THE U14 South Belfast Youth League (SBYL) select squad completed an historic All-Ireland double by sweeping to Kennedy Cup glory in Limerick last weekend.
The annual week-long football tournament, which sees the best players from each county come together to battle it out for the prestigious Jim Kennedy Cup, proved one of the best experiences in the lives of the SBYL starlets.
Ranked 12th going into the tournament, the SBYL boys came from 2-0 down with 20 minutes remaining to see off Waterford 3-2 and swept past Wexford 3-0 in their semi-final.
North Eastern Regional League (NERL) hadn’t conceded a goal in reaching the Kennedy Cup final but the SBYL U14s pulled off a sensational 2-1 victory to add to their inter-counties league title in March and allowed them to celebrate a first-ever All-Ireland double.
“Never before has an All-Ireland double been achieved in one season,” said SBYL coach Sean Davey.
“It’s a special moment that will live long in my own and the players’ memories. All the extra training and friendly games to prepare them, the late nights and early mornings additional to their club routine is an example to all young players out there that dreams can come true.”
Sean added that he was particularly proud of the six St Malachy’s OB Youth FC players that backboned the SBYL Select side to glory down along the Shannon.
“I’ve coached a lot of those St Malachy’s players at our club since they were five or six-years-old and goes to show that we are a great platform for producing exceptional talent.”