Wesley College were crowned the John Waring All-Ireland Under-14 Schoolboy champions as they won four of their five fixtures at Comber Road today.
They opened with a tightly-fought 0-0 draw with St Andrew’s – in a rematch of the Leinster Minor Cup final – before turning on the style.
They proceeded to win 3-0 against Newtown School with James Reid netting twice and Tommy Cullen getting the other. They followed with a 1-0 success against Bandon GS with Luke Murray on the mark and a 4-1 success against Banbridge Academy put them in the title frame.
Bangor Grammar were their nearest rivals, starting off with a 2-1 victory over Newtown before drawing with Banbridge and beating St Andrew’s 1-0 with an Oli Keenan goal.
They remained unbeaten after their fourth game, a 1-1 draw with Bandon with Keenan scoring again.
That made it winner-take-all when Wesley met Bangor but goals from Daniel Lydon and Cullen saw the Dubliners prevail 2-0 and secure the title.
Bangor finished second on goal difference with Banbridge third just behind them after Charlie Tumilty’s goal earned them a 1-0 victory over St Andrew’s.
John Waring All-Ireland Schoolboys (Under-14) Championships
Round 1: Wesley College 0 St Andrew’s College 0; Bangor GS 2 (K Culbert, J Donnelly) Newtown School 1 (O Gavin)
Round 2: Bandon GS 0 Banbridge Academy 0; Newtown School 0 Wesley College 3 (J Reid 2, T Cullen);
Round 3: Bandon GS 1 (D Wilson) St Andrew’s 2 (K Healy, T Lawlor); Banbridge Academy 1 (J Osborne) Bangor GS 1;
Round 4: Bandon GS 0 Wesley College 1 (L Murray); Banbridge Academy 1 (C Tumilty) Newtown School 0;
Round 5: St Andrew’s 0 Bangor GS 1 (O Keenan); Banbridge Academy 1 (A Ewart) Wesley College 4 (D Lydon, T Squires, L McKiernan, L Murray)
Round 6: Bangor GS 1 (O Keenan) Bandon GS 1 (B Gash); St Andrew’s 1 (P Burns) Newtown School 0;
Round 7: Wesley College 2 (D Lydon, T Cullen) Bangor 0; Banbridge Academy 1 (C Tumilty) St Andrew’s 0;
Round 8: Bandon GS 0 Newtown School 0
Final Standings: 1. Wesley College 13pts (+9) 2. Bangor Grammar 8pts (0) 3. Banbridge Academy 8pts (-1) 4. St Andrew’s 7pts (0) 5. Bandon GS 3pts (-2) 6. Newtown School 1pt (-6)