The Munster challenge at the All-Ireland schoolboy’s championships came to an end on Thursday as Midleton and Ashton came unstuck in their vital ties while Bandon finished with a lively draw.
For Midleton, semi-finalists in 2010, their tournament was all but ended in gut-wrenching fashion by Banbridge Academy – the reigning champions. A corner exchange by Matthew Bell and Adam Colton saw the sides level at 1-1 deep into the tie with the East Cork outfit rattling the fancied northerners.
But a final hooter corner offered Bell a chance which he duly converted for a 2-1 win which virtually assured progression to the semi-finals – a task they completed with a high quality 1-0 win over RBAI. Midleton, meanwhile, closed out their competition with a tired 1-1 draw against St Columba’s in a dead rubber.
Ashton will rue their profligacy in front of goal as they carved out far more chances than Wesley but could not take any, including seven penalty corners, while Ian Stewart nabbed a pair for the Dubliners. He snapped one up in the first minute and would later provide the insurance goal in their must-win game with Ashton only needing to draw.
That was because the Blackrock Road club stormed to a 6-1 win over Sullivan Upper in the morning to head up the group on goal difference after two rounds of matches after Wesley laboured to a 3-2 win over Wallace.
It means the Ballinteer boys will face Ian Sloan and his Cookstown HS team mates in the final four early on Friday morning while the Andrew’s play Banbridge Academy in a repeat of the 2010 final.
Andrew’s corner prowess helped them through ahead of Friends. Needing just a draw, the first half was tight for the Booterstown side as the Ulster school held more possession and clipped a post and the bar.
After a scoreless first half, though, Andrew’s stepped up as Fiachra Maher twice slid onto disguised David Cole corner flicks, sandwiching a straight Cole drag. Friends did pull one back but Lee Cole’s solo effort capped a solid win, over-turning a 4-3 loss to the same opposition a month ago in a friendly tie.
It added to a 4-1 win over Bandon in the morning but the West Cork school bounced back with a 3-3 tie with Regent House.
Cookstown almost fell to a huge shock as Keith O’Hare, Jack Spain and Jack Ryan built a 3-1 lead for Sutton Park but a four-star second half saw the Co Tyrone school bounce back in style and complete the group with a perfect record.
All-Ireland Schoolboys Championships, day two results and final group standings
Group One: Newpark 2 (J McCormack, J Walsh) Sutton Park 2 (A Fee, S Graham); Cookstown 4 (I Sloan 4) Campbell College 1; Cookstown 5 Sutton Park 3 (J Spain, J Ryan, K O’Hare); Campbell College 4 (M West 3, J Cox) Newpark 0
Standings: 1. Cookstown 6pts (+12) 2. Campbell College 4pts (-6) 3. Sutton Park 1pt (-3) 4. Newpark 1pt (-11)
Group Two: Friends 4 (Getty 2, Marshall, Tinsley) Regent House 3 (Black 2, Shepherd); St Andrew’s 4 (B Campbell 2, F Maher, M Loughrey) Bandon GS 1; St Andrew’s 4 (F Maher 2, D Cole, L Cole) Friends 1 (Getty); Bandon 3 Regent House 3
Standings: 1. St Andrew’s 6pts (+12) 2. Friends 4pts (-1) 3. Bandon GS 1pt (-4) 4. Regent House 1pt (-7)
Group Three: Wesley 3 (I Stewart, J Sutton, L Madeley) Wallace HS 2 (C Kelly, T Crean); Ashton 6 (P Daunt 2, S Wolfe, C Casey, R Sweetnam, R Lynch) Sullivan Upper 1 (P Douglas); Wesley 2 (I Stewart 2) Ashton 0; Wallace vs Sullivan Upper, tbc
Standings: 1. Wesley 6pts (+5) 2. Ashton 4pts (+7) 3. Wallace 0pts (-4) 4. Sullivan 0pts (-8)
Group Four: RBAI 3 (J Lorimer, A Fallis, McConaghie) St Columba’s 1 (R Canning); Banbridge Academy 2 (M Bell 2) Midleton 1 (A Colton); Banbridge Academy 1 (M Colussi) RBAI 0; Midleton 1 (N Hodson) St Columba’s 1 (R Canning)
Standings: 1. Banbridge 6pts (+10) 2. Midleton 3pts (0) 3. RBAI 2pts (-1) 4. St Columba’s 1pt (-9)