St Declans N.S.
Homepage Sports News Sporting Archives This Years Achievements Fixtures	Final St Declan’s vs Mount Sion. Venue: Ozier Park. Ozier park was awash with maroon and yellow jerseys as five St Declan’s classes surrounded the stadium for the final. It was a glorious day in Waterford and everybody was excited to watch this derby match. This match was of special importance to St Declan’s as they are proud to boast that Jack Kennedy was an ex pupil of the school. Jack Kennedy himself had a great love of soccer and also encouraged children to enjoy the game. St Declan’s started very strongly and were keen to get the ball under control and play the football they are capable of. Every step seemed to take twice the energy as the sun was beating down on the backs of every player. After the first few settling minutes the game took a frantic pace and the sun didn’t seem to affect the twenty two players. During the first half there were some inspirational runs from the St Declan’s forwards which punctured the Mount Sion defence. This gave great confidence to the St Declan’s players. Just before the half time whistle St Declan’s made quick break and caught the Mount Sion players on the back foot, our left side player struck the ball sweetly and it rattled the post. The half time whistle blew and the first half finished with the St Declan’s players on a high. Second Half. With both teams anxious to get ahead of the other they started the second half at a fierce pace. The passing was flowing and the runs were piercing, both teams had plenty of chances. The St Declan’s defence were in fine form and refused to let any Mount Sion attackers have a shot on goal. This fine display of defending was a treat to see and it encouraged the other St Declan’s players to push Mount Sion onto the back foot. St Declan’s slowly started to chip away at the Mount Sion defence and holes began to appear, these were cleverly exploited by our strikers. With the St Declan’s growing in confidence they started to move the ball around nicely but still couldn’t get the goal they were pining for. With ten minutes left until the final whistle a decision was made to bring on a striker. A fresh pair of legs could be the answer to St Declans’ prays. Within two minutes of the substitute being on the pitch he found himself in a great position. The ball was crossed into the box by the left winger, it neatly fell in to the path of the fresh striker he took no time in slotting the ball in the back of the net. St Declan’s had finally broken the dead lock. Now that they had the upper hand every thing seemed to fall into place and the ball was being moved around with ease, they were enjoying the game much more. Within three minutes of the first goal St Declan’s found themselves in another great position outside the Mount Sion box. Some fantastic skill was bared by the talented left winger which exposed a gaping hole, he quickly capitalised and threaded it neatly through to the fresh and full of confidence striker. He took his chance excellently and tucked the ball underneath the Mount Sion goalkeeper. St Declan’s were now two goals ahead, they used their experience to keep the ball which meant that Mount Sion were chasing the game. St Declan’s had won the Jack Kennedy Memorial Cup. As the final whistle blew the scenes at Ozier park were fantastic, a maroon and yellow tidal wave curled towards the eleven heroes. Throughout the encounter St Declan’s players never gave up and their sheer determination and drive ensured a well deserved win. The cup was deservedly presented to our captain, the centre back played a key role in the game as did every St Declan’s player, it was excellent team performance. The cup now resides proudly in the School that Jack Kennedy once attended as a child.