Clean sweep for Shamrock Rovers in the club’s Dublin Cup deciders
SHAMROCK Rovers enjoyed an unforgettable weekend for its schoolboys section as the Tallaght club hauled home no shortage of silverware from the DDSL Clubforce Cup Finals at the AUL Complex.
Appearing in four deciders across Saturday and Sunday at the Clonshaugh venue, the Hoops came away with silverware on every count – a remarkable feat for the club that stands as testament to the work being done at underage level in recent years.
Based out of the Roadstone Group Social Club in Kingswood, the Shamrock Rovers Academy is the first elite youth set-up of its kind in Ireland with 220 top players between the ages of 8 and 19.
Headed up by former Hoops midfielder Shane Robinson, who enjoyed three spells at the club during a prolific playing career, the Hoops academy has blooded some notable figures within the sport.
Current Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper, Gavin Bazunu was previously a member of the Rovers Academy, before making six first-team appearances for the club as a 16-year[1]old and later moving to Manchester City.
The Firhouse man was in attendance on Sunday afternoon as the Hoops secured the Under 13 Gerry Donnelly Cup with a 1-0 victory at the expense of St Joseph’s Boys/Stella Maris.
Jointly-captained by Victor Ozhianvvna and Joel McPhail (son of Rovers’ Sporting Director Stephen Phail), they dug deep in a nail-biting affair to eventually come away with the spoils, Richard Ferizaj conjuring up the all-important goal to send the Hoops supporters into raptures.
Earlier on the same day, Rovers also faced St Joseph’s Boys in the Herald Under 12 Cup showpiece.
Whereas their older counterparts were harder to separate, the final outcome of this contest was hardly ever in doubt.
In addition to braces from Kane Farrell and Ciaran Daly, Corey Fay and Bobby Zeller also rattled the net for the Hoops.
Evan Murdock and Jayden Maguire were on target for their opponents, but a 6-2 final margin ensured that Charlie Morrissey lifted the crown on behalf of his team-mates.
A memorable weekend had begun for Shamrock Rovers on Saturday morning with another U12 final – this time a Tom Kavanagh Cup showdown against St Kevin’s Boys.
A famed Dublin club located in Whitehall on the north side of Dublin, Kevin’s has helped to nurture the talents of current Rovers first-team stars like Jack Byrne, Ronan Finn and Danny Mandroiu.
It was little surprise therefore that this game was so hard to predict on paper. Nonetheless, a Josh O’Dwyer goal – as well as a dynamic display by team skipper, Johnny Collins propelled Rovers to a 1-0 triumph.
The Under 11 Condron Cup final on Saturday afternoon saw Rovers up against another northside adversary – Fairview’s Belvedere FC. Like Kevin’s, this club served as a strong nursery for two members of the Hoops’ senior squad, namely Graham Burke and Crumlin’s Roberto Lopes.
They made life extremely difficult for their cross-city rivals throughout but, once again, it was Rovers who produced the decisive score in this 1-0 triumph compliments of Chidozie Chad who has been marking himself out as a potential Ireland star for the future.
Pick up your copy of The Echo for more coverage and pictures from the DDSL Cup Finals.
