Our prestigious annual Patrick Higgins tournament took place on Sunday the 15th of June where not just our future stars but those from a total of 8 local clubs took to the pitch to entertain us with another great array of talent.
As each year passes the skill and ability of the players seem to get better and better with the boys and girls severing up some wonderful football for those in attendance.
This years line up included last years winners Greenlough and Magherafelt and joining them in the group stages were Ballinascreen, Ballinderry, Kilrea, Lissan, Magherafelt, Moneymore and ourselves.
The early morning group games showcased some highly entertaining football with some keenly contested fixtures and following the round robin games it was Ballinascreen, Ballinderry, Greenlough and Magherafelt who would move forward into the A Shield semi finals with Kilrea, Lissan, Moneymore and Desertmartin contesting the B Shield semi finals
With four very evenly matched semi finals across the two shields it was Ballinascreen and Magerafelt who progressed into the A Final and Desertmartin facing up against Moneymore in the B Final
First up for the finals were Desertrmartin and Moneymore in the B Shield final. It was the first meeting of this pair today and they served up a highly competitive contest with both teams showing some great individual skill and team work which everyone watched was sure to enjoy. With the narrowest of victories is was Desertmartin who for just the fifth time in the 23 year history of the tournament came out on top and came home with the B Shield.
Next up was the A final between Ballinascreen and Magherafelt. Having played each other earlier in the day during the group phase when Ballinascreen had won convincingly but this Magherafelt team we gaining momentum during the day and came into the final in great form. But this Ballinascreen team had showen throughout the day that they were the team to beat and completed a clear sweep of victories on the day seeing off the Magherafelt challenge to lift the A Shield for just the first time in their history.
There were many outstanding performances on the day but it was Ballinascreen’s Oisin McNicholl who took the award of the player of the tournament following several stand out games.
