Corrib boys make short work of all opponents in Lisburn

CORRIB Waterpolo Club had two teams participating in the Irish U16 Cup held in Lisburn last weekend. Corrib A was made up of boys born 98/99 and Corrib B was a development team with boys born 2000-2002.

The B team had a tough group stage draw though they gave eventual finalists Clonard (Belfast) a good game, running them to 4-1, but they were then heavily beaten by eventual semi-finalists Drogheda 12-2. However it was a great experience and sets them up for future competition.

Corrib A opened their tournament against Grads (Belfast) and came away 11-2 winners followed by a second convincing group win over old enemies St Vincents (Dublin) 13-3.

In the quater-final, they met Cathal Brugha (Belfast) and again the team turned on the class to beat them 19-1. At this stage it was evident that Corrib were really clicking and the speed, strength and mobility of Mark Moran, Michael Murphy, Lorcan Gavin, Davey Knight, Johnny Regan and Ronan Murphy was a class ahead of the competition.

Many of the goals were top class with hand-to-hand passing from goalie Thomas Power to mid-field to lethal attackers.  Corrib A went into the semi-final on Sunday morning against the well fancied Drogheda team, but Corrib quickly imposed their dominance and were leading 4-1 at the end of the first quarter.

The Galway boys pressed on with their attack bringing in subs Cian McDonagh and David O’Connor to lead 8-1 at half-time. The game ended 15-4 leaving Corrib as favourites going into the final against Clonard.

This was borne out with the Corrib lads decimating Clonard 14-4 in a significant display of capability with many outstanding team goals scored in front of a big local Belfast crowd.

This gained Corrib their fifth Irish U16 Cup in-a-row, equalling a record set by Cathal Brugha in the 1970s. Michael Murphy was declared MVP of the tournament.

This display sets the Corrib boys up well to make places on the Irish Junior team that will play in Manchester in February at the ASA Regionals and then the EU 8 Nations Tournament in Malta at Easter. The final Irish squad will be announced next week.

In the meantime, Corrib Corrib will have National League games in Kingfisher NUIG on February 28, with the action starting at 5pm. All are welcome an entry is free.