Congratulations to our wonderfully talented under 12 girls team and their mentors who won the prestigious J Ffrench Cup. Tournament report as follows:-
We attended Tir Chonnel Gaels in Greenford on Saturday 10th September to participate in the J Ffrench tournament hosted by Tara’s.
This 9 a side completion involved teams from North London Shamrocks and Tara’s. The games were split into 2 halves of 8 minutes each on a round robin basis with the top two teams competing in a winner takes all final.
Our first game was against North London Shamrocks and proved a tough start, although playing some neat and attractive football we found ourselves going behind to an early goal from a very determined North London Shamrocks team. We got to half time still trailing by a couple of points. The second half got off to the worst possible start conceding another goal.
However this seem to kick start our performance and a after a period of pressure we came away with a number of scores to put us ahead in the game for the first time. By fully utilising the bench we were able to maintain our lead and run out comfortable winners. This competitive game against a young but very committed North London Shamrocks team was to serve us well in our remaining games.
Next up was our local rivals Tara’s and as with all games against Tara’s it was fast paced and very competitive. Both teams played well however out team work across all areas of the pitch enabled us to take our opportunities and outscore Tara’s to come away undefeated.
Our last game was the final against Tara’s who had defeated North London Shamrocks in the final round robin game.
We approached the final with great intent wanting to ensure we played to the best of our ability as a team of 13. We started well with our midfield and forwards dominated early exchanges and putting a number of scores on the board. We maintained this advantage throughout the first half.
The second half Tara’s came back at us as we know they would and this time it was the turn of the defenders to show their character and ability to hold off Tara’s from reducing our advantage. As the second half progressed we not only maintained our lead but increased it with some fine scores. As the second half came to a close our superior strength and team work enabled us to run out as comfortable winners.
The girls worked fantastically hard in difficult conditions with rain falling for the majority of the day. They faced tough opponents and came through a number of difficult moments to remain undefeated.
This victory was testament to the hard work and dedication the girls have put into training throughout the season. The progression in all the 13 who took part was noticeable from the start of the season.
Above all the commitment, effort and attitude from all 13 girls was a credit to themselves their parents and the club. We could not have asked anymore.
The girls who represented Parnells were:-
Lily Watts, Millie Taylor, Connie Ruddy, Ruby Ruddy, Ava Ruddy, Sorcha Moran, Emillie O’Driscoll, Brea Corrigan, Lauren Goonan, Rhianna Roache, Daisy Curd, Corrine O’Sullivan, Nadine O’Sullivan.
