Cup joy for Tullamore after impressive win in final

Tullamore met their old rivals Portlaoise in the final of the Under 17 Cup competition on Saturday last at the fantastic new Killeigh FC home ground at Derrybeg.

CCFL U17 Cup Final 2023

Tullamore Town FC 4

Portlaoise FC 1

The pitch was in great order and the weather was warm and humid. There was a good crowd supporting both sides.

After a cagey opening Portlaoise found the opening goal when an attempted cross found the top corner. After the initial shock of conceding the early goal, the Tullamore teams settled down and started to play their football.

The equaliser came from the boot of Eoghan Meacle who finished after an earlier attempt had been cleared off the line.

Tullamore soon took the lead through Jack Maher before Eoghan Meacle extended the lead with a fantastic header.

It was 3-1 at the break but there was still plenty of work to be done.

The second half followed the pattern of the first with Tullamore dominating the play and they were unlucky not to add to their total before Jakub Wysocki found the net with a brilliant volley.

It finished 4-1 and Tullamore were deserved winners. Portlaoise were very sporting in defeat and they had a great season themselves, taking the league title.

The Tullamore lads worked very hard to reach this final, including a titanic 4-3 victory over Mullingar Athletic in the semi final. The management team of Simon Dagg (Head Coach), Arthur Murphy and Damian Kelly should be very proud also, having taken over this new group of players last August and finding a way to make them gel. They play a lovely brand of football which is a credit to the coaches.

Thanks also to Tullamore Credit Union who sponsored new shorts and socks for the final.

Squad: Vjeko Grgic, Callum Moore, Jacob Browne, Ryan Weston, Jack Murphy, Edvinas Kryzevicius, Jack Maher, Harry Leigh, Eoghan Meacle, Sebi Holota, Jakub Wysocki, Rory Shaw, Ben Maguire, Ben Gleeson, Diarmuid Cadden, Conor Whelan, Ethan Dagg, Callum O’Connell, Jakub Priekop, Samuel Brickland, Mahad Ausaf.