Jorunas Jakas of Shamrock Rovers celebrates after scoring his side's second goal
Rovers U14s Rock in cup decider
THE Shamrock Rovers U14 squad have won the Eddie Wallace Cup following victory against St Patrick’s Athletic last weekend at the Carlisle Grounds in Bray.
Conditions were tough and Rovers were forced to play against the wind throughout the first half, but managed to hit the bar twice and score a goal with Joseph Manicle converting from the penalty spot.
With the wind in their favour Rovers continued on in the second half picking up where they left off and added some extra.
Jorunas Jakas scored their second of the game while Chidozie Chad scored the third after a delivery from a corner kick. Harry Rehill scored the fourth and final goal of the game from a free kick and in the process picked up a man of the match award.
Rovers have not been defeated all year and have shown that in this age group they are the strongest side in the country after dismantling all opposition on their road to the final.
Robert Morgan of Shamrock Rovers lifts the cup with team-mates after their side’s victory in the EA Sports MU14 LOI Eddie Wallace Cup match between Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic at Carlisle Grounds. Photos by Sportsfile
The entire team has been without fault. Players such as Harry Rehill have been pivotal with their goalscoring after scoring a hattrick in the quarter and semi finals before picking up a man of the match award in the final itself.
Captain Robert Morgan, Patrick Toth, Tom Casey, Kyle Walters O’Connor are just some of the other names that have been an integral part of the side this year.
Head Coach Chris Byrne touched on the performance of the side throughout the competition.
“I could name every single player, genuinely it is very hard to go into individuals. Right the way through to U8s all the way up to U20s it’s a very strong academy. We’re lucky as coaches that we have the very best players in the country in my opinion.
‘We’ve a very good squad, there’s no drop off when you bring players on and it’s a credit to them. Training throughout the week is really good.”
“We are at a high standard throughout the whole 90 minutes. I think we scored over 25 or 30 goals in the cup and only conceded one, which is an unbelievable achievement for the lads.
Ben Nolan of Shamrock Rovers in action against Matthew Canny of St Patrick’s Athletic
‘They are training three times a week, play on the sunday and we also have individual training another night a week. They are nearly full time players at the moment.”
The academy in Rovers has been among the club’s biggest strength in recent years and Byrne touched on the quality of players that Rovers produce at the underage level.
The club will be taking part in upcoming games against various European academies where they will be able to test themselves against international opposition.
“We’re only back from the UK where we won a tournament playing against Man City.
‘Three weeks ago we were in Sheffield United where we played a mini tournament against Sheffield and Carlisle United. The club is providing trips away all the time to push us against high level English academies to see where we’re at.
‘We’re competing, not always winning but competing fairly comfortably against them. We would compete with any team in Europe at this age, definitely. Without a doubt.”
