Kennedy Cup challenge for North East Counties

The North Eastern Counties Schoolboys" League face a series of challenging assignments in this season"s SFAI Kennedy Cup which will take place at Limerick University from Monday, 15th to Friday, 19th June. The NECSL made it to the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time last year under the guidance of Noel Hand and this time around will play the North Dublin Schoolboys League, Wexford Schoolboys League and the Longford Schoolboys League in a tough qualifying group. This is the first season the NECSL will compete under the umbrella of the FAI"s Emerging Talent Programme which was launched in 2006. The NECSL team will be managed by Mick Dalton. He was approached to take on the job by NECSL official Noel Hand and FAI Regional Development Officer Tom Mohan and he accepted the challenge. The Emerging Talent Programme was developed in 2005 by Wim Koevermans, FAI International Performance Director. It is designed to help train the FAI"s best 11-to 16-year-old coaches. The first challenge for the NECSL and their new coach was to appoint technical coaching staff. Dalton ticked all the right boxes by being a fully qualified FAI and UEFA licenced coach. Warren Bolger and Mick O"Brien, who also had the same qualifications, were also appointed forming a well-experienced trio of coaches. Trials began and since 2006, 150 of the NEC"s elite players were tested and then re-assessed on a season-by-season basis. Thirty players were selected at the beginning of this season. At the end of February a squad of 20 players were chosen to represent the NECSL at this year"s Kennedy Cup. The standard of the players in this squad has attracted scouts from Manchester Utd, Blackburn, Liverpool, Hull City and Middlesbrough. The FAI"s Meath Development Officer Mark Scanlon has kept a very close eye on the squad in the hope of bringing some international caps to Meath, and follow in the footsteps of Kealon Dillon who now regularly plays for the Republic of Ireland u-15 squad and who was a key player in Hand"s squad who finished seventh in the Kennedy Cup last year. On seeing the draw for this year Dalton expressed optimism about his team"s chances. 'Having beaten the NDSL 4-1 at the MDL last June and recently defeated Drogheda 4-2, we are confidently going about our business and playing an incredible standard of technical football. 'I am very proud and excited with the standard of football we can play, and on our day we could give hot favourites the DDSL a nightmare. 'I know the hard work the players and coaching staff have put in this year and this will ultimately reap the rewards.' The NECSL"s first match will be against Wexford at 5.0 on Monday, 15th June. The squad train at The Grange, home to Kells / Blackwater every Sunday, 11.0 to 1.0. The NECSL squad is: Kevin Brady (Baileboro); Stuart Lumb, Paul Kennedy (both Enfield Celtic); Sean Coloe, Kevin Nally, Neil Sweeney, Stephen Moroney, Fergal O"Hare (all Trim Celtic); Alpha Fadiga (Parkvilla), Karl Larkin, Aaron Kavanagh, Michael Dalton (all Navan Town); John Moran, Darren McQuillan (both Johnstown); Fergal Lonergan, Aaron Lynch, Oisin McDonnell (all Carrick Rovers); Glen Darcy (Raistin Rovers); Cian O"Brien, Patrick Farrelly (both Kells / Blackwater); head coach - Mick Dalton; assistant-head coach - Warren Bolger; assistant-coach - Mick O"Brien; goalkeeping coach - Noel Walsh.