St Declans N.S.
Homepage Sports News Sporting Archives This Years Achievements Fixtures Sports Photo Gallery	Archives News and Match Reports ’05 – ‘06 1. Athletics 2. Gaelic Football 3. Swimming 4. Hurling 5. Soccer 1. Athletics News 2005 - 2006 [ Sept 22^nd ] The school athletics team was in action today taking part in the annual Waterford Primary Schools Cross Country Competition over in the Clover Centre in Ferrybank. It was a lovely Autumns afternoon-perfect for running. Trials had been run earlier in the week in school and we had representatives in all grades from 1^st to 6^th. All the boys competed very well on the day and they were cheered on all the way by the many parents who had come along. The whole event was once again efficiently run and within an hour of the first race the overall results were being announced. St Declans were awarded the trophy for the Best Boys School so well done to all the boys involved and of course their coaches Mr O Mahony and Mr Morgan. Results 1^st class 200m – 1^st Tadgh Brennan 2^nd Cormac McCann 2nd Class 200m – 9^th Darragh O Rourke 3^rd Class 400m – 2^nd Craig Dowling 5^th James Grogan 4^th Class 400m – 2^nd Luke Kelly 8^th Jack Maher 10^th Ethan Hurley 12^th Mark Duffy 5^th Class 800m – 10^th Kenneth McEvoy 6^th Class 800m – 2^nd Adam Potter 5^th Sean Purcell 7^th Conor Coad 9^th Diarmaid Brennan [May 9^th ‘06] Once again a large crowd gathered on a beautiful evening at the Clover field for the annual Waterford and South Kilkenny Athletics Meet. [click for pictures]We had runners competing in all the various age categories. We had a number of winners on the night but everyone tried their best to gain points for their school and in the end we were declared “Best Boys School” on the night. A special thanks to all the teachers who came along to support the boys. Well done everyone. 2. Gaelic Football News 2005 - 2006 U13 Gaelic Football Campaign match by match ’05 – ‘06 St Declans U13’s secure 3 in a row county titles Final Score St Declans 1 - 10 St Josephs 0 – 4 Some post match pics [Nov 19^th ] The final of the County Schools U13 Gaelic Football Championship was played this morning in Abbeyside Dungarvan in bright, sunny and dry conditions. The team had trained well over the last few weeks and couldn’t wait to get started. A large number of parents had traveled to support the team and were looking forward to the occasion as we were vying for a historic 3 in a row of County Titles. Throw in was set for 11 am. Unfortunately the game did not get under way until nearer midday but it was certainly worth the wait. Both sides gave it their all and it was a fantastic match played in a great spirit. Scores were hard to come by especially early on and as the first half drew to a close the score was 3pts to 1 in favour of St Declans. It was then that the games most dramatic moment took place. From the centre of the field James Connolly won possession and went on a blazing run down the middle beating 2/3 players … let loose with a vicious shot which was doubly saved as the rebound was sent out for a 45. From this free the ball broke to the wing. Jack Hale lobbed the ball in and we scored a fisted goal from the “Hand of O Leary”. We couldn’t have wished for a better finish to the first half. Adam Potter needed to be replaced at half time due to injury but his replacement Dylan Foley filled his shoes very well and went on to do a great job at corner back. Despite the winning margin we were never really out of sight and comfortable until the last few minutes. As the half progressed we began to win more of the St Josephs kick outs which resulted in some good scores from Bernard Tom Keith and Robert. St Josephs had their chances too. One goal chance was blasted over the bar while another ran gently outside the post. At the end of the day luck was not a factor and we were clearly the better team. The coaches were delighted with the overall support play and effort on the pitch. We played a lot of good football today and perhaps saved our finest performance of the year for the final. Special mention yet again must be made to our captain James Connolly who has now achieved legendary status here in St Declans as today he picked up his 3^rd U13 county football medal having played wing back in all three finals. Other triple winners were Shane, David, Robert and Seán. Scorers today were Keith – 3pts, David O Leary – 1 goal, Sean Whitty – 2pts, Bernard – 2pts, Tom – 2pts and Robert – 1pt. So what a year it has been..well done to the coaches Mr Doran and Mr Fitzgerald, to the parents and especially to the boys themselves who have worked so hard. Its great that their efforts have been rewarded on such a memorial day…… the day we won the first ever County 3 in a row. On the panel were Niall Cooke, Conor Coad, Shane Hogan, Adam Potter, James Connolly, Seán Whitty, Bernard Leonard, Robert Daniels, Tom Mulally, David Barry, Keith Moore, Jack Hale, David O Leary, Michael Duggan, Dylan Foley, Adam Walsh, Liam Sammon, Patrick Flynn, Connor Gannon, Kenneth McEvoy, Jake Sharpe, Daniel Connolly, Ronan Cleere. Anon [ Oct 20^th ] “Suuupaaah Keeepaaah” “Suuupaaah Keeepaaah” “Suuupaaah Keeepaaah” were the resounding cheers that came from our dressing room after a close fought game against Scoil Lorcáin in the Schools U13 Gaelic Football Eastern Final at the Claeboy today. Essentially the fantastic save made by our keeper Niall Cooke was the difference between the two teams. His point blank save in the middle of the second half lifted our entire team and inspired a tremendous fightback. It was truly a turning point. At that stage of the game we were under awesome pressure as Scoil Lorcáin had themselves fought back from a 4 point deficit, went ahead by 1 and were now totally on top. A goal would have put them in a very strong position however for us the save was inspiring. We pressed forward and with sustained pressure managed to secure an equalizing point and then another to take he lead. This was then followed by a vital goal by substitute David O Leary. 2 more points were scored before the final whistle blew. 1-4 altogether had been scored after “Cookey’s “ great save. After recent days of rain the field was damp and heavy. The weather was dry and bright. We played with the breeze in the first half and by half time we were leading 4 points to nil. However our game never really flowed well and we struggled against a very determined and strong Scoil Lorcáin team who we knew would throw everything at us in the second half. We knew more effort would be needed to win this game. Despite our best efforts though we couldn’t hold out and after ten minutes we found ourselves a point behind when up popped Niall Cooke and the rest as they say is history. As long as football is played in St Declans that save will always be remembered. Before the presentation was made a loud applause was given to the defeated Scoil Lorcáin team in obvious appreciation for their contribution to a remarkable final. This was a very difficult game for us however when the need was greatest the team as a unit responded in spades. Conor Coad was exceptional in the second half. Shane Hogan defended with great strength and Keith Moore worked tirelessly throughout. This was our 4^th consecutive appearance in an eastern Final and our third victory in a row. Special mention must be given to our team captain James Connolly who today won his third medal at U13…certainly a unique and rare achievement. We learned a lot today and now look forward to the County Final in a few weeks. Congratulations boys and of course to their managers as well. Final score St Declans 1 - 8 Scoil Lorcáin 1 – 2 [Oct 6^th] Our last game of the U13 Gaelic football League was played at home in the college field today against St Marys Ballygunner. The weather was kind to us yet again and even though it was cloudy it was a lovely day for football. Parents who had come to watch the game were in for a treat as this turned out to be a classic match where both sides showed tremendous commitment and played in a very sporting manner. This was a game of the highest quality. All the skills of the game were displayed. The passing, movement and teamwork displayed were all out of the top drawer. The game started at a frantic pace. The football was crisp and swift and any mistake was immediately punished. Scores were hard to come by as defenders on both teams proved to be on top. As the half progressed we were slightly ahead on the scoreboard but on the stroke of half time we conceded a sloppy goal. The score was now 0-4 to 1-1. The second half was equally tough. James Connolly who was carrying a slight injury was introduced and had a big impact on the game. We managed to forge ahead but Ballygunner never gave up. The outcome was never a certainty until the final whistle blew. We had many players today who gave their all for their school. In defense Conor and Bernard were fantastic today. In midfield Sean Whitty ran himself into the ground while up front Keith, David and Tom worked especially hard. However we all agreed that in the end this was indeed a real team performance and we now begin our preparations for the Final. Final Score St Declans 1-7 Ballygunner 2-1 [ Sept 29^th ] Our penultimate game in this years U13 Gaelic Football League was played away to St Stephens at the Cleaboy. Conditions were damp underfoot but gladly the game concluded just before a heavy shower approached. We again dominated this game from early on. Overall we played generally well and tried to pass the ball with a bit more care. All our subs got their chance to impress yet again – Adam Walsh worked especially hard in the second half today. James Connolly was however our player of the day. He was in the middle of all that was good about this performance. Well done James. We were comfortable winners in the end and now look forward to our last league game next week. [ Sept 20^th ] In this our third game of the U13 Football League we played our first home game of the campaign in the college field against Mount Sion on another perfect day for football. This turned out to be a very one sided game despite the best efforts of a number of the opposition players. We dominated the play almost from the start and it was very encouraging to see how well many of the subs played especially Jack Hale who made a great effort in the second half. So it’s back to the training field now in preparation for next weeks game. Well done boys. [ Sept 15^th ] Today we played away to Scoil Lorcáin in our second game of the U13 Football League. Despite our good early start this developed into a very close game which went down to practically the last kick of the game. Overall we defended well enough especially James Connolly who cleared some great ball from in and around our goals. We did create a lot of chances but we will need to improve our shooting before next weeks game as we hit too many bad wides today. [Sept 8^th ] In todays opening game of the U13 Gaelic Football League we faced St Pauls in perfect conditions away in Roanmore. The game was tight and competitive at the beginning however as time passed we slowly pulled away and ran out easy winners in the end. The managers were delighted to get the new campaign off to a winning start. Everybody played well especially David Barry who had a great game throughout. We do have one injury worry so we wish Sean a speedy recovery and hopefully we will see him back in action soon. We will however have to keep improving if we are to retain our title and capture that all elusive 3 in a row. U10 Gaelic Football Campaign match by match ’05 - ‘06 [ Sept 13^th ] We played our first match in this year's U.10 Eastern Football Championship today. We played Ballygunner out in Ballygunner. Being the first game of the year our boys went into the game full of enthusiasm even though we weren't really sure of our best positions around the field. Our captain Conor Whittle chose to play with the wind and we made a good start with our midfield players soon playing a lot of ball forward. The boys put some lovely passes together and we went in at half-time in the lead. Against a strong wind in the second half we had to do a lot of defending. Ballygunner got all of the scores in the last five minutes but our lads stuck to their task and hung on for our first win of the year. Well done to all of the boys. Our panel was ………… James Grogan, Tom Farrell, Stephen Dalton, Conor Whittle, Dylan Foley, Tom Moran, Jack Hale, Craig Browne, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Eoghan O'Dwyer, Ross Fitzpatrick, Garry Walsh, Ethan Hurley, Luke Kelly, Aaron O'Connor, Jack Maher, Andrew Phelan, Jack MacCarthy, Mark Duffy. [ Sept 27^th ] Today our U.10 Gaelic Football team travelled to Roanmore's GAA pitch to take on St.Paul's NS in our second match of the season. We made some changes from our first match with new players added to the squad. We settled well and lots of ball was finding its way into the full-forward line, however we didn't make good use of the ball and found it hard to score. Luke Kelly came on at full-forward and began to make a difference. We soon scored through Craig Browne. We added some good points from outfield but St. Pauls struck back with a scrambled goal to reduce our lead just before half-time.The second half was a struggle and we found it hard to score against a strong St. Pauls defence. We only added one goal and one point in the second half but our lads did well to finish strongly and take both points. We have a lot of work to do before we take on St.Stephens next week. Our team was as follows James Grogan, Tom Farrell, Tom Moran, Conor Whittle, Dylan Foley, Stephen Dalton, Jack Hale, Eoghan O'Dwyer, Aaron O'Connor, Craig Browne, Ethan Hurley, Garry Walsh, Ross Fitzpatrick, Luke Kelly, Jeff Gibbons, James O'Neill, Andrew Phelan, Darragh Fitzpatrick and David Hobbs. [ Oct 4^th ] Today our U.10 Gaelic Football team played St.Stephen’s NS in the College Field. This was a great game between two good teams. The play was very fast with Stephen Street settling quicker to the pace of the game. They opened the scoring with a point and St.Declan’s soon replied to level the game. There was to be no further scores in the first half but both teams put on a great display of football. The tackling was hard but fair. The second half was equally tough with Stephen Street taking the lead with a well-taken goal, they added a point and we looked to be in trouble. But credit to St.Declan’s we didn’t give up the battle and answered with a point. Stephen St. added another point and then Jack Hale scored a goal from a long-range shot and we were right back in it with only a point separating the sides. Fantastic work was being done by both sets of players. Our goalkeeper James Grogan brought off a great save to deny Stephen St. a goal. Tom Farrell and Stephen Dalton were putting in great blocks and Dylan Foley was really trying his best to keep Stephen St. out but with two minutes to go Stephen St. got a goal through a sea of players. The final whistle was soon blown and we had suffered our first defeat. Our boys were disappointed but could be proud of their performance. Next week we play Scoil Lorcáin in the semi-final and we will have to battle hard if we are to come out on top. Our panel of players was James Grogan, Tom Farrell, Tom Moran, Conor Whittle, Dylan Foley, Aaron O’Connor, Eoghan O’Dwyer, Jack Hale, Craig Browne, Stephen Dalton, Luke Kelly, Garry Walsh, Ross Fitzpatrick, David Hobbs, James O’Neill, Aidan Purcell, Jeff Gibbons, Tommy Power, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Wayne Fitzgerald, Ethan Hurley, Jack Maher, Jack MacCarthy, Andrew Phelan. [ Oct 12^th ] Today St.Declan’s U.10 Gaelic Football team played Scoil Lorcáin in De La Salle College field. This game was really a semi-final with the winners due to play Stephen St. in the final. Scoil Lorcáin settled quickly and did all of the early attacking but St.Declan’s defence stood firm. We moved the ball quickly up the field and Ethan Hurley scored a fine goal to open the scoring. For the rest of the first half both teams fought hard for every ball and gave a great display of Gaelic Football. St.Declan’s finished the half leading 3 goals and two points to one goal and two points. The second half started just like the first with Scoil Lorcáin playing all the attacking football but once again we broke up field to score a great goal. We were now in a good position but Scoil Lorcáin didn’t want to give up easily and came storming back at us. They started taking their points and soon had a goal to keep tremendous pressure on our backline. But with Jack Hale, Dylan Foley and Conor Whittle in fighting form our team defended with great spirit. James Grogan made some great saves on goal and when the final whistle sounded we had beaten a very good Scoil Lorcáin side. The final score was St.Declan’s 4-2 Scoil Lorcáin 2-5. All of the team played with great pride and now we look forward to the final against Stephen Street. The panel for the game was James Grogan, Tom Farrell, Tom Moran, Conor Whittle(Capt.), Dylan Foley, Aaron O’Connor, Eoghan O’Dwyer, Jack Hale, Craig Browne, Stephen Dalton, Ross Fitzpatrick, Ethan Hurley, James O’Neill, Luke Kelly, Garry Walsh, Mark Duffy, Wayne Fitzgerald, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Jack Maher, Andrew Phelan, Jack Mac Carthy, Aidan Purcell, Tommy Power, Jeff Gibbons, David Hobbs. [ Oct 24^th ] We travelled to play Stephen St. in the final of the U10 Gaelic Football League on Tuesday 24/10/05. Our boys had trained hard and had given everything they had to get to this final. We were dealt a blow with the news that our goalkeeper James Grogan would not be able to play as he had received an injury to his mouth. In training there was no shortage of boys willing to have a go on goal. After much deliberation Luke Kelly was given the difficult task of stepping into the goalkeeping role. We knew that our boys were up for this match and with captain Conor Whittle leading the team out with great determination the game was on. We had a very strong wind behind us in the first half. We were winning lots of possession around the field. Jack Hale and Eoghan O'Dwyer were doing well in midfield, sending lots of ball into the full-forward line. Luke Kelly settled into his new role as goalkeeper and with Aaron O’Connor and Tom Moran defending well we were very much involved in this final. However despite all of our attacking play we just could not find the vital first score to put Stephen St. under pressure. As the first half came to an end we were losing by two points to one. Jack Hale sending over a fine point. The second half began with Stephen St. attacking with the wind. Tom Farrell and Conor Whittle put in some great tackles. Stephen Dalton made some fine blocks and when Ross Fitzpatrick and Craig Browne got limited supply of the ball they made good use of it. Yet again we could not find the scores and when Stephen St. scored a couple of goals it was hard to find a way back. But then we saw Dylan Foley at his very best. Dylan played with hid heart on his sleeve, he never gave up and should be very proud of his display. Dylan tried time and again to get the ball up to James O’Neill and Ethan Hurley in the forwards. Two subs Garry Walsh and David Hobbs came on and David almost scored our first goal smacking a great shot off of the crossbar. It was left to Jack Hale to score for us again. Jack played a tremendous game giving an exhibition of fielding, which was a joy to watch at under 10 level. Unfortunately when the final whistle went a really good Stephen St. side had beaten us. They had strong players spread throughout the field and we wish them congratulations and good wishes. Well done to Stephen St. To our team all we can say is that we are very proud of you and we will be back again next year to win back our U.10 cup. [Some match pictures] Our panel was; Luke Kelly, TomFarrell, Tom Moran, Conor Whittle (Capt.), Dylan Foley, Aaron O’Connor, Eoghan O’Dwyer, Jack Hale, Craig Browne, Stephen Dalton, Ross Fitzpatrick, Ethan Hurley, James O’Neill, Garry Walsh, David Hobbs, Jack Mac Carthy, Andrew Phelan, Mark Duffy, Wayne Fitzgerald, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Jack Maher, Tommy Power, Aidan Purcell, Jeff Gibbons, James Grogan. Mini 7’s Gaelic Football campaign match by match ‘05 – ‘06 [Nov 9^th ‘05] Today our school competed in the INTO mini 7’s football competition first round at the Cleaboy. This was organized on a blitz basis and we played firstly against Scoil Lorcáin and later against Stephen St. After all the rain lately we were fortunate to have a bright sunny day even if the underfoot conditions were heavy and soft. We took a while to get into our stride in our first game against Scoil Lorcáin. The score was level at two points a piece at half time. In the second half we played much better. Sean Whitty got a couple of good goals which made us comfortable winners in the end 3-3 to 1-2. In our second game against Stephen St. we got off to a great start with some early but perhaps lucky scores. We were then able to build on this especially in the second half and ran out clear winners in the end. So all in all a good days football and we now move on to play the winners from the other venues in a few weeks time. St Declans Do It Again ! 7 a side team win Eastern final [Nov 22^nd ‘05] Our 7 a side Gaelic Football team showed tremendous energy, determination and ability today when they won the INTO Mini 7’s East Waterford Final held in Tramore. This was once again held on a blitz basis as we faced other recent winners from different venues around east Waterford. We had to play four very competitive games and our boys gave it their all. We played some outstanding football at times and we knew from early on that we wouldn’t be beaten easily. Every player seemed to rise to the occasion and there were magnificent performances throughout the pitch. The pace was super quick and the effort levels were at their highest and after nearly 60 mins of exhausting non stop play we were crowned champions as we were the only team to be undefeated on the day. The results were….. St Declans 1 – 4 Holy Cross 2 – 1 St Declans 5 – 3 Kill 1 – 1 St Declans 7 – 7 Ballyduff 0 – 0 St Declans 2 – 6 Rathgormac 1 - 3 Todays panel was David O Leary, Conor Coad, Shane Hogan, Sean Whitty, Robert Daniels, Tom Mullally, Jack Hale, Dylan Foley, Adam Walsh, Michael Duggan.These boys have once again done us proud. Well done. County Final Ends in a Draw [May 5^th ‘06] Today our School Mini 7’s Football Team played in Ballyduff in windy but dry conditions against Dungarvan in the County Final of the INTO Mini 7’s Football Competition. There had been a long break from this competition as earlier rounds had been played before Christmas. Despite this everyone involved was anxious to do well. As things turned out this was everything a final ought to be. Two well prepared teams equally matched, players eagerly looking for the ball, coaches watching closely for any possible weaknesses that could be exploited. You couldn’t take your eyes off this encounter for a second such was the pace and tightness of the game. Every score was vital … who would get the winning score? … even with seconds to go the result was still in doubt. We got off to great start with an early goal from Jack Hale and by the end of a very competitive first half that was the only difference between the teams as we led 1-3 to 0-3. We were now facing into the wind with everything to play for but Dungarvan soon had their tails up as they took their chances and went into the lead. With full time fast approaching we managed to knock over a point to level the match. With only two minutes a half for extra time concentration was going to be vital. Both teams had the winning and losing of the game during this period while everybody was watching the clock tick down. We went a point behind but a wondrous point by Shane Hogan at the death brought this tie to a replay. This game will probably be played early next week when we will try again to secure this title. Final score: St Declans 1- 6 Dungarvan 1- 6 Scorers : J. Hale 1-1 S. Whitty 0 – 2, T. Mullally, S. Hogan, and C. Coad all got a point each. Todays panel was David O Leary, Conor Coad, Shane Hogan, Sean Whitty, Robert Daniels, Tom Mullally, Jack Hale, Dylan Foley, Adam Walsh, Michael Duggan. St Declans immense but suffer defeat. [May 9^th ‘06] Its not that often that replays are as good as the original fixture however in this case all the drama of last weeks final seemed to once again take off as soon as the ball left the referees hands for the throw in. This replay of the INTO Mini 7’s Football County Final was played in Abbeyside in beautiful sunshine and as with last weeks game it went right down to the last second. We exploded into the game with an early clever goal from Tom but by half time the score was all square at 1-1 to 0-4. Shane Hogan and Sean Whitty were immense in the first half especially in the closing minutes while Jack, Robert and Dylan fought for every single ball. A second half goal from Robert put us into the lead and on a roll but full credit to Dungarvan they hit back with 4 unanswered points plus a late goal to lead by 4 points. They thought it was all over however seconds later Tom got his second goal but time had run out on our lads who gave an unbelievably brave and powerful performance. We congratulate Dungarvan. Our boys were great on the day and their efforts were a testament to their overall desire to give of their best when wearing the school jersey. Hard luck boys … ye were amazing! A special word of praise too for the subs who did not play but trained every bit as hard as the starting seven. Final Score : St Declans 3 – 2 Dungarvan 1 – 9 Scorers : Tom 2 – 1 and Robert 1 -1 Todays panel was David O Leary, Conor Coad, Shane Hogan, Sean Whitty, Robert Daniels, Tom Mullally, Jack Hale, Dylan Foley, Adam Walsh, Michael Duggan. 3. Swimming News 2005 – 2006 [Nov 14^th] Well done to the boys who represented St Declans over the weekend in the Munster Swimming Finals in Cork. Our winners on the day were … Diarmaid Brennan [ bronze U12 butterfly and freestyle] Calem Cuddihy [bronze U11 butterfly ] Darragh O Rourke [bronze U9 backstroke] Our U12 Relay team came 4^th. [D. Brennan C. Cuddihy E. Lonergan and B.Jacob] [Nov 10^th ] The following boys have qualified for the Munster Primary Schools Gala which is to be held on Sunday Nov 13^th in Mayfield Cork. …our freestyle swimming team……Calem Cuddihy….Diarmaid Brennan…Darragh O Rourke…. Ben Jacob… [Oct 16^th ] Congratulations to the following boys who represented the school in the East Munster Primary Schools Swimming Gala which was held in the Waterford Crystal Pool on Sunday the 16^th of October 2005. Darragh O Rourke , Jack Ryan , Jeremy Goldsmith , Adam Griffin , Kealan Tyrrell , Sono Rizwan , Ben Jacob , Tadgh Brennan , Tom Howlin , Eoin Falconer , Calem Cuddihy , Diarmaid Brennan , Odhran O Brien Kenny , Robert Jacob, and Tom Mullally. Our winners on the day were … Darragh O Rourke, Ben Jacob, Eoin Falconer, Calem Cuddihy and our freestyle relay team. All our swimmers are now waiting anxiously to see if they will make the qualifying times for the Munster Primary Schools Gala so watch this space for all the latest news. Thanks again to all parents who helped on the day. 4. Hurling News 2005 – 2006 Indoor Hurling News ’05 – ‘06 Indoor Hurlers beaten by Lismore [March 9^th ‘06] Today we played in the County Final of the Primary Indoor Hurling Competition against Lismore at the Butler Community Centre. A good crowd of parents turned up to support the team and everyone was anticipating a close match. From the throw in the game was played at a tremendous pace with both teams playing very committed and intense hurling. St Declans held the lead until just before half time but two quick Lismore goals meant we were one behind at the whistle. In the second half a decisive three minute spell when we were blitzed by a number of quick Lismore goals meant that we were going to be playing catch up for the rest of the game. We fought all the way to the end but couldn’t make up the difference before the final whistle blew. Despite the loss Mr Fitzgerald was very pleased with the teams performance and effort. Better luck next time boys. Panel; James Grogan, Gary Walsh, Stephen Dalton, Craig Browne,  Aaron O'Connor, Darragh FitzPatrick, Luke Kelly, Ethan Hurley, Eoghan O'Dwyer and Tom Moran Final Result St Declans 6 Lismore 11 St Declans are Eastern Indoor Champions [Feb 28^th ‘06] Today in the Butler Community Centre our indoor hurling team competed in the East Waterford Indoor Hurling Blitz Final. This was a competition for boys in 4^th Class and under. We had already come through as winners from round one. We played four games in all in a very tight competition and ended up on equal points with Dunhill. However we were deemed to be champions on the basis of having a better goal difference. Mr Fitzgerald was once again delighted with the efforts of the boys who battled with typical St Declans spirit. There were great performances from James Grogan on goal. Team captain Gary Walsh led by example and gave little away at full back. Stephen Dalton and Craig Browne were tireless in the middle. Up front Aaron O'Connor and Darragh FitzPatrick got some telling scores. Eoghan O'Dwyer and Tom Moran made a telling impact when introduced a number of times in the game. Panel; James Grogan, Gary Walsh, Stephen Dalton, Craig Browne,  Aaron O'Connor, Darragh FitzPatrick, Luke Kelly, Ethan Hurley, Eoghan O'Dwyer and Tom Moran Well done boys. It’s great to have another trophy in St Declans. Below are the results from todays games. St Declans 6 Rathgormac 3 St Declans 7 Faithlegge 3 St Declans 5 Dunhill 5 St Declans 6 Holy Cross 3 [2^nd Feb ‘06] Today we competed in the first round of the East Waterford Indoor Hurling Blitz at the Butler Community Centre. Our boys gave their all and after 3 games we managed to progress to the Eastern Final on scoring difference. Gary Walsh played particularly well in all three games. Good luck now in the final. The results were….. St Declans 4 St Stephens 4 St Declans 12 St Pauls 3 St Declans 5 Ballygunner 2 The panel for today was … James Grogan, Gary Walsh, Stephen Dalton, Ethon Hurley, Aaron O Connor, Craig Brown, Tom Moran, Eoghan O Dwyer, Luke Kelly and Darragh Fitzpatrick U 13 Hurling Campaign ’05 – ‘06 U13 Hurlers Lose in County Final [ June 20^th ‘06] Our U13 Hurlers lost out today to the superior strength of Dungarvan in the County Final of the U13 Primary Schools Hurling League. Even though we left Walsh Park disappointed we could really have no complaint with the result. We played into a fresh breeze in the first half, settled well, coped with the conditions, found scores hard to come by but our backs made many clearances and were all cool under pressure. Dungarvan failed to take a lot of their chances and with the score 1-2 to 1-1 at half time we felt confident, perhaps too much in hindsight, that we would soon be in the lead and the match was ours for the taking. However this was not to be. As Dungarvan progressively strengthened we unfortunately progressively weakened and we had no answer to their hooking, blocking and skill on the ball. A bizarre refereeing decision midway through the second half left us with a mountain to climb and despite everyones best efforts we couldn’t halt Dungarvan’s road to victory. We congratulate them on their win. And so the Hurling County Title for St Declans remains elusive and all we can do now is plan ahead for next year. Mr Doran and Mr Fitzgerald would like to thank all the boys involved for their efforts throughout the year. We wish our senior boys good luck as they move on to secondary school and future successes on the hurling field we hope will come their way. Thanks as always to all parents. It’s been a long and eventful year! Scorers today were – James 0 - 1, Robert 0 – 1, David 2 - 0 Todays Panel - S. Dalton, S. Whitty, A. Dempsey, L. Sammon, S. Hogan, D. Foley, J. Connolly, R. Daniels, G. Walsh, P. Flynn, D. O Leary, E. O Dwyer, C Browne, T. Moran, J. Sharpe, D. Connolly, D. Barry and E. Hurley Final Score : St Declans 2 - 2 Dungarvan 5 – 3 St Declans make no mistake in replay! [ June 14^th ‘06] There were great scenes of joy at the Cleaboy today as St Declans defeated St Marys Ballygunner in the replay Final of the East Waterford Primary Schools U13 Hurling League. No one should underestimate the importance of today’s victory for us as the last and only time we’ve won this trophy {1998} was when the Waterford Hurler Kevin Moran was here with us in school. So a second victory was a long time in coming but was achieved in style today. The result of this game bears little reflection to the tightness of the match for 30 of the 40 minutes. It was really only in the closing period did we finally consolidate our superiority. Up to then every ball, score and clearance had to be hard fought for. However we were a better team today and once we got into the lead we were never going to give it up easily. Shane was magnificent in defence while Aaron, Dylan, Liam and Robert all gave much improved performances. David worked tirelessly and Tom was always a danger every time he got the ball. “Man of the Match” without doubt was James Connolly who frequently attacked at pace the Gunners defence and scored 2-3 in all. A wonderful display and another wonderful day for St Declans. The game itself started well for us and by the eight minute we were 4pts up. However Ballygunner struck back with 3 quick points and that was to be the score at half time with both sides having everything to play for. James struck 2pts early in the second half but a David Barry goal in the 9^th minute turned the game in our favour and from then on only one team was going to win this final. A County Final win is now our next goal! Scorers today were – James 2 – 3, Patrick 1 – 0, Tom 0 – 2, Dylan 0 – 1, David 1 - 0 Todays Panel - S. Dalton, S. Whitty, A. Dempsey, L. Sammon, S. Hogan, D. Foley, J. Connolly, R. Daniels, G. Walsh, P. Flynn, D. O Leary, E. O Dwyer, C Browne, T. Moran, J. Sharpe, D. Connolly, D. Barry and E. Hurley Final Score : St Declans 4 - 6 Ballygunner 0 – 3 U13 final ends in a Draw [June 8^th ‘06] On the hottest day of the year we played in the U13 East Waterford Schools Hurling Final against St Marys Ballygunner in Walsh Park. It was the St Declans supporters who were shouting loudest early on as we exploded into the game and by the eight minute we had scored an incredible 2 – 3 { 1-2 of which was scored by James Connolly} and really couldn’t have wished for a better start. Even more unbelievable is the fact that we failed to score again until 2 minutes from full time!!! In between Ballygunner steadily fought back and but for a series of great saves from Stephen Dalton they would have been alot closer at half time when the score read 2-3 to 0-3 in our favour. Our backs were under ever increasing pressure and bit by bit Ballygunner nibbled away at our lead and by the 11^th minute in the second half were 3 points clear. Then with only minutes to go up stepped James again to blast home a close range free all the way to the net. Neither side could secure a victory in time remaining and so we have to do it all again next week. Scorers today were – James 2 – 2, David O L 1 – 0, Tom 0 – 1 Todays Panel - S. Dalton, S. Whitty, A. Dempsey, L. Sammon, S. Hogan, D. Foley, J. Connolly, R. Daniels, G. Walsh, P. Flynn, D. O Leary, E. O Dwyer, C Browne, T. Moran, J. Sharpe, D. Connolly, D. Barry and E. Hurley Final Score : St Declans 3 - 3 Ballygunner 2 - 6 [June 2^nd ‘06] Our U13 hurlers got a taste of the sunshine today as we played away to Portlaw in the U13 Schools hurling League. As we had already qualified for the final the result of this game was not as important to us as it was to Portlaw. The match may have lacked the tempo of recent games due to the heat but never the less both teams battled it out strongly especially in the second half. Once again lady luck was on our side as we scored two fortunate goals early in the first half and by half time we were leading 3-2 to 0-0. Even though we failed to score in the second half our first half performance was good enough to win out on the day. Sean Whitty, Tom Mullally and Patrick Flynn all had good spells today. We now must prepare for Ballygunner in next weeks final. Todays Panel - S. Dalton, S. Whitty, A. Dempsey, L. Sammon, S. Hogan, D. Foley, J. Connolly, R. Daniels, G. Walsh, P. Flynn, D. O Leary, E. O Dwyer, C Browne, T. Moran, J. Sharpe, T Farrell, D. Connolly, D. Barry and E. Hurley Final Score : St Declans 3 - 2 Portlaw 1 - 1 U13 Hurlers Reach Final [May 30^th ‘06] It could be argued that the basis for today’s victory was in our good fortune of securing wind advantage in the first half of this U13 Schools Hurling League match away to Scoil Lorcáin. The pitch was lovely, the sun was shining but the wind was blowing and it was a significant feature in the game. It helped us greatly in the first half as we were getting good length in our striking and we were able to attack all the puc outs with vigour and confidence. We fought hard for possession and we were well worth our 3 - 3 to 0 – 0 lead at half time. David O Leary played particularly well in the first twenty minutes. We now had something worth defending and even though Scoil Lorcáin poured on the pressure all the backs worked tirelessly to secure our victory. This was a real team effort today where every player did what he was asked - doing the simple things well. A special word of praise has to be given to the Scoil Lorcáin keeper who was absolutely magnificent throughout this game. Todays Panel - S. Dalton, S. Whitty, A. Dempsey, L. Sammon, S. Hogan, D. Foley, J. Connolly, R. Daniels, G. Walsh, P. Flynn, D. O Leary, E. O Dwyer, C Browne, T. Moran, J. Sharpe, D. Connolly, D. Barry and E. Hurley Final Score : St Declans 4 - 5 Scoil Lorcáin 0 -2 St Declans secure narrow victory [May 24^th‘06] Todays U13 Schools Hurling League match against St Stephens at the Cleaboy was as tough a local derby as you would expect. From the throw in these two teams didn’t spare the timber and from start to finish played out an intensely competitive game where every possession of the sliotar had to be fought hard for. Scores were difficult to come by but by half time we were leading by 1-1 to 0-0. With wind advantage St Stephens roared into the second half and we were lucky at times that we didn’t concede a number of goals. As the final whistle approached the pressure on the defense was enormous but thankfully we managed to hold out. In the centre of all this battling was the outstanding Aaron Dempsey who time and time again made vital clearances or gained possession under extreme pressure. Not far behind was the excellent Dylan Foley who once again gave every ounce of energy he had mopping up from broken play and driving the team forward. James Connolly cleared lot of ball as well as testing the opposition’s goalie and Robert Daniels too played an important part at wing back and also at centre forward. We’ll enjoy the win but we know only too well that there is still a lot of improvement needed. Todays Panel - S. Dalton, S. Whitty, A. Dempsey, L. Sammon, S. Hogan, D. Foley, J. Connolly, R. Daniels, G. Walsh, P. Flynn, D. O Leary, E. O Dwyer, C Browne, T. Moran, J. Sharpe, D. Connolly, D. Barry and E. Hurley Final Score : St Declans 1- 2 St Stephens 0 -1 St Declans too strong for Mount Sion [May 23^rd 2006] The rain may have poured down during the first half of this U13 Schools Hurling League played in the college field but it failed to dampen the desire of our boys to put in another good performance. Our captain for the day, Patrick Flynn, gave a great display along with Dylan, Aaron, Gary and James all of whom fought hard for every ball. We may have dominated the play in the first half but the difference at half time was only five points and we still had to play into the breeze. We played a lot more ground hurling early in the second half and with David Barry energetic at centre forward we soon got the scores needed to secure a comfortable victory. Todays Panel - S. Dalton, S. Whitty, A. Dempsey, L. Sammon, S. Hogan, D. Foley, J. Connolly, R. Daniels, G. Walsh, P. Flynn, D. O Leary, E. O Dwyer, C Browne, T. Moran, J. Sharpe, D. Connolly, D. Barry and E. Hurley Final Score : St Declans 6 - 2 Mount Sion 0 -3 Good win against St Pauls [May 15^th 2006] Today we played our long awaited second round match of the U13 Schools Hurling League against St Pauls at home in the college field. As we had been concentrating on football over recent times we were a little unsure how we would perform with the smaller ball. We made a tentative start and battled well and soon we had eased ourselves into a lead which we never lost. It was the type of game that never really ignited even though the commitment of players on both sides was very good and sporting. James Connolly put in another great performance and led by example all over the pitch. We were deserving winners at the end and it was a good days work overall. Well done boys. Todays Panel - S. Dalton, S. Whitty, A. Dempsey, L. Sammon, S. Hogan, D. Foley, J. Connolly, R. Daniels, G. Walsh, P. Flynn, D. O Leary, E. O Dwyer, C Browne, T. Moran, J. Sharpe, David Barry,D. Connolly and E. Hurley Final Score : St Declans 4-7 St Pauls 1-0 Good start to new campaign [April 4^th 2006] Todays match away to Ballygunner N.S. signaled the beginning of the U13 Schools Hurling League. After recent bad weather it was nice to see the sun shining brightly for this game. We played with a fresh breeze in the first half and were leading 1-5 to 0-3 at half time. Aaron Dempsey made some tremendous clearances early on while James Connolly got two great scores.. a goal from a close range free and a point from a free which was well inside his own half. We knew the second half would not be easy and we were made to work to the final whistle. Astute defending by Shane Hogan and a tally of 1-2 each for Patrick Flynn and Robert Daniels helped us greatly to get to the finish line and earn ourselves two important points. Although a lot of work still needs to be done it was indeed a good start to the new year. Well done boys Final Score - St Declans 3-6 Ballygunner 2-6 Todays Panel - S. Dalton, S. Whitty, A. Dempsey, L. Sammon, S. Hogan, D. Foley, J. Connolly, R. Daniels, T. Mullally, G. Walsh, P. Flynn, D. O Leary, E. O Dwyer, C Browne, D. Connolly and E. Hurley. U 11 Hurling Campaign ’05 – ‘06 U11 Hurlers Finish on a High [June 1^st‘06] In beautiful sunshine today we played our final game of the U11 Schools Hurling League at home to St Pauls. This turned out to be a very one sided game and we were easy and comprehensive winners when the final whistle blew. That brings the U11 campaign now to a close and Mr Walsh would like to thank all the boys for their efforts and their parents for their support over the last number of months. Our Panel for the game was; Tom Farrell, Bill Power, Tom Moran, James Stafford-Grogan, Jack MacCarthy, Stephen Dalton, Craig Brown, Dylan Foley, Shane Hannon, Garry Walsh, Eoghan O’Dwyer, Ethan Hurley, Luke Kelly, Jack Hale, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Colm Power, Aidan Purcell, Aaron O’Connor [May 11^th ‘06] U.11 School Hurling League St.Declan’s v Scoil Lorcáin Having lost so narrowly to Stephen St. our U.11 hurlers were determined to get it right against Scoil Lorcáin. Again the weather was glorious and a great day for hurling. Scoil Lorcáin started really well. They had a number of hurlers around the pitch who were comfortable on the ball and it looked like we were going to struggle. Scoil Lorcáin went ahead with a point but Dylan Foley (who was playing his third match for the school this week and had also represented St.Declan’s when running in the City sports on Tuesday night) started to dominate in midfield. Dylan collected a ball over on the right wing, soloed through a crowd of players and struck a great point for us. Scoil Lorcáin were hurling well though and our lads really had to get stuck in, which they did. Jack Hale was like a rock and Stephen Dalton hurled as if his life depended upon it. Garry Walsh was seeing a lot of the ball and was making good use of it. But once again Scoil Lorcáin went in front with another point. Then Garry sent in a long ball, Craig Brown controlled it, got it into his hand and spun for a great goal. Half time soon arrived. Early in the second half Eoghan O’Dwyer settled into the game with some lovely skilled hurling and sent over a great point off of his left hand. We were beginning to play really well now. Bill Power, Tom Moran and Jack MacCarthy were letting nothing through in defence, while Stephen Dalton hurled an amount of ball. Darragh Fitzpatrick came into the defence and kept Scoil Lorcáin out as well. Dylan was in control at this stage and when James Grogan hit an overhead goal we knew we were going to win. Luke Kelly turned on the style and scored three gaols to send the points our way and when Craig Brown scored another we were enjoying the sunshine at our ease. Shane Hannon came into the forward line and tried hard. Tom Farrell had little to do in goal but pulled off a great save towards the end. His puck-outs were always on target. Colm Power came on and did very well as did Aidan Purcell. Tom Moran is playing solidly at full-back, well done. So a great win for our U.11 hurlers they played really well. Next up is St.Paul’s next week. Our Panel for the game was; Tom Farrell, Bill Power, Tom Moran, James Stafford-Grogan, Jack MacCarthy, Stephen Dalton, Craig Brown, Dylan Foley, Shane Hannon, Garry Walsh, Eoghan O’Dwyer, Ethan Hurley, Luke Kelly, Jack Hale, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Colm Power, Aidan Purcell, Aaron O’Connor (was absent). [May 10^th ‘06] U.11 School Hurling League - St.Declan’s v Stephen St. This week has been a busy week for our U.11 hurlers. We trained on Tuesday and then played Stephen St. on Wednesday. The weather was fantastic and our lads gave a great exhibition of hurling from the heart. We started well and within a couple of minutes were in front with a great point from Garry Walsh. James Stafford-Grogan was clearing great ball from defence and Dylan Foley was driving our team up the field time after time. All of the lads were putting in a great effort but the scores just would not come. Eoghan O’Dwyer displayed great skills and Aaron O’Connor who had come on as a sub was hurling well up front. When the half time whistle sounded, we were still that lone point ahead but the boys were giving their best. Again in the second half the two teams were going shoulder to shoulder for every ball and our lads were well able to hurl. Garry Walsh then got a great ball to the right of Stephen Street’s goal. He hit a great shot but it went narrowly wide. Tom Moran was making unbelievable stops and blocks in the full-back line and Jack Hale was beginning to get stuck into the game. We still led by that single point but about five minutes from time Stephen St. went down the field and scored a goal with their only shot on goal for the entire match. Tom Farrell on goal had not had to make any other save in the match and was very unlucky to be beaten by just the one shot. Unfortunately try as they did our boys just could not get that score to go on and win the match so well done to Stephen St. Our team held their heads high even though we were totally disappointed at losing this extraordinary game. Final score : St Declans 0 – 1 Stephen Street 1- 0 The panel for the day was; Tom Farrell, Bill Power, Tom Moran, James Stafford-Grogan, Jack MacCarthy, Stephen Dalton, Craig Brown, Dylan Foley, Shane Hannon, Garry Walsh, Eoghan O’Dwyer, Ethan Hurley, Luke Kelly, Jack Hale, Aaron O’Connor, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Colm Power, Aidan Purcell. [April 27^th ‘06] Before Easter we played Ballygunner in the Schools U11 Hurling League and we didn’t perform to the best of our ability. Going into our second game against Mount Sion we knew we simply had to win the game. We travelled then to Mount Sion grounds hoping for a big improvement. Mount Sion won the toss and opted to play with the wind. Our lads settled quickly and Craig Browne and Dylan Foley dominated in the middle of the pitch. Eoghan O’ Dwyer was winning good ball at centre-forward and we soon took the lead. Eoghan and then Ethan Hurley got some good scores to give us the lead going in at half-time. Mount Sion threw everything at us in the second half but Stephen Dalton, Tom Moran and Luke Kelly did some great defending to keep Mount Sion out. Craig Browne and James Grogan contributed some fine scores. By the time the full-time whistle sounded St.Declans had managed to keep the opposition scoreless and we had won well. We will have to work hard next week if we are to beat a good Stephen Street team. We will play Stephen Street next Thursday, let’s hope that our boys can keep up the good work. Our team that were victorious over Mount Sion was Tom Farrell, Bill Power, Tom Moran, James Stafford-Grogan, Jack MacCarthy, Stephen Dalton, Craig Brown, Dylan Foley, Luke Kelly, Eoghan O’Dwyer, Aaron O’Connor, Ethan Hurley, Shane Hannon, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Aidan Purcell, Colm Power. Spirited second half not enough to beat Ballygunner [6^th April 2006] Our U11 Hurling team were in action today in the Schools U11 Hurling League once again away to Ballygunner on a bright but showery afternoon. This was a game which in truth was lost in the first half where we were far too lackluster and jaded in our approach. We started well and went into a two point lead but by half time we were behind 0-2 to 2-2 and were facing into the prospect of playing into the ever stiffening breeze for the second half. The team however responded to an inspiring half time talk. We were now a different team playing with much more determination and vigour. We created many good chances [ a few by Craig Browne] but unfortunately just could not get that vital score that would have lifted our hopes of winning the game. We conceded only one point in the second half [Tom Moran defended well as did Jack McCarthy ] We may have lost the game but at least we can feel proud of our efforts over the last twenty minutes. Final Score : St Declans 0 – 2 Ballygunner 2- 3 INTO Hurling Mini 7s ’05 – ‘06 No joy for St Declans in Ballyduff [March 30^th 2006] Today our 7 a side Hurling team competed in the Eastern Final of the INTO Hurling Mini 7’s competition in Ballyduff. Four other first round winning teams joined us in this finals blitz. They were Scoil Lorcáin, Portlaw, Ballyduff and Newtown. Recent bad weather made conditions very difficult but in fairness to all the players they got on with the job and tried their best. We began really well with a good victory in our first game against Scoil Lorcáin. Tom Mullally played particularly well and got some fine scores. Next up was Portlaw. This was a much closer game which went down to almost the last puc of the match. We nearly made it but in the end lost out by a point. We defeated Ballyduff in our penultimate game however as Portlaw had already won all their games they were deemed to be champions and so our final game against Newtown was left unplayed due to the poor weather conditions. So in the end it was ultimately a story of what could have been. We wish Portlaw all the best in the County Final. Well done to all on the panel who tried hard in very difficult circumstances. The results from today were….. St Declans 3-3 Scoil Lorcáin 1-2 St Declans 0-1 Portlaw 0-2 St Declans 3-1 Ballyduff 2-2 The panel today was S. Dalton, S Hogan, S. Whitty, R. Daniels, L. Sammon, T. Mullally, D. Foley, D. O Leary, G. Walsh and J. Hale St Declans win first round [March 7^th ‘06] The out door hurling season got under way today at the Cleaboy as we competed in the first round of the INTO Mini 7s Hurling Competition. Having done a little training lately everyone was eager to do well and get the year off to a good start. There were four teams at the venue and the competition was organized on a blitz basis. 7s can be very demanding and tiring but our boys were not found wanting. We got off to a great start and our effort levels were very high. We played some lovely hurling in each of the games and were undefeated at the end of the day. Stephen Dalton, Robert Daniels, Tom Mullally, Shane Hogan and Liam Sammon all stood out but overall it was more a solid team performance than anything else. Well done again boys! We now move on to the Eastern Final. The results from today were….. St Declans 3-0 Ballygunner 1-1 St Declans 3-1 St Stephens 1-1 St Declans 4-1 Mount Sion 0-4 5. Soccer News 2005 -2006 Jack Kennedy Cup ’05 – ‘06 St Declans Retain Jack Kennedy Cup [ June 22^nd ‘06] One year on, the same venue, the same competition and the same opposition Mount Sion. The question on everybody’s lips was could St Declans win the Jack Kennedy cup three times in a row. The St Declans team had put in some great performances leading up to this final and had scored 19 goals in thee three games. As we walked over to Ozier Park all the boys were itching to get the game started. We could hear the chanting of the St Declans classes as we emerged from the dressing room. The stands were a washed with maroon and yellow. The game started slowly both teams playing very cautiously. Mount Sion looked determined and were not going to let St Declans beat them for the second time in a row. St Declans were growing in confidence and were using the two fast wingers to penetrate the Mount Sion defence. The Mount Sion defence looked stretched and cracks were starting to appear at an early stage. The pressure became to much and the first St Declans goal was scored, a great cross from Kenneth McEvoy which was met by the head of James Connolly. 1-0 to St Declans. As the game progressed it was clear to see that St Declans were far superior in both skill and effort. It was an absolute joy to watch. At half time it was hard to believe that St Declans were only winning by a single goal. The second half started much the way the first half finished with St Declans dictating the play. You could see that the Mount Sion players were tiring, Conor Coad capitalised on this and scored two quick goals. He demonstrated great skill and balance to dance his way through the Mount Sion defense and calmly roll the ball into the net. 3-0 to St Declans, the confidence was high and gaps seemed to appear in the Mount Sion defense. With ten minutes left Conor Coad secured his hat trick with a well struck ball from inside the box. At this stage Mount Sion were tired and were chasing the ball. In the last minute St Declans secured the win with a fifth goal. As the final whistle blew a mass of St Declans fans swarmed on to the pitch to congratulate the heroes. Conor Coad was presented with the Man of the Match trophy for is fine display of football and the hat trick he scored. A fantastic display of football was witnessed by all and St Declans reign champions for another year. Again the Jack Kennedy Cup remains in the walls of St Declans. Final Score : St Declans - 5 0 - Mount Sion Senior Soccer Team reach Kennedy Cup Final [June 15^th ‘06] Semi Final - St Declans 8 - 2 Holy Cross We had been looking forward to this encounter for a long time. It was an unfortunate day when St Declans lost out in the five a side to Holy Cross. The boys now were ready to set the record straight. Preparations were made and tactics were discussed.Before the match the dressing room was filled with excitement, every boy knew their job and were keen to get started. The whistle blew for the first half the game started at a frantic pace with every player trying to find their feet. Both teams were cautious and didn’t give away much of the ball, understandable as the winner books their place in the final. St Declans seemed to settle quicker than Holy Cross, with a good few through balls the Holy Cross defense looked stretched. With a sustained period of pressure St Declans finally got the goal they sought. St Declans then played very sensible football protecting their lead. They played some fantastic football passing the ball fluently from the defense to the forwards. With a minute to half time Holy Cross equalised with a well worked goal. Half Time - St Declans 1 – 1 Holy Cross. At Half time the boys seemed to be frustrated as they were playing some great football but the score was 1-1. They started the second half strongly controlling the passing and Holy Cross seemed to be chasing the game. St Declans were starting to use their fast wingers which were causing huge problems for the Holy Cross defense. The pressure became too much for Holy Cross and St Declans scored two goals in quick succession. St Declans were now in full control of the game and were displaying some fantastic skill on the ball. The Holy Cross team now looked panicked and mistakes were appearing. St Declans extended their lead to 5-1 and secured a hat-trick for our centre forward Conor Coad. Holy Cross dug their heels in and scored a penalty to bring the score to 5-2. Holy Cross seemed to tire in the last ten minutes and the fitness of the St Declans players shone through. St Declans scored three great team goals with some great passing and fine crossing. With final score 8-2 to St Declans it secured four goals for the second half substitute David Barry. A fine display of football it was a delight to witness We now look forward to the final against Mount Sion and retain the Jack Kennedy Cup. [March 31^st 2006] Match 2 - St Declan’s 6 v Scoil Lorcáin 3 Venue – Waterpark All Weather Pitch Confidence was flying after the performance against St Stephen’s. We knew from last years encounter that Scoil Lorcáin were a strong side and we would have to work very hard to win. As we arrived and stepped off the bus the wind was very strong. The first half started franticly and each team fighting for possession. St Declan’s started well but early chances were squandered. As the game progressed St Declan’s gained more and more confidence. The deadlock was finally broken when Robert Daniels took the opportunity and slid the ball past the Scoil Lorcáin goalkeeper. The Scoil Lorcáin defence now looked on edge. St Declan’s took full advantage of this and James Connolly turned the centre defender and placed the ball into the far left corner. St Declan’s now looked unstoppable and were passing the ball with ease. The ball fell neatly into the path to Adam Walsh, he dribbled towards goal and with a sudden burst of speed to pass the last defender he found the back of the net. With the first half coming to a close St Declan’s were caught on the back foot and Scoil Lorcáin scored a well worked goal. With the half time score 3-1 to St Declan’s the game was now wide open. St Declan’s started the second half slowly and Scoil Lorcáin capitalised on this and scored a goal in the first minute. St Declan’s now needed to put their heads down and work hard. They started to hold the ball up and gain confidence. James Connolly gathered the ball in midfield. He dribbled into the Scoil Lorcáin box squeezed himself past the first defender and forcefully struck the ball into the goal. 4-2 to St Declan’s. Scoil Lorcáin were still adamant on not letting the game get out of their reach. Again they threatened the St Declan’s goal and their pressure resulted in their third goal. St Declan’s now had to change gear to make sure it was their win. Their fitness came into show in the last ten minutes and St Declan’s scored two goals in quick succession, the first from Conor Coad and the second from Kenneth McEvoy. This secured the win for St Declan’s. Every player had to work extremely hard throughout the game. In the end a 6-3 win was well deserved. We look forward to the next stage in the Jack Kennedy Cup. [March 29^th 2006] Match 1 - St Stephens 0 v St Declans 5 Venue : Waterpark all weather 11 a-side pitch. We started off the season against one of our clear rivals St Stephens. We all felt very positive after our training sessions. With many players who played last year we already had a solid platform to work from. Straight from kick off St Declan’s showed great determination. Each player fought very hard for the ball. With two very fast wing players Robert Daniels on the left and Kenneth McEvoy on the right the St Stephens defence found it extremely hard to keep out quality crosses flying into the box. The pressure on Stephens Streets defence finally broke. A well timed cross came in from the right wing and headed in by the tall and strong James Connolly, 1-0 to St Declan’s. The half time whistle was getting nearer, St Stephens had learned from their mistake and now their marking was a lot better. Two minutes from half time and the ball was kicked out from the hands of the St Declan’s goalkeeper Sean Whitty. The ball was then gathered by Jack Hale in the centre of midfield, after shrugging off two players he released it to Kenneth McEvoy who was making a clear run down the left wing. Kenneth proceeded down the wing with the ball. He again crossed the ball in to the near goal post. Adam Welsh dashed before his marker and squeezed a well directed header past the St Stephen’s goalkeeper. 2-0 to St Declan’s. Second Half. St Declan’s started the second half with knowledge that they can play even better soccer than they played in the first half. In the first ten minutes Conor Coad got very close to scoring twice, one shoot glided over the bar and another shaved the left post. St Declan’s became more and more dominant as the game went on. St Stephen’s were finding it harder and harder to keep up with the pace. It was inevitable that the Stephens Street defence was going to crumble, and it did. St Declan’s were now passing the ball fluently. The ball was worked well in midfield and Robert Daniels was in plenty of space to deliver a cross in to the box, he found James Connolly’s head which found the back of the net. 3-0 to St Declan’s. Quickly after the third goal a deflected shot popped up in front of Tom Mullally. He took no chances and slid it under the goalkeeper to secure St Declan’s forth goal. St Declan’s were now at ease with the ball and they were keeping possession intelligently. With a few minutes left in the game you could see that they were hungry for the fifth goal. The ball was being passed around the box searching for an opening. Soon enough the ball fell into the path of Conor Whittle who controlled well and placed it into the bottom right corner of the goal. The final whistle blew St Declan’s have opened their soccer campaign with a five goal win over St Stephen’s. All players can be proud of an excellent performance. Ribena 5 - a - Side National Soccer Competition - May ‘06 This years Waterford region qualifiers were held at Villa soccer club. Teams present were St Declans, St Stephens, Scoil Lorcain, St Pauls and Holy Cross Every team played each other and the team who came top of the league progressed to the Munster championships St Declans first game was against Sciol Lorcain We started excellently scoring a goal in the opening thirty seconds. By Half time St Declans were leading 4-0. All players looked very relaxed and confident on the ball each player battling hard to keep possession. At the final whistle St Declans had won 7-1. A very convincing win, an excellent start. St Declans second game was against St Pauls. Again St Declans found their feet quickly and St Pauls seemed to be on the back foot from the start. Again a quick goal in the first minute saw St Pauls on the back foot. Our players showed some excellent skill and accurate passing. At half time the score was 5-0. St Declans seemed to be unstoppable and the pin point passing was admirable. The final score was 6-0 to St Declans. St Declans third game was against Holy Cross. St Declans started well by passing the ball around nicely. Holy Cross were patient and waited for there chances. Just before half time an in directed pass was intercepted and Holy Cross were 1-0 up. This was a different game to the first two, St Declans had to battle to win every ball. With a lot of hard work St Declans pulled one goal back. We found it hard to pass the ball and were getting caught in defence. With a minute left on the clock Holy Cross broke and scored their second goal. The final score was 2-1 to Holy Cross. St Declans fourth game was against St Stephens. This was a must win game. St Declans started strong and scored two goals in the first minute. We were back to our best. It was great to see that the boys were enjoying their soccer. Some fantastic through balls were made from defence this seemed to split the St Stephens defence in half. Before half time another shot found the back of the net 3-0 to Declans. The second half started in the same manner a quick goal scored and St Stephens heads were down. The game ended in a 5-1 win to St Declans. After all the points were counted two teams were tied at the top of the league. Holy cross had won two games and drawn two and St Declans had won three games and lost one. Both teams were on six points. The 5 a-side rules state when two teams are equal on points you must look back to see who won between the two teams. Therefore it wasn’t our day as Holy Cross beat us 2-1 in our third game. Holy Cross now go on to represent Waterford in the Munster knockout stage. On a positive note the football that was witnessed by all from the eight St Declans players was inspiring. They can be very proud of themselves for the way they performed on the pitch and the manner in which they behaved. I’m positive we will contest strongly again next year. School 5 - a - side Soccer League Final – June ‘06 Over the last six weeks more than a hundred boys from St Declans have been battling out in a five a side tournament. With so many boys interested they were slit up into twenty teams. Every boy on the soccer panel was elected as a captain and chose their team. This ensured that all the teams were fair. The tournament started with four leagues. Each team would play every team once so every player was guaranteed four games. Five aside soccer isn’t an easy game to play it requires your full attention and to be on your toes all the time. It is very much a team effort the team who is successful is the team that plays well together. Some fantastic games were witnessed and there were some great goals. With all the teams playing each other the top two teams from every league progressed to the quarter finals. These are the captains of each team that qualified – Robert Daniels James Connolly Robert Power Conor Coad Adam Potter Niall Cooke Sean Whitty Adam Walsh With the quarter finals played we were left with the four strong sides the Captains of which follow - Conor Coad Adam Potter James Connolly Robert Daniels With Conor Coad team playing Robert Daniels team and James Connolly’s team playing Adam Potters team there was great excitement in the air. They were both highly entertaining games and high scoring too. Both games were played at a very quick pace. Robert Daniels team emerged triumphant with a fantastic goal from the captain in injury time. In the other semi final the contest was even closer with both teams as talented as the other. It ended with Adam scoring an excellent individual goal and an excellent exhibition of football was witnessed. Please wait for the pictures to load……… From twenty teams at the start we were now down to the last two. Every player that took part in the competition took their seat to cheer the players on to the pitch. Both teams emerged from the school and shook hands and took their positions. It was decided that the final would be ten minutes each half. The final was extremely competitive and at this stage every player was used to playing and knew what was expected. The final whistle blew and Adam Potter’s team emerged the champions with a 3 - 2 win. As you can see from the score line it was another close game. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the boys for their co operation. With out it, it wouldn’t have been the success it was.We now look forward to the next year’s tournament Well done. [Report written by Mr. Morgan]