Wednesday, January 14 – Gormanston: Munster’s Newtown School came out on top, with Leinster’s Skerries Community College securing the plate in a fiercely competitive second annual National Indoor Schoolboys Championship in Gormonston, Co. Meath.
The competition saw eight schools from across Ireland come together to compete for all-ireland honours, with Leinster’s Newpark Comprehensive, The High School, Sutton Park, Skerries Community College, Sandford Park, and Temple Carrig and Munster’s Newtown School & Villiers’ School all making their way to the exceptional indoor facilities of Aras Preston Sports Complex, Gormanston. The sides were divided at random into two pools, with Newtown School, Newpark, Skerries and Sandford occupying Pool A, and Temple Carrig, The High School, Sutton Park, and Villiers placed in Pool B.
Pool A was hotly contested with each of the top three sides trading blows and finishing level on points with two wins each, separated only on goal difference. Newtown School topped the group, with wins over Newpark and Sandford, with Newpark grabbing second in the final match of the pool, doing just enough with their win over Skerries to edge it on goal difference. Skerries came third, despite getting a result against table toppers, Newtown, and Sandford sat bottom following a spirited performance.
In Pool B, Temple Carrig took top spot, with The High School coming second. Both sides got wins against Sutton Park and Villiers and drew with each other, with Temple Carrig edging The High School having scored one more goal and conceded one less. Villiers snook third, while Sutton Park came fourth, with the two sides also neck and neck having drawn with each other.
The final pool standing set up four intense semi-finals, as Newtown met the High School and Temple Carrig took on Newpark in the cup, while Skerries faced.
Newtown came out on top in the Cup, beating High School in a very tight Semi-Final before overcoming first time finalists Newpark following their with over Temple Carrig. In the plate, Skerries took home the title, beating debutants Villiers with a second half comeback.
