Institute gain hatrick of Trophies at IFA Girls Junior Cup
(20.08.05)
INSTITUTE FLAME, stole the show on Saturday 20th August,
winning all three of the IFA Girls Junior Cup titles.
Girl's
football in the North West has flourished in the past couple
of years and clubs such as Institute Flame have been pivotal
in the unprecedented growth of the sport. Earlier this year,
the North West team brought home the prestigious Under 14
Youth Games title, an achievement which caused those involved
within women's football to take notice of the increasing
growth in popularity and standard of women's football in
the North West.
Despite
boasting nine international players, who recently competed
for the Northern Ireland Under 13 and Under 14 squads in
Dumfries, Institute Flame could never have expected to achieve
such success at this years Junior Cup. In the Under 12 section,
the girls got their revenge on Lisburn Distillery Predators
in the final, having earlier been beaten by them in the
group stages. An extremely close contest was finally won
in the dying seconds of the game when Bronagh Irving coolly
slotted the ball past the Predators goalkeeper.
The
group stages of the Under 14 section was a much tougher
contest, but Institute managed to claim that elusive second
place in the final defeating Armagh Girls. In the final,
Institute came up against the talented Ards Youth team,
who also boast several international players within their
ranks. As the reigning champions of the trophy, Stute were
determined to win the game and a goal by Aine McKeever was
enough to seal the victory and keep the trophy in the North
West for another year.
The
last final of the day saw Institute clash with the gifted
Lisburn Distillery Predators in the Under 16 section. Predators
have dominated junior football for the last couple of years
and many would have anticipated that they would add the
Under 16 title to their trophy haul. An exciting final,
with end to end play ensued, and it was Aisling McGuire
who latched onto a ball in the box that completed an amazing
day the Institute girls.
Reflecting
on the day, a very proud and delighted Manager, Liam McKinney
said, "This was a fantastic day for our club. Our girls
have played some amazing football throughout the tournament
and we are delighted that they have been rewarded for all
their hard work and efforts in training. We also can't forget
about our Under 10 girls who played exhibition matches today
- they also had a great day and are very much part of our
celebrations".
Sara
Booth, Development Officer for Women's Football and organiser
of the event commented, "I have been really impressed
by the Institute team. The standard continually improves
and the growth in the game in recent years has been tremendous.
Credit must be given to Liam McKinney and his team, who
have done a fantastic job in the North West area. I anticipate
it won't be long before we see a team from the North West
as champions of the Women's Senior League".
Above: The winning Institute Flame players
Above:
Action from the IFA Girl's Junior Cup 2005
Above:
Action from the IFA Girl's Junior Cup 2005
Above:
Action from the IFA Girl's Junior Cup 2005
