Plenty of drama as teams chase after cup glory

There was no shortage of a high-quality football produced at the MDL as the NECSL staged a series of cup finals at the venue today.

In all 11 clubs fielded teams in nine finals ranging from u-12 to Youths level.

Among the first games played this morning was a contest between Balrath FC and Navan Town Cosmos in the Girls u-12 clash.

It proved to be a gripping encounter with Navan Town Cosmos, managed by Gwen Wogan winning 2-1, assisted by coach Marc Walsh. Their two goals were scored by Hannah Byrne who was also named her team's 'player of the match.'

One of the best games of the day was undoubtedly the Youths final between Trim Celtic and Parkvilla. The Trim side, managed by Niall Bell and Ger Murray, won 4-1 with James Foley scoring twice while Sam Kennedy and Alan Costello also found the target. Sam Kirwan netted for the Parkvilla side.

"The past 18 months have been challenging for us all as we dealt with the pandemic and the restrictions placed on us as a sporting body," the chairman of the NECSL Peter Glynn wrote in the Cup Final Day programme.

"The Executive Committee wish to acknowledge the hard work carried out by the clubs, the coaches in developing training programmes that adhered to the government guidelines. As schools were closed these training pods were kay to the well-being of all our players and fully supported by our partner Jigsaw."

He also said he was pleased to announce that the NECSL's new sponsor for their Coaching Leagues would be Credit Union Plus.

Match reports and photographs from Cup Final Day in the next issue of the Meath Chronicle