For the inaugural occasion, the Breffni Rowan futsal shield, which took place at a well attended John Count McCormack Centre in Athlone IT on Sunday was solely an all girl competition at both U10 and U11 age grades.
With eight local teams competing for silverware honours, it was both Hodson Bay Celtic teams who achieved final success on the day following tough round robin encounters.
Under the managerial guidance of Antoinette Brett and John Rowan, Hodson Bay Blaggards annexed the Breffni Rowan Shield following an enthralling ultimate fixture against Ballinahown Dragons, the win achieved following extra-time.
Ballinahown opened the final scoring but Emma Rowan soon had parity restored. With Srah Skene and Mai Henley imperious in defence, it was Keelan Brett who seemed to have secured victiry in the closing stages of normal time only for Ballinahown to level proceedings with a late goal.
Hodson Bay Blaggards were not to be denied their victory however as Cora Hennihan netted the all important winning goal in extra time just as a penalty shootout looked imminent.
Meanwhile, Hodson Bay Dragons, coached by Clodagh Muldowney and Paul Brosnan, also achieved club honours with an ‘A’ final victiry over Temple Villa Firebirds., Grace Brosnan securing the win with sole strike of the contest.
As always, the competition was expertly hosted by the Athlone and District Schoolboy League and Terry O’Neill, a superb advert for the promotion of girls’ soccer in Athlone.
It was a fantastic tournament that was so well run as always by Terry O’Neill and the ADSL. A huge thank you for the organisers. It was such a great advert for girls soccer in Athlone.
