Under 14 SFAI Goodson Cup Final

St Francis (Dublin) v Mervue Utd

A very big weekend lies ahead for Mervue Utd's Under 14 side as they travel to Dublin to face St Francis in the final of the SFAI Goodson Cup this Sunday. The game takes place at Wayside Celtic's grounds at Jackson Park in Kilternan with kick-off at 2 pm.

Damien Brennan and Rynal Browne’s side will be looking to capture a cup the club last won in 2006. That winning side featured current Irish senior international Greg Cunningham (Bristol City) along with his twin Dan, Stephen Folan (Limerick FC) and Mike Elwood (Galway FC) and Mervue’s current side also looks to have some potential future stars in their squad.

Both Aaron Connolly and Ronan Manning have been hitting the net with serious frequency this season, while winger Adam Kelleher has also chipped in with vital scores. Mervue advanced to the final following a 3-1 home semi-final win over Wexford side, North End Utd, as two goals from Aaron Connolly, one in either half, and a second half goal from Colin Kelly ensured an All Ireland final place. That last four win was preceded by a 4-0 away win over Kildare Town in the quarter final, with Connolly hitting a hat-trick and Kelleher the other strike. High scoring home wins over Kilcornan FC (Limerick) 7-2 and New Oak (Carlow) 9-0 were achieved in the prior rounds along with wins over Castlebar Celtic 2-1, Hodson Bay (Athlone) 8-2 and Benbulben FC (Sligo) 3-1 in the opening three provincial rounds.

In the last four rounds captain Ronan Manning, a younger brother of Galway FC’s Ryan, has hit seven goals, while strike partner Aaron Connolly has registered eight and winger Kelleher has managed five goals, while midfielders Ronan Ascari, Colin Kelly, Jason Gorham and defender Adam Rooney have also been on target in some convincing wins.

Since qualifying for the national final Brennan and Browne’s side have captured a treble winning both the local Galway District League and cup double and also added the Connacht Cup title last Saturday week with a 3-1 win over Castlebar Celtic.

Their opponents on Sunday afternoon, St Francis, defeated hot favourites for this year’s competition, Belvedere FC, on penalties after a 1-1 to advance to the final. They had overcome another Dublin side, Stella Maris, 4-2 in the quarter final while they defeated Tramore FC 4-1 in the last sixteen.

Brennan and Browne will be hoping their side can continue to be as free scoring as they have been throughout a long season as they aim to add a fifth national title to the club’s honours list but know they will face a very tough challenge in Dublin next Sunday afternoon against a very highly rated St Francis side.

Everyone at the club would like to wish Damien, Rynal and the squad the very best of luck on Sunday in Dublin.