score at 0-3 to 0-1 in favour of the northside club, before they grabbed a further two scores to Passage’s one in the second half to rubber-stamp their final berth. 

Shane Casey played an impressive role in Dillon’s 0-5 to 0-2 victory, setting up a final showdown with Lee Gaels. Darragh Horgan, Jack Healy and Daragh Birkey got the scores.

In the final, both teams made lightning starts, with the score at 2-2 to 1-1 at the break. Noah Ormand grabbed two goals for Gaels, while Ciaráin O’Riordan and Liam Maguire also contributed.

Maguire would grab another score in the second-half, while O’Riordan added to his tally.

Darragh Horgan had his shooting boots on for Dillon’s, while Daniel Wyles finished brilliantly to grab a goal back for the northside team. 

Further scores followed in the second-half, but it wasn’t enough to quell Lee Gaels spirit, and they ran out convincing winners, fully deserving off their shield glory. 2-6 to 1-3 in favour of Lee Gaels was the final score.

A magic day for all involved with Lee Gaels, and the young talent they have coming through. A special mention goes to Ciaráin O’Riordan, voted player of the tournament.

Speaking after the tournament, Mick Comyns, involved in organising the day’s events, spoke glowingly about the standard of play. 

“The standard of U11 football constantly amazes us every year. Every match was well contested right up to the final which went to extra time."

LEE GAELS squad: Tom McCarthy, Liam Maguire, Alex Cotter, Cillian Murphy, Bobby Harrington, Oisín Murphy, Joseph O’Sullivan, Ciaran O’Riordan, Oisin Fitzgerald, Colm Kelliher, Noah Ormand, Alex Hubert, Alex O’Riordan.

BRIAN DILLON’S squad: Kevin Dunton, Caleb O’Reagan, Paul McSweeney, Cian Dullea, Daragh Burke, Christopher Barry, Darragh Horgan, Jack Healy, Conn Loughnane, Shane Casey, Luke Heaphy, Oliver Power, Daniel Wyles, Daniel O'Neill, Mark Campbell, Conor Noone, Madalin Harna, Isaac Akinkoulie, Caoláin O’Brien, Gregor Doherty.

Referee: Chris Cronin (Kinsale).