Hibernia Trophy win for Huddersfield Town!
Huddersfield Town crowned their debut appearance at the St. Joseph’s Boys-hosted Under-14 Hibernia Trophy tournament over the weekend by lifting the silverware – with more than a little help from a possible Irish starlet.
George Conway was on the score-sheet for the victors in Sunday’s 2-1 final victory over Linfield and deservedly emerged as player of the tournament. It’s believed the English-born midfielder qualifies for Ireland and could opt to wear the Green jersey in the future.
The Terriers had edged out the DDSL, containing most of their SFAI Kennedy Cup winning squad, in the group stages to clinch their place in the final.
The Dubs won their opening two fixtures on Friday night against FC Utrecht from Holland and host team St. Joseph’s Boys before disposing of Burnley on Saturday morning. But, in the defining fixture of the series, they lost narrowly to the touring Town side, relinquishing the upperhand going into the final day.
With a place in the final riding on the outcome of their last pool game against Joeys, Huddersfield knew anything less than victory would see them usurped by the DDSL. That scenario didn’t come close to unfolding, though, as they rattled the back of the net four times without reply.
Linfield were the undisputed kings of their other group, steamrolling through their first pair of matches.
DDSL did come out tops in the 3rd/4th place play-off against an FAI squad featuring the best players from around the country bar those representing their clubs or leagues in the event.
Captain Dan O'Reilly put the Dubs ahead from the penalty spot after Clayton Stafford was fouled inside the box and the lead was extended in the second half with John Mahon getting the final touch to a well-worked move down the right channel. Late on, the FAI struck back to make it 2-1 but there was no late drama.
The exertions of St. Joseph’s Boys were jubilantly supported by the home crowd throughout the three days of action and their 2-1 against Burnley on Saturday drew the biggest cheer of the day. In the play-offs on Sunday, Joey’s secured fifth spot by beating the North Dublin SL courtesy of goals by Conor Blackmore and Dylan Hayes.
This year’s Hibernia Trophy, extended to ten teams, was considered the best of it’s six-year history. All participants were invited to the celebration function on Saturday evening, staged inside the superb Pearse Park facility, where the cross-section of players from Holland, Denmark, England and Ireland got to mingle freely for a couple of hours. Niall O’Driscoll, secretary of St. Joseph’s Boys, spoke about the evolution of the event which began in Izumo City, Japan during the World Cup final of 2002.
Already, more English Premier League sides have expressed an interest in registering for next year. Growing the event is a priority for Joeys but not to the detriment of the ethos central to the overall event. “We run this tournament with the support of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown council in tandem with the world festival of cultures taking place nearby. “The international dimension is extremely important as we this event as crucial to developing friendships and exchanges between players and coaches across various countries. “
The strides made over the six years of the tournament have meant that it has become the primary Elite underage tournament for Under-15 players, which is particularly helpful for the FAI ahead of their international campaign ahead at that age-group.” FAI CEO John Delaney and Honorary Secretary Michael Cody both attended finals day and spoke glowingly of the work carried out by the Sallynoggin club during the presentation.
It seems many years of success are ahead in the lifetime of the Hibernia Trophy. For more information please contact Club Secretary Niall O’Driscoll on 01-6395801 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
