St Colum’s win ‘double treble’

By winning the famous trophy outright this year the Portstewart school secured a second back to back treble having won the Killowen and Mulan Cups for a second year running.

Brian said: “We have shared the Doherty Cup for the past two seasons so to win it outright this time is the icing on the cake.

“The boys are absolutely delighted and over the moon and I’m so happy for them. We rode our luck in the first ten minutes but the boys didn’t panic and they responded very well.

“I have to thank Millburn for making it such a great occasion and for their very sporting behaviour at the end.”

St Colum’s have become the team to beat in Coleraine primary schools football and they underlined their undoubted class by losing 1-0 to Victoria Belfast in the Northern Ireland Primary Five-a-sidesin Lisburn earlier this month.

Brian added: “We have been fortunate to have a very good group of boys who are very athletic and have links with Eoghan Rua, they are very competitive.

“We have done a lot of work with them in school and have been able to take a nucleus of players forward each year. Seamus Reynolds has done a lot of great work and we have had a great goalscorer in Patrick Kelly, who causes fear in defences.”

Indeed young Kelly was the hero at the Showgrounds as his second half brace sealed the win for the Portstewart boys.

However it was Millburn who settled the quickest playing some neat football, and they almost broke the deadlock on five minutes but Josh Dunlop’s header from Jamie Sheppard’s corner was just over the bar.

But St Colum’s edged in front five minutes later as from a similar corner Peter Passmore headed home from close range.

Millburn almost drew level three minutes before half time as the impressive Jay Riley tried his luck from distance and almost found the back of the net. Four minutes into the second half that man Kelly took advantage of a mix up in the opposition defence and coolly slotted past Myles Riley.

On 26 minutes he produced a carbon copy finish with the outside of his right foot to put the game out of sight for St Colum’s. To their credit Millburn kept plugging away with Riley at the heart of everything.

He went close from distance on 30 minutes before firing in a spectacular long range free kick with a minute to go to give his side a consolation.

Brian Shaw added: “Our victory was great for the school as a whole and I want to thank the principal Sinead McCullagh.”