Successful tournament for Kells/Blackwater club

Kells was the destination for some of the best known names in Irish club soccer for the annual Kells/Blackwater tournament which concluded last week. Shamrock Rovers, Home Farm, St Kevin's Boys, Belvedere, St Francis and Cherry Orchard were among the list of famous soccer clubs who fielded teams in the tournament with up to 1,600 players taking part in the youth-fuelled extravaganza. As well as the teams from the capital there was a contingent of local sides in addition to outfits from Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Offaly. Teams from u-10 to u-18 were catered for in the busy schedule. This was the sixth staging of the tournament which was held over three weekends during August with all the games played at the Grange soccer pitches outside Kells. Originally the plan was to stage the games over two weekends however, the wet weather ensured that a third weekend was required to allow all the games at u-16 and u-18 levels to be completed. It was one of the disruptions to the original plan that the organisers had to side-step in order to get all the action out of the way. They did that and the busy programme of games was completed. Despite the problems, tournament co-ordinator and Kells/Blackwater secretary Patrick Matthews was happy with the way everything worked out. "Once again I have been overwhelmed by the response to this year's tournament and 90 teams competed," he told the Meath Chronicle. "In the first year the tournament only had 33 teams. It has proven to be a great success amongst the soccer community in the whole region and provides a great opportunity for parents, managers and players from surrounding counties to come together in what is a very competitive tournament in advance of the new season." The logistics of dealing with such a large number of teams and huge contingent of players was an impressive achievement for Matthews and what he described as the "hard working" members of the committee who put in a huge effort to ensure everything ran smoothly. "Needless to say it takes a huge amount of organisation on a voluntary basis to make a tournament like this a reality. A great deal of thanks must go to the referees, first aid personnel, sponsors, the multitude of helpers and the hard-working club committee of Kellls/Blackwater FC who made the whole event run smoothly," he added. Now the Kells/Blackwater soccer tournament is an established event on the local soccer scene with a growing reputation, strong enough to attract many of the biggest names in the game at under-age level. This year the winner of the Fair Play League was Home Farm's u-14 team. Morgan Biggs from the same Home Farm side also won the 'player-of-the-tournament' award. The must successful NECSL side turned out to be the Kells/Blackwater u-15s. They put in an strong run to reach the final of their section. They kicked-off their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Drogheda Boys. From there they chalked up a 1-1 draw against Home Farm before notching up a similar result with Skryne/Tara. Those results sustained their campaign. The victory that ensured they would be playing in the final was carved out when they defeated local rivals Kentstown Rovers 1-0 in keenly fought encounter. In the final Kells/Blackwater came up against a very strong, skilful Home Farm (Major) combination who had the armoury and the desire to claim victory, something they did on a comprehensive 6-0 scoreline. Still, it was a decent achievement by the local youngsters to reach the final even if they found their opponents too hot to handle with Home Farm's Glen Power named as 'player-of-the-match.' The list of companies that supported the Kells/Blackwater tournament included Masita Sportswear, the Lynch family, Jewellery Box, Bective Financial Services, Gerry Beggy, Jim Tighe Building and Maintenance, Patrick Matthews, Paul Mooney Kitchens and Bedrooms, Conservations Solutions and the Headfort Arms Hotel. Results: U-15: Skryne/Tara 1, Home Farm Major 2; Kentstown 1, Drogheda Boys 1; Kells/Blackwater 2, Drogheda Boys 2; Kentstown 0, Home Farm Major 1; Drogheda Boys 0, Skryne/Tara 1; Kells/Blackwater 1, Home Farm Major 1; Skryne/Tara 0, Kentstown 0; Kells/Blackwater 1, Skryne/Tara 1; Drogheda Boys 0, Home Farm Major 2; Kells/Blackwater 1, Kentstown 0; third place play-off, Skryne/Tara 0, Kentstown O (Skryne/Tara won 5-4 penalties); final - Home Farm 6, Kells/Blackwater 0.