Midleton College provided the shock of the pool stages of the All-Ireland Schoolboys Championships at Ballinteer yesterday, ousting 2007 champions Cookstown HS to provide a Munster semi-finalist in this year’s competition.
The east Cork school will privately fancy their chances of causing another shock to reach the final, having been handed a relatively kind semi-final draw.
St Andrew’s are hardly weak opposition, but were made work hard to emerge from one of the weaker pools, while tournament favourites Banbridge and hosts Wesley, the only sides to emerge from the early stages with 100% records, meet in the other last four tie.
Pool A
Banbridge face a repeat of last year’s cracking semi-final with Wesley College as they topped their pool with a comprehensive 6-0 win over Ashton in the decisive game.
Bann got the better of RBAI while the Cork school had three goals in hand over Sutton Park to set up an all-or-nothing tie.
But Banbridge raced into a 3-0 half-time lead and carried the momentum through to the second half with three more strikes. Sutton succumbed to a late goal to miss out on breaking their duck for the tournament, missing out 2-1 to RBAI.
On day one, Ashton left it late to pull clear of seven-time champions RBAI, eventually winning 4-0.
Calvin Casey scored early on but, though they held plenty of possession, it was only in the last five minutes to make the game safe. Wesley Brownlow netted for 2-0, set up Gary Wilkinson a moment later for three before shooting a last minute corner.
Pool A: Banbridge Academy 7 Sutton Park 0; Ashton 4 RBAI 0; Banbridge Academy 2 RBAI 1; Ashton 3 Sutton Park 0; RBAI 2 Sutton Park 1; Banbridge Academy 6 Ashton 0
Standings: 1. Banbridge Academy 6pts (+14) 2. Ashton 4pts (+1) 3. RBAI 2pts (-4) 4. Sutton Park 0pts (-11)
Pool B
A superb rearguard action helped Midleton College reach the semi-finals for the first time, as they shocked Cookstown HS 1-0.
Having drawn their 1-1 first game with Methody – equalising through captain Nick Burns’ penalty stroke – a 4-0 win over Kilkenny College for the Munster champions setup an appetising decider.
John Sweetnam’s 23rd minute goal was the vital factor but the win owed a huge amount to a concerted defensive effort in which the east Cork side held out 12 penalty corners, as Ian Sloan was denied numerous shooting opportunities at the set-piece.
Goalkeeper Brendan Doyle made a string of fine saves while Burns marshalled his troops superbly. Cookstown needed a draw to advance after an earlier 4-2 win over Methody, ending the Belfast school’s chances of progressing.
Pool B: Cookstown HS 3 Kilkenny College 2; Midleton 1 MCB 1; Cookstown HS 4 MCB 2; Midleton 4 Kilkenny College 0; Midleton 1 Cookstown HS 0; MCB 3 Kilkenny College 2
Standings: 1. Midleton 5pts (+5) 2. Cookstown HS 4pts (+2) 3. MCB 3pts (-1) 4. Kilkenny College 0pts (-6)
Pool C
St Andrew’s endured a nervy closing 20 minutes but hopes of winning back the title remain alive as they got the draw they needed from their final group game against Friends HS.
Their 7-0 success over borough rivals Newpark meant they had the edge on Friends by two goals and they looked well set to take their place in the playoffs comfortably as David Cole’s stroke and a corner drag-flick made it 2-0 with a little over 20 minutes remaining.
But two goals in quick succession pegged them back and made for a lively, end-to-end final quarter as both sides had chances to nick the points but neither nabbed a scoring touch, meaning Andrew’s advanced to play Midleton. Newpark ended their comeback tournament with a decent point against 2009 finalists Wallace.
Pool C: St Andrew’s 1 Wallace HS 0; Newpark 0 Friends 4; St Andrew’s 7 Newpark Comp 0; Friends HS 2 Wallace HS 0; St Andrew’s 2 Friends HS 2; Wallace HS 1 Newpark Comp 1
Standings: 1. St Andrew’s 5pts (+8) 2. Friends HS 5pts (+6) 3. Wallace HS 1pt (-3) 4. Newpark Comp 1pt (-11)
Pool D
Free-scoring Wesley returned to the final four with a pair of five-goal wins. They started with a crucial 5-2 success over Sullivan – the other winners on day one.
Shane Madeley added a hat-trick to go with his double against Bandon Grammar on day one, when the hosts won 7-3, Darren Sweetnam, Ben Scott and Trevor Gray scoring for the west Cork men.
It meant only a comprehensive loss to Campbell could upset the applecart but it never materialised as they ran out 5-1 winners in front of a big home crowd.
Bandon Grammar, winners in 2005, had a tournament to forget thereafter, finishing without a point after losing heavily to Campbell (4-0) and Sullivan Upper (4-0).
Pool D: Wesley College 7 Bandon GS 2; Sullivan Upper 4 Campbell College 0; Wesley College 5 Sullivan Upper 2; Campbell College 4 Bandon GS 0; Wesley College 5 Campbell College 1; Sullivan Upper 4 Bandon GS 1
Standings: 1. Wesley College 6pts (+11) 2. Sullivan Upper 4pts (+4) 3. Campbell College 2pts (-4) 4. Bandon GS 0pts (-11)
Friday’s fixtures, today (all in Wesley College, Ballinteer):
Semi-finals (both at 9.30pm): Midleton vs St Andrew’s; Wesley vs Banbridge
Final: 2.30pm
