Holy Rosary boys Gaelic team are the Cumann na Bunscoil champions after a fabulous performance in the final against Good Shepherd last Thursday. The boys played some fabulous football throughout the game and were worthy winners with a fantastic all round team display enough to overcome the spirited Good Shepherd team.
In the first half Holy Rosary raced into an early lead with scores from Zak F, Lucien M and Callum L following strong play in the back line from the impressive Alex L and Jason N, who dealt competently with the early spell of pressure from their opponents. Despite a number of promising attacks the West Belfast side were unable to get past the frugal Holy Rosary back line and when called upon goalkeeper Ryan D dealt well with aerial challenges and distributed accurately to set up a number of attacking moves. At times the Sunnyside street side were unstoppable with quick running and clever movement from attacking half back duo Finn M and Thomas M providing the platform for Lucien M and Abidkafi H to drive into the hear of the Good Shepherd defence. Scores from Abdikafi H, Jack M and a first half hat trick of goals from man of the match Aureli K were enough to put Holy Rosary in a comfortable half time position.
Good Shepherd however responded well in the opening exchanges of the second half and showed good resilience to fight back with a quickfire goal and a point inside the first five minutes, amidst a succession of near misses in what was undoubtedly their purple spell in the game. Holy Rosary however soon found their rhythm in the second half and regained their authority on the game with a composed display. Well taken points from roving half back Finn M and half forwards Jack M and Callum L eliminated any sign of a Good Shepherd comeback. At the back sub Igor R played his part in setting up an excellent goal crafted by Abdikafi H and Thomas M before the scintillating Aureli K rifled his fourth goal of the game to all but guarantee his side the victory. Second half subs Alex S, Zak S and Sebastian M all played their part when they came on and helped set up scores for the outstanding midfield pairing of Lucien M and Abdikafi H who were as deadly in front of goal as they were tenacious in winning vital ball in midfield. Late strikes from Aureli K and Sebastian M ensured the D league was going to Holy Rosary and although Good Shepherd played well and kept going to the very end it was a deserved victory for the Sunnyside street school.
Having lost in the final last year of the league and the semi final of the Championship, the final whistle brought with it a mixture of relief and euphoria for the Holy Rosary boys to conclude a day they will never forget. The boys should be very proud of their achievement and fully deserve their success for all their hard work at training. Hopefully this will be the first of many!
