Knocknacarra FC claim U-13 Masters title

A city soccer club has won a prestigious under-age tournament in Dublin at which there were a number of English club scouts.

Knocknacarra FC’s U-13 side won the Volkswagen Junior Masters Tournament in Dublin. They played five games and won four of them – the most important being the final.

Daniel Joyce became the hero for Knocknacarra when he scored a last minute goal for his side against Melview United from Longford in the final.

In the preliminary stages, Knocknacarra defeated Thomastown from County Kilkenny 1-0 and then Crumlin United from Dublin 2-0.

However, they lost to Swords on a 2-1 scoreline but despite this defeat they still qualified for the last four of the competition.

In the semi-finals, they defeated Aisling United from Annacotty in Limerick on a penalty shoot-out before coming up against Melview in the eventual decider, where Joyce scored the only goal of the game.

Club PRO Gerry Corbett said that this victory put Galway juvenile soccer and Knocknacarra FC at the very top of under-age football nationally.

Tributes have been paid to Darren Roche, Bart Barrett, and Jimmy Nolan for their coaching skills and advice to the players in this tournament.

“It was a great achievement for the club the players. They have now been observed by scouts from an international stage and that can only augur well for the future,” Corbett added.