Corrib Boys land U-13 Irish Cup in emphatic fashion

The Corrib Water Polo boys won the delayed 2021 Irish U-13 Cup in impressive fashion in the NUIG Kingfisher pool on Sunday last, beating Clonard of Belfast in the final of a tournament in which they scored a staggering 86 goals and conceded just six.

The Corrib team had a blend of new and seasoned campaigners in their ranks with some of the boys already winners of U-15 Irish Cup medals in October last, and their experience told in the very first game on Saturday, beating Sandycove 17-2 with Bren O’Byrne, Michael Dempsey, Joseph Patten, and Cormac Clark providing some of the scores.

A ruthless performance saw Corrib defeat a young and inexperienced Cathal Brugha side 22-1 in their second game, with Dara Breathnach, Joseph Monaghan, Finn McGovern, and Peter Ivancevic amongst the scorers.

That win secured passage to the second round, but the Corrib boys had another game in the group that would secure top place with a victory. As fate would have it, it was Clonard that they faced in that final group game, and they set a marker for what was to come with an emphatic 14-2 win

Corrib opened the scoring with a goal from Ewen Le Duigou-Etayo who was having an excellent tournament. Two further goals from Joseph Patten settled Corrib into the game, and the result was never in doubt, with further goals from Shaane Rather, Michael Cunningham-Smyth, and Bren O’Byrne.

The semi-final on Sunday against Half Moon from Dublin was another one-sided affair, with Corrib winning 20-0. To be fair, Corrib WPC have invested heavily in their academy and youth teams over the past number of years. People like Padraig Smyth, Joe Cosgrove, John Gill and Kevin O’Byrne have really brought Corrib youth teams to a new level on the national stage.

The final was played in front of a packed gallery, and saw Shaane Rather open the scoring, breaking from midfield to find the back of the Clonard net with a strong shot into the corner.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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