Republic of Ireland v Wales

Friday, March 4, 2011, Killarney Celtic FC, KO 7pm 

Killarney Celtic FC will play host to the Republic of Ireland Schools' team as they take on the Welsh in the opening game of their Centenary Shield campaign on Friday, March 4 (KO 7pm) 

This will be the first competitive fixture in the competition for Head Coach, Dave Archbold (Palmerstown Community School). He will be hoping that home advantage will give the boys the edge they need to overcome a strong Welsh selection.  

Castleisland native Sean Brosnan was drafted into the squad at short notice as the team travelled to Wales last season. His introduction proved decisive as the St. Patrick’s student scored the only goal of the game to secure the spoils for the Irish side. 

Another Castleisland student will be involved in this year’s proceedings with Paul White selected for the Schools’ panel. The 16 year old Castleisland Community College pupil plays his club football for Tralee Dynamos and he will be hoping for a starting eleven position come match day. 

Archbold has a strong experienced outfit selected to represent the country with Colm Horgan, Michael Barker, Ryan McLaughlin, Chris Lyons, James Kavanagh, Gary Merritt, Stephen Chambers, Hugh Douglas, John Mountney and Billy Lane all capped previously at underage level.  

Ireland are further boosted by the return of three key players from last season, these include Niall Cooney (Templeogue College), Stephen Chambers (St. Fintan’s High School) and Hugh Douglas (St. Brendan’s College). Sharp shooter Douglas scored twice for the Irish against Scotland and New Zealand and will be hoping for the same run of form when the Welsh arrive.  

The Schools’ team completed their preparations for the Centenary Shield campaign with a competitive friendly against UCD last Friday evening. The match was played in adverse weather conditions with the University springing a 3-0 defeat on Archbold’s experimental side.  

Archbold was happy with the team dynamic and the match provided a good stepping stone in which to select a strong panel for this season. 

“The purpose of the game was to see all the players in action and each of the 20 got a decent run out”, he said. 

Martin Evan’s Manager of the Welsh Schools team had a number of tough encounters in preparation for the Centenary Shield. An extended panel featured against the English Independent Schools team in early February and most recently Stoke City FC Youths on Tuesday last. The Welsh were unfortunate to end up at the bottom of the league table last season with only 2 draws and 2 defeats in their season’s campaign. Evans will definitely be looking for a marked improvement and a return to match winning ways as they face the current holders the Republic of Ireland in which promises to be an entertaining affair. 

The Centenary Shield kicked off with Northern Ireland hosting Scotland in Seaview Park on Friday afternoon. Both teams are sharing top shot in the league table after a 2-2 draw.  

Northern Ireland’s second outing will see them travel to Telford to play the English on the same night that the Republic host Wales.  

The Republic will then travel to Belfast to take on their Northern counterparts in the annual St. Patrick’s Day match followed by an away trip on April 1 to Scotland and the conclusion of the Shield will see Tallaght Stadium host England on April 28 which will be televised live on Sky Sports. 

Tickets for the game cost €5 for adults and €2 for students, and are available from Tom O’Shea, FAI on 087 2902147 or email tom.oshea@fai.ie AND Darren Aherne, FAI on 086 0489019 or email darren.aherne@fai.ie

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND PANEL: Paul WHITE (Castleisland Community College), Colm MCLAUGHLIN (Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana), Gabhan COUGHLAN (School), Chris LYONS (Presentation, Bray), Paul MANNION (St. Benildus College), Ryan MATTHEWS (Clonkeen College, Blackrock), James KAVANAGH (Oatlands College), Greg MURRAY (Phobailscoil Iosolde, Palmerstown), Michael BARKER (School), Colm HORGAN (Colaiste Einde, Galway), Billy LANE (Presentation College, Athenry), John MOURTNEY (St. Mureduch’s College, Ballina), Stephen CHAMBERS (St. Fintan’s), Niall COONEY (Templeogue College), Conor KEDDY (Carndonagh Community School), Ryan MCLAUGHLIN (Carndonagh Community School), Gary MERRITT (Loreto Community School, Milford), Hugh DOUGLAS (St. Brendan’s College, Bray)

MANAGEMENT: Dave Archbold, Head Coach (Palmerstown Community School), Ollie Horgan, Coach (St. Eunan’s College, Letterkenny), Hugh Colhoun, Coach (St. Laurence College, Loughlinstown), Ian Carry (GK Coach), Mickey McGlynn (Physiotherapist), Dr. Aidan Colmain (Doctor)  

WALES: Michael Dowd, Daniel Gibbons, Jake Parry, Kristian Jenkins, Sam Rodon, Iwan Price, Adam Davies, Troy Greening, Cai Jones, Jonathan Dunn, Ryan Newman. Subs: Aaron Biddiscombe, Gethin Maxwell, Jamie McDaid, Luke Martin 

CENTENARY SHIELD FIXTURES 2011 

25 February        Northern Ireland 2-2 Scotland (Seaview Park), KO 1pm

04 March             England v Northern Ireland (AFC Telford United), KO 7pm

04 March             Republic of Ireland v Wales (Killarney Celtic FC), KO 7pm

17 March             Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland (The Oval, Belfast), KO 5pm

18 March             Wales v Scotland (Newport), KO 7.30pm

25 March             England v Wales (Yeovil Town FC), KO 7.30pm

01 April                Scotland v Republic of Ireland (Palmerston, Dumfries - Queen of the South FC), KO 7pm

14 April                 *Wales v Northern Ireland (Airbus UK, Broughton, N. Wales), KO 7.35pm

21 April                 *Scotland v England (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), KO 7.35pm

28 April                *Republic of Ireland v England (Shamrock Rovers FC, Tallaght), KO 7:35pm

*Live on Sky Sports 

Promoting the game of Association Football in all schools. For more information, contact Diane Fay, National Administrative Officer, Football Association of Ireland Schools at diane.fay@fai.ie or on 01 8999522 
 
 
  
 
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