U-10As Among Europe's Elite in Denmark

Background
Our DDSL U-10A team made yet another mark on Europe when they flew the flag for Ireland in the Nørhalne Elite Cup which took place on May 1-3 at Aalborg in northern Denmark. Almost 500 teams from around the world competed in the overall competition and the Cabinteely lads found themselves drawn against teams from Brazil, Ukraine, England, Holland, Poland, Finland and Denmark in the Elite U-11 section of the competition.

This was a real step up for the lads as they were often playing against older and bigger boys due to the different age categories used in some countries and the fact that teams were allowed to field three players who were up to six months over the age limit. Managers Dave Spencer and John McCann decided to stick with the existing U-10A panel as the tournament would provide excellent match practice in full 11-a-side games which the team had not played competitively up to now. So, undaunted by the prospect and excited by the challenge ahead, it was “all aboard for Aalborg” as the touring party of 26 (13 players and 13 adults) set out early on the morning of April 30.

After a long trip, the team settled into their carefully-chosen, rustic team base and the focused on the task ahead. The scale of that task became apparent the following morning on arrival at the well appointed Aalborg BK grounds. Flags from all the competing nations together with the variety of languages that could be heard as teams from all over the world mingled together gave a real sense of just how cosmopolitan and multi-national the tournament was going to be.

The Competition Begins
Our first game was against SL Salos Szczecin from Poland. The game started in whirlwind fashion and it took some time for the Cabo boys to get to grips with the pace and the different style required in the 11-a-side game. Great defending by Enda Kelly, Richard Mouatt and Oisin Murphy, allied to some steady goalkeeping by Darragh O’Reilly, kept the Poles at bay even if they did need the aid of the goalpost on one occasion.

We settled down as Darragh Noone and Robert Phillips started to get on top in midfield and Gavin Hartnett was able to push forward and really threaten the Polish defence on the left hand side but the game remained scoreless at half time. The second half was a really tense affair. A couple of great efforts by Joey McCann and Eric Carroll flashed narrowly wide as both teams pushed for that vital first goal. Unfortunately for Cabinteely, that goal went the way of Salos as their winger broke down the left and pulled the ball back for a well-taken goal. Try as they might after this, our lads just could not force the equalizer, so began the tournament with an unwanted losing start.

Next up, later that afternoon, were the well-fancied Alphense Boys from the Netherlands. Having rested well in the intervening period, Cabinteely started the game strongly against a really physical and powerful Dutch team. Our early dominance was rewarded when Eoin Spencer scored from close range after some great work by Sean Byrne. A couple of minutes later, neat passing in midfield allowed Gavin Hartnett to break down the left hand side and he cut in and exquisitely chipped the Alphense keeper to give Cabo a well deserved two goal lead.

Roared on by the raucous supporters, Alphense Boys made the most of their physical advantage to come back into the game and two goals – one a rather fortunate deflection – saw the sides go in at the break on level terms at two goals apiece. Going into the second half, Alphense Boys were a man down after one of their defenders was shown a straight red card towards the end of the first half. This helped to make for a tremendously open and entertaining 25 minutes of football with both sides going hell for leather for the winner.

It was real end-to-end stuff; attacking highlights for Cabo were one tremendous shot on the turn by Eric Carroll and some incisive passing by Cian Aherne in the midfield leading to a couple of half chances. At the back, there was an outstanding covering tackle by David O’Reilly and a brave one-on-one save by his namesake Darragh to repel threatening Dutch attacks. In the end, neither side could fashion the decisive score and they had to be satisfied with a share of the spoils.

The Next Day
Cabinteely’s first match of the day was against a well drilled and confident Cambridge United team. Cabo found themselves a goal down early on when a suspiciously offside-looking Cambridge forward was allowed to play on and tuck the ball away. Nevertheless, the lads did not drop their heads and they continued to play the brand of open and neat passing football which has come to be expected of them. They also worked hard to ensure that Cambridge was never allowed to dwell on the ball.

This approach paid dividends when Gavin Hartnett dispossessed a Cambridge defender and played the ball across to Sean Byrne who finished with aplomb for a fine and well-deserved equalizing score. Having reached the break on level terms with the side affiliated to the English league club, Cabo knew that they were in with a strong chance of achieving a great win.

However, the Cambridge lads showed their quality by starting the second half strongly. The Cabo defence, in which Enda Kelly was once again outstanding, came under tremendous pressure and that pressure paid dividends for Cambridge when one of their big central defenders rose highest from a corner to nod them in front with less than ten minutes left for play.

This is when the Cabinteely team showed their mettle as the team metaphorically rolled up their sleeves and set about their vaunted opponents. Robert Phillips combined to great effect with Richard Mouatt to help close the door on any more Cambridge attacks and Oisin Murphy pushed forward to support Hartnett down the left hand side.

Darragh Noone dominated in central midfield and Spencer and Carroll began to lead the tall Cambridge central defenders a merry dance. It was no surprise, therefore, when a decisive ball from Noone allowed Eric Carroll beat the offside trap to slide the ball confidently home for a well-merited equalizer. Cabo then pressed really hard for the all-important winner and, in truth, there only looked to be one likely winner as they forced a succession of corners and repeatedly pressed the Cambridge keeper into action. Alas it was not to be and the game finished in yet another draw for Cabinteely after a fantastic all-round effort.

Unfortunately, that effort took its toll in their next match a short time later which was against a very strong local Aalborg BK team drawn from all around the surrounding district. A couple of illnesses and a late injury in the previous game to central midfielder Darragh Noone meant that the squad was down to the bare bones for this vital clash. They then suffered a nightmare start with three Aalborg goals in rapid fire succession in the opening five minutes as the local team poured through the weakened Cabo ranks. After that, the team steadied the ship somewhat, played some good football and created a few half chances but was unable to take any of them. Aalborg were clinical with the chances that came their way running out winners by 6-0.

Next Round
These results meant that Cabinteely was drawn the following day to play English side FDS Soccer School and KFSK Olimp from the Ukraine in the final group games.

FDS turned out to be a fine passing side and they caused the Cabinteely lads some problems with their pass and move tactics. They dominated possession early on and created a few chances before finally taking one of them to leave the Cabinteely lads behind one-nil at half time.

Following a rousing half time address from the team managers, the team came out all guns blazing in the second half. Kelly and Mouatt closed the door at the back and David O’Reilly and Oisin Murphy began to push forward in support of the hardworking Cabinteely midfield.

The pressure finally told on FDS when Eric Carroll latched on to a long free kick played in by the ever dependable Enda Kelly and he squeezed the ball home from a tight angle. A few minutes later, a great corner taken from the right-hand side by Joey McCann caused consternation in the FDS defence and a combination of Darragh Noone and Gavin Hartnett forced the ball over the line to put Cabinteely in front. From there, Cabinteely were able to close out the game in some comfort with Cian Aherne and Joey McCann spraying some fine passes to strong running colleagues as Cabo dominated possession.

KFSK Olimp of the Ukraine provided the opposition in our final game of the tournament. The Ukrainians proved to be a powerful outfit with some very skilful players. They started off at a great pace and Cabo found themselves on the back foot in the opening exchanges. Good goalkeeping by Darragh O’Reilly was required to keep the opposition out on more than one occasion.

Nevertheless, it came as no surprise when this period of Ukrainian dominance resulted in the concession of an unfortunate own goal and, once again, Cabinteely found themselves going in at half-time a goal behind. In the second half Cabinteely forced the pace and a great through ball from Robert Phillips released Eric Carroll, who finished with a powerful shot to even up the scores.

Cabo continued to press and some fine interplay upfront between Eoin Spencer and Sean Byrne resulted in Carroll rounding the goalkeeper only to find himself hauled to the ground. It was a clear-cut penalty and Spencer scored from the spot via the underside of the crossbar. The Cabo lads were now playing some delightful football with Oisin Murphy, Sean Byrne and Eoin Spencer particularly prominent in the final third.

Darragh Noone was dominating in the midfield area which was bolstered by the bustling presence of Robert Phillips. Finally the team got the third goal that their overall play deserved when Gavin Hartnett played an incisive pass into the box and Phillips finished at the second attempt to spark great celebrations among the Cabinteely contingent.

The Outcome
So Cabo finished with a record of two wins, two draws and two losses. We topped our play-off section of the Elite U-11 competition. After a suitably dignified medal ceremony, the lads were presented with their cup by the team’s most successful General Manager. With that there was only the small matter of the now traditional parents v players game to be completed (a thoroughly deserved win for the multi-talented parents team with super striker Pat Carroll showing where Eric got his goal-scoring talent from) and then the team could relax and unwind and prepare for the journey home.

The Nørhalne Cup proved to be a great learning experience for this fine footballing side. Often competing against older and bigger players, it was a great immersion in the 11-a-side game which will stand them in great stead for next season. They more than held their own in a really top-class and well-run international competition. They can now truly count themselves as among Europe’s elite in their age group.