Rice College soccer team win Connacht title after classy display

Connacht Senior A Schools U-17 Final

Rice College 2 

A Halpin (37), J O’Malley (55)

St Joseph’s Secondary School Galway 0

A DOMINANT display by Rice College resulted in the Westport school win a provincial crown at the Red Rock Arena, Headford, on Tuesday afternoon.

The heavy showers of rain added an extra zip to the excellent 4G surface, with Rice College full of guile and creativity in their build-up play.

Westport could - and perhaps should - have taken the lead on seven minutes when their captain Alex Halpin crossed for Jack O’Malley, but the latter spurned a gilt-edged opportunity. 

‘The Bish’ were under the cosh for long spells of the first half. The Galway city outfit’s resistance was finally broken on 37 minutes when playmaker Conor Cannon found the aforementioned Halpin, whose finish nestled in the bottom corner of MacDarragh Scanlon’s net. 

Ten minutes into the second period, Rice College doubled their lead. A deep right-wing cross from Eoghan Moran found the poaching Jack O’Malley, whose clinical drive made it 2-0.

The Bish struggled to craft decent scoring opportunities; however, the blue and white almost pulled a goal back on 63 minutes, when Jack Ryan forced Michael Donnell into action. 

In the end, Rice College finished impressively and they now advance to the All-Ireland semi-final where they will face St Paul’s Community School from Waterford, on Monday, March 3. This match will kick off at 1 pm with a venue yet to be confirmed.

A full report will be carried in next Tuesday’s Mayo News.