Kells tournament a success

THE weather played havoc with this year"s Kells / Blackwater FC under-age soccer tournament. After getting underway in late August, the schedule of games was disrupted by the bad weather and the tournament finally concluded over the October bank holiday weekend. This was the second year of the Kells / Blackwater-hosted tournament with games played on the club"s 11-a-side and seven-a-side pitches at the Grange, Kells. Over 60 teams took part and Patrick Matthews - who came up with the original idea for this soccer extravaganza and who is the driving force behind the tournament - is hoping that it will become a permanent fixture in the local soccer schedule. 'A lot of hard work went into organising the tournament, we were delighted with the response and we"re hoping it will become one of the biggest competitions around,' stated Matthews. 'This year we had teams from seven counties, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan, Westmeath, Louth, Kildare and Dublin. Next year we hope to widen the net a bit more and bring in more teams.' Matthews, who has been closely involved in soccer circles in Kells for many years, thanked all those who helped in organising and running the event, including the Kells / Blackwater officials and the sponsors of cups and trophies. He also paid tribute to the players, managers and referees for their patience following the enforced changes to the tournament schedule because of the weather. The winner of the Fair Play League, sponsored by Masita Sportwear, was Home Farm u-13 team. Nicholas Bialey who is on the Kenstown Rovers u-15 side, won the 'player-of-the-tournament" award. Other sponsors included the Lynch family, the Jewellery Box, Bective Financial Services, Gerry Beggy, Paul Mooney Kitchens and Bedrooms, Conservations Solutions, The Blackwater Inn The games took place over two weekends and catered for players from u-9 to u-17. However, the u-11 grade wasn"t finished until the Bank Holiday weekend in October. Ardee Celtic won the u-9 and u-10 grades. They defeated Skryne / Tara 2-1 in the u-9 final and overcame Drogheda Boys 2-1 on penalties in the u-10 decider after a scoreless final. At u-11 level Drogheda Boys defeated Mullingar Athletic 2-1. A strong Virginia Bhoys outfit won 4-1 against Dromin United in the u-12 showdown while at u-13 level, top Dublin & District League side Home Farm outflanked Mullingar Athletic 4-0 in the final. At u-14 level, Ballyjamesduff sidestepped the challenge of Albion Rovers 2-1 after extra-time in the final. Mullingar Athletic won the u-15 final with a 1-0 win over Kenstown Rovers. At u-16 level, Kells / Blackwater out-gunned Dublin & District League side Shamrock Rovers in the decider on penalties after it finished 1-1. Also in the u-17 final, Kells / Blackwater defeated Lexilip Utd in on penalties after the teams finished scoreless.