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You are > Home > Double joy for St. Joseph’s, Foxford
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Thursday, June 12, 2003
Double joy for St. Joseph’s, Foxford
The long Summer holidays have now kicked in and thoughts of school are far from the minds of students everywhere. But for a number of students from St. Joseph’s, Foxford, the memories of the school year gone by will stay forever.
In the space of a week two teams from the school captured Connacht titles, one in soccer and one in Gaelic football. It was a superb achievement for the players and management teams and rounded off a great year for the school.
Connacht Senior D League Final
St. Joseph’s Foxford 3-6 St. Clare’s Manorhamilton 0-6
St. Joseph’s Foxford, captured the Cannacht Senior D league title on a bright Tuesday in May in St. Mary’s GAA Park, Sligo, with a resounding victory over a gallant Manorhamilton side.
From the start St. Joseph’s applied the pressure to the Leitrim boys and, despite some early misses, they soon settled into the game and took some fine scores. It was then that the Foxford defenders got in on the act with fine points from Michael McNulty and Kieran Langan.
As the Foxford defenders found themselves in this attacking role they made the pressure count when the aforementioned Michael McNulty blasted home a spectacular goal for St. Joseph’s.
Manorhamilton, rocked by this score, tried to steady the ship, but their best efforts to breakdown the Foxford defence were thwarted by resolute defending by Keith Mayock and the outstanding Paul Coleman.
Both sides exchanged points before Manorhamilton finished the half with a fine long-range score. The sides went in at the break with Joseph’s holding a 1-6 to 0-2 lead.
The second half was only two minutes old when any hopes Manorhamilton had of staging a revival were dealt a huge blow as Foxford’s elusive half-forward Shane Bourke beat two defenders before blasting the ball past a helpless ‘keeper. Manorhmailton, to their credit, never gave up and enjoyed their best period of the game kicking some fine points but their efforts to penetrate the Foxford defence for goals proved futile as time and time again they were frustrated by excellent defending.
As the game entered its final moments, St. Jospeh’s broke downfield again and a move involving four players resulted in Foxford being awarded a penalty, which Enda Gilmore duly dispatched to the net. This brought the curtain down on a memorable day for St. Joseph’s with the final score being 3-6 to 0-6. After the game Foxford’s captain, Trevor Howley, received the trophy amid scenes of great excitement.
Foxford: Martin Quinn; Michael McNulty, Keith Mayock, Paul Coleman; Daniel Igoe, Kieran Langan, Kiearn Ward; Marc Howley, Trevor Howley; Tomas Cosgrove; Gerard Gaughan, Shane Bourke; Cian Gilmore, Enda Gilmore, Ian Howley. Subs: Padraic Warde for I. Howley, Cian Quinn for Gilmore, Noel Bulter, Padraic Hoban, Conor McDonagh, James Moran.
Connacht Under-16 Soccer Final
St. Joseph’s Foxford 3 Scoil Mhuire Strokestown 2
Two days after the Gaelic team’s fantastic win, St. Joseph’s won the Connacht U-16 soccer title in a memorable game in Foxford.
Both teams settled into the game early and played some terrific football, but it was St. Joseph’s who gained the intiative when Paul Fitzpatrick scored a brilliant goal from a free kick. However, the joy was short-lived as Strokestown showed they were a formidable side when they counter-attacked and a ball over the Foxford back four was latched onto and finished brilliantly. Both sides created chances but the score remained 1-1 until Shane Bourke found himself in possession near the sideline and, after beating two players, he curled a great shot past the Strokestown ‘keeper. There were no further scores in the half as Foxford maintained their slender lead.
After the re-start both teams went in search of the goals that would win the cup and it was midway through the second half when Strokestown again hit Foxford on the break and, despite the best efforts of the Foxford ‘keeper, Martin Quinn, the ball was stuck in the net for a deserved equaliser.
As the excitement reached fever pitch both teams pressed for what would surely be a winning goal. With ten minutes to go the deadlock was broken when Shane Bourke again got control of the ball just inside the Strokestwon box and instantly fired home what proved to be the winning goal in an absolutely thrilling encounter.
In what was a memorable week for the Foxford school, Paul Fitzpatrick lifted the cup to the delight of team-mates and supporters alike.
Foxford: Martin Quinn, Paul Coleman, Ian Howley, Neil Mayock, Padraic McHale, Nicki Smyth, Michael McNulty, Kiearn Ward, Gerard Gaughan, Shane Bourke, Paul Fitzpatrick. Subs: Enda Loughney, Daniel Irving, Cian Gilmore, John Doherty, Padraic Hoban, John O’Brien, Martin Butler.
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