Pictured Above: Thomas Dunne with his region’s final jersey.
We have been in the middle of the summer soccer sabbatical, with our club members enjoying a well-earned break after a particularly tough 2014/15 season, but, as always, the break is never long, as our players returned to pre-season training on Monday July 6th.
There are several changes to the management and committee structures for the new season. Derek Bowden has stepped down as senior team manager along with his assistant Ed Saul.
It’s difficult to express in words the brilliant job the two lads did in keeping the club in the top division in amateur football. Their work has given the new, incoming management duo the platform from which to move forward.
With that in mind, the club appointed ex-League of Ireland star Stephen Geoghegan as senior team manager, with retired player Alan Murphy taking on the role of assistant. Both previously worked together as players at Shelbourne FC and bring a huge amount of experience to the job. In addition, the club has appointed Peter Ridgeway as our Saturday team manager. He will be assisted by Leo Ridgeway. The new season kicks off on the weekend of August 23rd.
On the committee front, David Nolan replaces John Healy as club secretary. John will remain a member of the club’s 10-man committee, taking a step back after 20 years as secretary. Derek Bowden rejoins the committee along with Wayne Byrne, both having been involved in management in recent years.
During the month of July, the much-anticipated Regions cup was held at a number of Dublin venues with the Irish Eastern Regions hosting the tournament. Our own Thomas Dunne made the tournament squad of 20 players along with former CY player and Ringsend native Conor Riddick.
The Irish team had a clean sweep in their group of four teams by winning all three matches, earning a place in the final. In the opening game, Ireland beat Turkish representatives Ankara 2–0, with Dunne making a second-half appearance. Next up was South Moravia of the Czech Republic. Dunne again entered the fray during the second period in another solid 2–0 victory. The third and final game was against Tuzla. With Ireland already qualified for the final, manager Smith gave some of his wider squad members a start, Dunne and Riddick included. Ireland ran out 2–1 winners.
The final was held at Tallaght Stadium in front of a large attendance. Ireland opened the scoring on 10 minutes and never looked like conceding against a decent Zagreb Region to win this prestigious amateur competition. Dunne again made a telling appearance with half an hour left. Ireland lifted the cup on what was a great day for the amateur game.
Finally, we would like to ask for your support throughout the coming season with top amateur soccer on your doorstep. We would like to thank our main sponsors Fannagan’s and The Irishtown House for their continued support along with our many other supporters.
By David Nolan
