Odhran & Ben Selected For SBYL Select Team

Odhran Kavanagh and Ben Sheilds have played for St Marys since they were six years of age. Next year will be their 9th season at St Marys Fc. They have been teammates ever since and have played for the same team throughout. 

 

Odhran and Ben have both developed over the last few years and this season has been their best yet. The lads play for the 2008s Athletic team and they are having a great season. The 2008s Athletic are one of the top teams in the south Belfast youth League. They play in the premier division of the SBYL. The success of the team has not gone unnoticed and representatives from the league have watched some of their games including their recent Cup Final. 

The 2008s Athletic team have a strong squad of players and have great coaches too. This is reflected on how the team have progressed season by season. Based on the quality of the team a number of the boys were invited to the trials for the SBYL select team. The trials took place over three sessions at Avoneil leisure centre in early April. It was disappointing that more of our boys didn’t make the final squad of 18. 

Looking ahead the boys will be training with the squad three times a week when the season ends. This is to prepare for the Kennedy cup where the team will travel to limerick for six days in Mid June. Following this the boys will head to Milton Keynes in October for a tournament and next year they will head to Spain for another tournament.

A great opportunity for the boys to enhance and develop their skills and be ambassadors for the club. We wish the lads all the best in the future with the select team and their sporting journies. We want to thank the coaches for doing a fantastic job with the players growth , collectively. The commitment and effort put in by all the coaches shines through on moments like this. Hard work always pays off. Well done to all.

All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them.

Our Very Own Caoimhin Frith is Invited to IFA Regional Performance Programme

Caoimhin recently attended an assessment session hosted by the Irish Football Association in conjunction with JD. The club are excited to report that he has now been invited back to take part in the Regional Performance Programme. This is a great achievement for Caoimhin and everyone at St Marys FC are very proud of the growth  demonstrated by Caoimhin as a player. 

Caoimhin has been with St Marys for many years and currently plays for St Marys Boys 2008s. Throughout the years Caoimhin has consistently developed in all aspects of the game. He is a very coachable player , showing a fantastic attitude and  taking all advice on board whether it be praise or constructive guidance. Caoimhin applies new skills and lessons learned and is a very passionate player who loves playing the game!

Caoimhin has great interpersonal characteristics and skills, it is a joy to watch him play as he plays freely and with confidence. Caoimhin never looses focus and is a great team player. The attitude displayed by Caoimhin is what football clubs and coaches love to see,  the progression and development of their players.  

Parents and coaches from other teams have commented on Caoimhin’s ability and positive attitude. One coach from an opposing team was very impressed when Caoimhin praised and congratulated a player from the team he was playing on his performance during the game, this said a lot about Caoimhin’s character and did not go unnoticed.

It is fair to say that Caoimhin has a great talent and attitude to the game and we wish him all the best in his participation of the regional performance programme.

Caoimhin is pictured below being awarded Man of the Match last week. Good Luck from all at St Marys Caoimhin and well done! Keep learning, growing and developing.  UP THE SAINTS!!

All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them.

 

Bernadette McCaffery is raising funds for charity

Patrick and Tomas  McCaffery both play for our senior team. Their mum Bernadette is raising funds for two charities. We want to share Bernadette’s information to help raise some funds for those charities. Back Bernie , click on the link provided to donate.  

 

 

MATCH REPORT

 

2007 B

Eryc hatrick as the Saint’s march on to a New Year victory

Game 14
Saturday 8th January 2022
St. Mary’s v Tullycarnet @ Hanwood (3G) 9.15 am kick off

Ref: Phil Collins
 
St. Mary’s 4–2 Tullycarnet

A new year, new opponents and a new venue for the Saints today.

A very early defensive mix-up saw us go behind when their striker capitalised on the error and slotted home in the first minute. 0-1 ⚽️

We were a bit shell shocked and found it difficult to settle on the ball or get in to any rhythm in the game.

Another early blow came when a 30 yard free kick was powerfully struck to the roof of the net on six minutes. Michael got a hand to it but the pace was too much. 0-2 ⚽️

We had to dig deep and get some momentum into our play and settle down. This is exactly what we did and bossed the next 20 minutes of the game.

We had some really good play in Tullycarnet’s half. Malachi had a decent strike saved but Eryc was on hand to score and reduce the deficit. 1-2 ⚽️ on 16 minutes.

Back and at it from the kick off the lads dug in and won the ball back. James had a run down the right hand side and won a throw-in that was powerfully taken by Aidan and suddenly Eryc had the ball in the net again to make it 2-2 ⚽️

An unbelievable goal mouth scramble left us baffled as to how we didn’t score again. Three of our players had the ball saved off the line in an almighty effort from the hosts.

We ended the half positively with a few more efforts going astray.

HT 2-2

Great to see Matthew back in action from his long term injury sustained in September. A long layoff indeed but he got in on the action today.

The play continued in our favour with a few long range free kicks which their keeper had a habit of saving but kept spilling the ball. The next free kick from Eryc was followed in by Malachi who got himself on the score sheet to make it 3-2 ⚽️

Eryc once again had a brilliant shot from open play from 25 yards out and bang in the centre of the net with the keeper well beaten. 4-2 ⚽️

The home side resorted to getting physical beyond the rules and made a few nasty challenges. Thankfully no-one got injured but it seemed the referee ‘against all odds’ 🙈 decided not to produce any cards.

The lads played right to the final whistle and got their just rewards with a fantastic victory after going behind so early.

FT 4-2

A great performance from all the lads today and a great way to start the New Year.

Well done to Eryc on another hatrick.

Really proud of the team today. Sure, ‘Just Another Day in Paradise’ 😊

Happy New Year to everyone

 

Mark Wilson & Senior Squads Raise Money for Cash for Kids

Mark Wilson from St Marys senior squad encouraged all the seniors to wear a Christmas jumper to training and as a result they raised £400 for the cash for kids Christmas appeal.

Well done to all the senior players and coaches for the kind fundraising event to help raise  money for such a great charity.  Great to see the seniors leading the way and being the good role models for the club. The club want to thank you all for the effort in the Christmas Jumper event. Although some of the Jumpers were terrible looking so fair play to yous all. Happy Christmas and good luck in the games this weekend.

 

EAMONN PERRY & SBYL SELECT SQUAD

Eamonn Perry has been a saint from the age of four. As a child he has learnt all the basic fundamental skills of football. Ten years later his talent and growth is starting to shine through. Eamonn plays for St Marys Athletic 2007s (under 15s). He is now showing all the signs of a great talented footballer. 

At the age Eamonn is at present, it is not just about the first touch, passing and dribbling ability and all the ball mastery skills. It is about the technical and tactical side of the game too. Eamonn has great movement off the ball, creating space, positional awareness and overall reading of the game. His overall ability continues to develop and grow from strength to strength.  He has the physical and psychological side of the game too which is just as important.  

As a coach/volunteer watching the growth of not just Eamonn, but any child is what we all do it for. To watch a child learn, grow and develop and continue to excel. It is just the best feeling as a coach/volunteer and as a parent too. St Marys are very proud of Eamonn, the mighty saint and his Journey so far.

Eamonn plays for the saints in the South Belfast Youth League. He has been selected to represent the league in their very own select side. This is a great achievement and the club are very proud of Eamonn. 

The select side went across the water in October to play some elite teams. The 2007 select side played Tottenham Hotspur, Mk Dons and Watford. The first game was against category 1 Tottenham Hotspur . A great opportunity for the players to express themselves against such an elite opposition.  The game ended 1-0 to spurs. There was not much in it and shows the wealth of talent on show of the SBYL select side.

The second game the SBYL Select side where beaten 2-0 by MK Dons and the last game the SBYL side beat Watford 4-0. The SBYL now have a partnership with MK Dons. The partnership will give MK Dons the chance to network in Northern Ireland by travelling here with various squads within their academy for friendly games and tournaments.

Well done to Eamonn and his success so far in his footballing journey. The SBYL select team have been playing in the Kennedy cup in the school boys association of Ireland. The squad finished top of their group.  Today they play their semi-final against DDSL at Abbotts town. We wish  Eamonn all the best of luck.

We as a club are very proud of your growth and development Eamonn. Keep up the hard. Up the Saints

Jingle All the Way

Join the Jingle and help raise vital funds for local children and their families.

About Jingle All the Way

Our fun-filled Christmas Campaign, ‘Jingle All the Way’ is back for 2021 and we need your support and donations, now more than ever!

This year, we’re asking local businesses, organisations, schools, churches and clubs across Northern Ireland to spread festive cheer by taking part in one of our fantastic ‘Jingle all the Way’ events!

From taking part in our virtual Jingle 5k/10k Challenge on 5th December, to donning your favourite Christmas jumper, there’s so many ways that you can help give the gift of care to local people who need it most.

You can donate here https://www.nihospice.org/donate