FOOTBALL | Dullaghan and his Dundalk Schoolboys League squad ready for this week’s SuperCup NI challenge
U15 squad face Colina, Armagh and Leeds at famous tournament
The Dundalk Schoolboys League U15 squad set off for Coleraine on Sunday morning ahead of this year’s Super Cup NI — formerly known as the Milk Cup.
The 18-man squad, managed by Martin Dullaghan and his coaching staff of David Curran and Paul Hoey, will compete in the Junior Section where they have been drawn against Colina from Chile, Co Armagh and former winners, Leeds United, in Group D.
The Dundalk players spent the week fine-tuning ahead of Monday’s opener against the South Americans in Ballymoney at 4pm and speaking to Dundalk Sport, Dullaghan said that preparations had gone well.
“We’ve played in a few competitions against a lot of the county teams from the North who are pretty strong,” he said. “Co Armagh, who are in our group, are similar to us whereas Co Down, who beat us, are very strong.
“We beat Cherry Orchard and we’ve also played against a team called Midlands — who have connections with Sheffield Wednesday — so we’ve had lots of preparation.”
The squad’s final warm-up game took place last week against a team from Newry who they beat 2–1 thanks to goals from Bellurgan’s Quinn Ryan and Quay Celtic’s Callum Magee — the latter scoring a last minute winner.
“We’ve had the full squad together since February, March,” said Dullaghan. “Since the school holidays we’ve been out twice a week and you can see that in their fitness and sharpness now. It’s really standing to them and we’re all looking forward to it now.”
Dullaghan was part of the management team that led last year’s SuperCup NI squad to the Shield final and he said the current crop will have a week to remember at the renowned tournament.
“They’ll have the best time of their lives,” he said, “because it’s an unbelievable experience. If they can get a few results along the way it will make it even better.
“We’ve a tough group. Colina and Armagh are the first two games we have and that’s where we’ll be looking to pick up points. Having Leeds third is a bonus for us so hopefully we have points on the table going into that game. Our aim is to get off to a winning start.”
The players have helped to foot the cost of the trip by bag packing in local supermarkets and Dullaghan also paid tribute to the efforts of a number of parents and sponsors who helped out.
“The likes of Mary Lennon, Joanne O’Kane and Breen Dorris have been brilliant for us,” he said. “Paddy Casey in Rock Digital has helped out, Auto Assure are sponsoring our bus and Fyffes have kindly sponsored our tracksuits. SuperValu are looking after us with water and only for the likes of them we wouldn’t be going to the tournament.”
Dundalk Schoolboys League Super Cup NI fixtures
Monday, July 23rd — 4pm
Dundalk SL v Colina — Ballymoney
Tuesday, July 24th — 5pm
Dundalk SL v Co Armagh — Castlerock
Wednesday, July 25th 2pm
Dundalk SL v Leeds United — Ballymoney
Dundalk Schoolboys League U15 squad
1: Josh Finlay (Ardee)
2: Calvin Akinyele (Bellurgan)
3: Connor Doris (Bellurgan)
4: Finn Kelly (Ardee Celtic)
5: Lesley Eghaghe (Rock Celtic)
6: Emmanuel Adegboyega (Rock Celtic)
7: Jake Cunningham (Glenmuir)
8: Callum McGee (Quay Celtic)
9: Dara Akinade (Shamrocks)
10: Louis McKeown (Rock Celtic)
11: Niall Lennon (Rock Celtic)
12: Sean Cunningham (Quay Celtic)
13: Benas Luko (Glenmuir)
14: Robbie Duffy (Quay Celtic)
15: Junior Shayto (Glenmuir)
16: Ryan O’Kane (Bellurgan)
17: Quinn Ryan (Bellurgan)
18: Thomas Mulligan (Shamrocks)
