Wednesday 15th November saw the Skryne U13s rap up their season in style with a hard fought but well deserved victory over the St.Colmcilles in the final of the U13 Autumn league. This group of lads are undefeated having won all of the nine matches they played which included the seven group matches, semi-final and last night final. Beginning back in August the lads were in a group with Colmcilles, Ratoath, St.Pats, Navan O’Mahonys, Trim, Gael Colmcilles and Donaghmore Ashbourne. The opening game of the campaign set the tone for the competition with the lads playing away to Colmcilles and earning a 3-point victory. This win was followed with home wins against Trim, Gael Colmcilles and Donaghmore Ashbourne while victories on the road against Ratoath, Navan O’Mahonys and St.Pats saw the lads finish top of the table when the group games were completed. The semi-final was a home game V St.Pats and following a very tight first half the Skryne boys upped their performance in the 2nd half and ran out 4-11 to 1-9 winners.
And so to the final, both Skryne and Colmcilles have played some memorable matches at underage level over the last few years and last night final certainly lived up to expectations. Played in a really good spirit, the game kept the large crowd entertained from the start. All U13 games are played at 13 a-side. Killian Manning started in goal as regular goalkeeper Mikey Daly had fractured his wrist just a few days before the final. Skryne started the game really well and some early scores got the lads up and running. Ben Armstrong and Robert Gallagher were doing really well and won a lot of possession in the middle of the field. The inside forwards of Josh Grendon and Charlie Swan were causing the Cilles defenders a lot of problems and both lads kicked some wonderful scores. As expected Colmcilles were always going be tough opponents and some quick scores saw them keep in the match. Mid way through the first-half wing back Stephen Corry kicked an excellent long range point, then Andrew Canavan who had gained possession around the middle of the park ran at the Colmcilles defence and playing a lovely give and go with Josh Grendon, Andrew was though on goal and kicking low hard to the net gave the Colmcilles keeper no chance. Almost on half time Colmcilles added a point and a goal to leave just a single point between the sides. The 2nd half did not disappoint with both teams playing some great football, good movement, accurate hand and kick passing and some excellent score taking. Gradually the Skryne backs, led by Darragh O’Dowd and team Captain Matthew Ryan, got on top of the Colmcilles forward. Up front with excellent movement from Billy Smith, Kevin Cooney and Dylan Murphy the scores kept coming. James Reeves and Ciaran Quinn were pushing forward and kept the Colmcilles lads pegged into their own half. Skryne subs played a big part, with Ben Mooney coming into the backline and blocking and breaking up a number of attacks. Up front Zak Farrell and Ciaran Fox kept the pressure on the Cilles backline. With a few mins left Skryne were ahead by nine points but a Colmcilles goal gave us an exciting last few minutes. With Killian Manning making a couple of excellent saves and Matthew Ryan dominating at full back Skryne held out and emerged victorious on a scoreline of 3-12 to 3-6.
It was a really entertaining game, showcasing all that is good about juvenile football. Afterward Ciaran Flynn, Coiste Na nOg when presented the trophy to Skryne captain Matthew Ryan complemented both sides in the attitude, skills and discipline. It is also worth noting that referee Martin Dawson did an excellent job on the night
The final marked the end of a few very busy weeks for Skryne at U13 level. We were in the fortunate position of being able to field two teams at this grade. The older team made up of lads born in 2004 played in Div.1 and following their group matches they narrowly missed out on a semi-final place. The 2nd team made up of lads born 2005 & 2006, remained unbeaten throughout the competition and the win sets the group up nicely ahead of the U14 campaigns in 2018.
Skryne Panel
Killian Manning, Darragh O’Dowd, Matthew Ryan, Stephen Corry, Ciaran Quinn, James Reeves, Ben Armstrong, Robert Gallagher, Billy Smyth, Andrew Canavan, Kevin Cooney, Charlie Swan, Josh Grendon, Ciaran Fox, Zak Farrell, Dylan Murphy, Ben Mooney, Mikey Daly
