A remarkable super Saturday for Waterford at Regional Finals
Celebration time for Villa after their SFAI Under 16 Regional final success over Clonmel Town.
It was a Saturday to remember for four out of the five Waterford teams that were competing in the SFAI South-East Regional Finals played at Evergreen FC as Dungarvan United, Southend United and Villa tasted cup final success.
There was a guarantee that at least one trophy would come back to Waterford as Southend and Villa came head-to-head in the Pat Kelly Under 13 decider and it was the former that recorded a brilliant 3-1 win.
Dungarvan United got the ball rolling in the SFAI Under 12 Regional Final as the day belonged to Tadhg Nolan as the centre forward produced an incredible performance of goalscoring in his side's 5-2 win over Kilkenny's Freebooters.
Nolan netted four of the goals for his side, who were in brilliant form as they took the lead inside three minutes and never looked back from that moment. The opener for the Kilrush Park outfit came through John Mike Fitzpatrick, who kept his composure inside the penalty area to finish from close-range to give his side the dream start.
The Old Borough outfit doubled their lead on ten minutes when a Zach Bracegirdle kick out sent Johnny Gleeson through on goal, who unselfishly squared for captain Tadhg Nolan to slot home to put his side in pole position.
Nolan grabbed his second goal of the game and his side's third before the half-time whistle when he took a pass from Gleeson to finish well before Freebooters scored twice in the space of a few second-half minutes to bring the tie back 3-2.
But the day belonged to captain Nolan as he added two further goals by the finish both composed finishes after some great work from Johnny Gleeson as they were celebrating a fantastic cup final success.
Southend United continued their impressive run of form after they got the better of local rivals Villa FC in the SFAI South-East Region Pat Kelly Under 13 Cup Final with a good 3-1 win over the workLAB Connors Park outfit.
After a tough battle between two committed sides, the victors scored twice in the first-half to put them in the driving seat and a third goal early in the second period settled the nerves despite Villa pulling a goal back late on.
Fareed Alabi gave the men in tangerine the lead midway through the first-half when he finished off a dangerous corner-lick before the same player doubled the lead for his side before half-time.
When Danny Rakel added a third goal early in the second-half, it put his side in the driving seat before Conor McLoughlin did pull a goal back for his side late on, but they couldn’t find a remarkable comeback despite their best interests.
Villa claimed the SFAI South-East Region Shane Long Under 15 Cup Final with an extra-time success over St. Joseph’s as Liam Connors side came from 2-1 down during the extra 20 minutes to record a brilliant 4-2 success.
The Waterford side struck the front in the first-half thanks to a well-taken goal from Zak Fenton before a harsh penalty had the side’s level early in the second-half and after St. Joseph’s got their noses in front before Villa turned on the style in the second period of extra-time.
Darragh O’Brien levelled the scoring for Villa after a super Harry Hennessy delivery before Jakub Maryinak scored a brace in the dying minutes to ensure that the cup was returning to workLAB Connors Park.
It was celebration time also for the Villa FC Under 16 side as they beat Clonmel Town in the SFAI South-East Region Mikie Ryan Under 16 Cup Final with a 3-1 win against Clonmel Town. Hugo Palacios in his final game for the club scored a brace - the first after picking up a throw from Liam O’Grady and the second following some good work from Louis Corcoran and Jake Holohan. Lukasz Adamiec block down yielded a third goal that ensured the cup for Villa.
