Joey's take on Corinthians in FAI Youth Cup showdown
St. Joseph's AFC are set to face College Corinthians on Saturday as both teams look to secure the FAI Youth Cup.
St. Joseph's are twice winners of the competition, the last time coming in the 2000-01 season with the club going for their third victory in the FAI Youth Cup tomorrow.
College Corinthians won the FAI U17 Cup last year and this same group of players are looking to secure consecutive titles at the Carlisle Grounds, with kick-off at 2pm.
Match Details
Competition: 2022/23 FAI Youth Cup Final
Fixture: St Joseph’s v College Corinthians FC
Venue: Carlisle Grounds, Bray
Date: Saturday 15th April
KO: 2pm
Match Officials
Referee: Alan Franklin
Assistant Referee1: Niall Whelan
Assistant Referee 2: Derek Campion
Fourth Official: Pat Sinnott
Path to the Final - St. Joseph's AFC
Round 1: Esker Celtic FC 1-7 St. Joseph’s AFC
Round 2: Arklow Town FC 0-8 St. Joseph’s AFC
Round 3: St. Joseph’s AFC 16-0 Prosperous United
Round 4: St. Joseph’s AFC 5-3 Fairview Rangers FC
Quarter-Final: St Joseph’s AFC 3-1 St. Kevin’s FC
Semi-Final: Parkvilla FC 3-4 St. Joseph’s AFC
Path to the Final - College Corinthians
Round 1: College Corinthians AFC 8-0 Mallow United AFC
Round 2: College Corinthians AFC 6-0 Carrigaline United FC
Round 3: College Corinthians AFC 6-0 St. Mary’s FC
Round 4: College Corinthians AFC 2-0 (AET) Corrib Celtic FC
Quarter-Final: College Corinthians AFC 4-0 Aisling Annacotty FC
Semi-Final: College Corinthians AFC 3-0 Stella Maris FC
What he said - St. Joseph's manager Stephen Foy
"The lads are delighted to be in the final. They've been made to work hard over the course of the tournament and we've had some great results, in particular against Fairview and St. Kevin's.
"Fairview really came at us early on in the match in the fourth round but we got through it and showed great character as well as the match against Kevins. The lads kept going for 90 minutes in both matches and got through it, the same character will be needed for Saturday. We had to ride our luck a little bit in the semi-final against Parkvilla but like I say, we got through it and we're focused on the final.
"The lads have trained hard all year and they've tried to deploy the lessons from the previous game each week. They want to develop and grow and they're a really committed group. We've become more of a footballing team over the years, we used to play on the counter-attack but over the years, we try and have more of the possession and hopefully that bodes well on Saturday."
What he said - College Corinthians manager Peter Healy
"It is very exciting for the team, we're not really thinking about what we achieved last year but for the team to have that experience in the back-pocket is definitely invaluable to them.
"We've had this group together for a long time now. Of course, we've had natural drop-offs but the majority of the group has remained and they're a very soccer-focused group, easy to manage and just mad keen to play. I've coached them since they were six years old and whilst some players have moved on through their own progression, we've added a few more as well but it's a core group of players.
"I'm delighted with the way we've progressed through this year's competition. We were lucky with a number of home draws in the early stages but we're travelling on Saturday like we did last year. Performance wise, we maybe had a few blips in the early stages of the competition but we've been really strong in the final stages of the competition.
"We've got a great respect for Joey's, a famous club of course, but the lads do love a challenge and we hope we will get the best out of ourselves on the day. We're a worthy enough side and we're just fully focused on the victory on Saturday."
St. Joseph's AFC - Squad
Goalkeepers: Dylan Kane, Humzah Alraqi
Defenders: Adam Deans, Tadhg Kane, Scott Higgins, Aji Habeeb, Callum White
Midfielders: Josh Bishop, Callum Byrne, Brian O'Meara, Kian De Sousa, Ryan Lynch
Forwards: Reese Kavanagh, Alan Seruga, Mark Tansey, Emmanual Ogunsaikon, Callum Curley, Josh Olaonipekun
College Corinthians - Squad
Goalkeeper: Eoin O'Flynn, Jack O'Leary
Defenders: Daniel McCarthy, Ben Heinen, David Healy, Jerry Murphy, Robbie O'Brien, Jamie O'Brien
Midfielders: Eric Cunningham, Luke O'Donnell, Matthew Broderick, James O'Connor
Forwards: Brian O'Sullivan-Connell, Harry Quilligan, Kristian O'Callaghan, Conor O'Sullivan, Rian O'Riordan, Noah Ryan
