aspire football team excels at international tournament
Class of 92 Finishes Third in Milk Cup
A youth football team representing ASPIRE, the Academy for Sports Excellence, reached the semi-final of the Northern Ireland Milk Cup and won the 3rd/4th place play-off.
The Milk Cup is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland on a knock-out basis. The cup matches are mainly played in the Coleraine area of Northern Ireland. It has three different sections, with entrants divided by age category.
The youthful ASPIRE squad, all born in 1992, beat Belvedere from Dublin on penalties, following a goalless draw at the end of normal time. They then faced St Kevin’s from Dublin in the semi final, where the cup run came to an end. A first half lead from with a fine strike from Moayad Hassan was cancelled out by a St Kevin’s penalty, taking the match to a penalty shoot-out where St Kevin’s prevailed 5-4.
Despite some uneven performances in the tournament, ASPIRE brushed aside Chelsea 2-0 in the qualifying round. Ali Khamis and Mahdi Ali got on the scoresheet for ASPIRE, while goalkeeper Antoine Messi was outstanding.
Head Football Coach Michael Browne said: “There were times when we were relieved to get a draw and go into penalties. Belvedere and St Kevin’s are the top two Irish sides in their age groups. We know we will be the underdogs in the semi-final.”
“People don’t realize how good these sides are; practically every one of their players will already be committed to a top English Premiership side when they are able to leave Ireland next summer.”
Household names from the football world are taking part in the Milk Cup, including River Plate, Chelsea, Reading, Watford, Sheffield United, Hearts, Hibernian, AIK Stockholm and eventual winners Guadalajara, from Mexico.
Speaking for ASPIRE, Dr. Andreas Bleicher, Sports Director, said: “We were delighted to hear that the boys’ cup run took them to the semi-final. The participation of powerful squads from all round the world shows the importance of taking part in these international competitions in order to experience play at the highest standard.”
The Northern Ireland Milk Cup has been the leading youth football tournament in the Six Counties since 1983. For further details visit the Milk Cup website: http://www.nimilkcup.org/
