Balla captain points to bright future
Balla’s Ryan Judge has his effort blocked during the FAI Schools National Senior B soccer final at Athlone Town AFC. Picture: David Farrell Photography
Balla Secondary School team captain Liam Glynn was one of eight players who started in the school’s win over Carrigaline Community School on Saturday and then was on the pitch for the start of their John Murphy Cup final against Gaelcholáiste Reachrainn of Donaghmede last Monday afternoon, but while he admitted that he could feel that the energy expended in Clarecastle was missed in Athlone, he also acknowledged that his side were just beaten by the better team in this decider.
“We knew we’d be up against it; we knew they had some strong players and when you’re still recovering from a tough game Saturday and the celebrations, that made it even harder. It’s good to be here and to get this far, even if the result wasn’t what we wanted,” he told the .
Perhaps playing with the aid of the breeze in the first half didn’t suit the side coached by Darren O’Malley and Seán Gavin, as it left them chasing the game while facing the elements in the second half, when their reserves of stamina were that bit more depleted.
“We were under pressure there in the second half, but everyone kept pushing and trying hard, we just ran out of legs at the end, and they had a lot of quality in their team so they over-ran us in the end, there wasn’t a lot we could do about it,” he said.
“The result [against Carrigaline] looked comfortable but playing a full game on the astroturf takes a toll on you too and then at the end of this game, you’d start to feel that you weren’t quite 100%. But we’ve no excuses, they were the better team on the day, and we’re still happy to be here”.
While Glynn is one of the cohort that will move on after this year, for the school as a whole, this was yet another chapter in their story as a growing force in FAI Schools competition. The backbone of the team that won the Minor (U15) All-Ireland title in 2024 is still to reach their peak, and the defender is confident that there are plenty more good days ahead for those players, and for the ones coming up after them.
“The school is getting to so many finals now; it’s such a step up on where it was before. It’s great to see for the school and for the future of the school and all the pupils, the ones like ourselves that are coming close to the end, and the younger ones who will come in and wear the jersey in the years to come.
“A lot of these players have been in finals all the way up from Juvenile through to Junior and all the way up, and you can see that it’s been the makings of this team, it’s bringing the school a long way,” he concluded.
