It was a cold and frosty morning when the Ballymore U14’s stepped out on to the pitch in Rathcoffey to play the league final against Balyna. Despite the early start Ballymore got off to a great start and were five points up after 15 minutes. Balyna had not been able to get a shot off in that period, however, they then managed to break forward and hit the back of the net. Ballymore gathered themselves again and went on the attack and restored their five point lead with three more points but Balyna got their second shot of the game off and it dropped just below the bar to reduce the margin to two points again. Ballymore got a great opportunity to extend their lead to five once more after being awarded a penalty, however, the Balyna goalie dived full length to pull off a magnificent save and keep the game in the mix.

Half time: Ballymore 0.8; Balyna 2.0

At the beginning of the second half the teams traded points before Balyna started to ramp up the pressure on the Ballymore goal. Despite this the Ballymore defence were standing firm and doing an excellent job minimising any opportunities for the attackers. Ballymore got forward again and, once again, the Balyna goalkeeper came to the rescue with a great save. The final quarter of the game saw Ballymore score a couple of frees while Balyna responded with two points of their own. In the last couple of minutes Balyna were in need of a goal and while they were pushing forward Ballymore managed to counter attack and went for goal. The shot was struck cleanly and seemed destined for the corner of the goal when the outstretched hand of the Balyna goalkeeper came to the rescue pushing the attempt away with yet another unbelievable save. Despite this Ballymore managed to keep control of the play until the final whistle sounded and they finished the game league champions!

Full time: Ballymore 0.11; Balyna 2.3

Ballymore were: Jamie Keogh; Thomas Evans; Elliott Moran; Nuadha Breslin; Noah Evans; Cillian Gilroy; Wiktor Pacek; James Dowling; Fionn Stewart Byrne; James Mooney; Cameron Cullen; Sean Molloy; Kyle Edwards; Charlie Murphy; Ronan McGlynn; Maddox Meade; Rioghan Kelly; Ryan O’Neill; Eoghan O’Neill; Adam Carroll and Evan Clohessy.