Holders St Columb’s College are on course to retain the Translink Schools’ Gold Cup ahead of Finals Day.
The cup competition, which is in its fifth year, involves eight schools from across Northern Ireland battling it out over three age groups to be crowned the number one school in the country.
St Columb’s are set to face Belfast Boys’ Model in the final of the U13 competition and Our Lady and St Patrick’s College Knock (east Belfast) in the U17 final at Ballymena Showgrounds tomorrow (3 May).
If the Derry-Londonderry school win both games they will be crowned overall Gold Cup champions once again.
North Belfast school St Malachy’s still have a chance of tasting outright success. They play Bangor Academy in the final of the U15 competition at the Showgrounds and a win in that along with success in their U13 and U17 fixtures would be enough to secure the overall trophy if St Columb’s slip up in their games.
Along with the three finals there are nine other games being played in Ballymena tomorrow with Lisburn’s Laurelhill Community College, Boys’ Model, Holy Cross College Strabane, Our Lady and St Patrick’s College Knock, Bangor Academy and Ashfield Boys’ High (east Belfast) all playing for places in the final standings.
Laurelhill teacher Mark Watson said: “This year’s competition has been a fantastic advert for schools’ football. I would like to thank Translink for their sponsorship of the competition which provides opportunities for our boys to play against the best footballing schools in Northern Ireland.”
The Gold Cup is organised by the Irish FA Foundation and sponsored by public transport company Translink.
The games scheduled for Gold Cup Finals Day in Ballymena are as follows:
U13
Final – St Columb’s College v Boys’ Model
3rd-4th Place – Bangor Academy v St Malachy’s
5th-6th Place – Our Lady and St Patrick’s Knock v Ashfield
7th-8th Place – Laurelhill v Holy Cross
U15
Final – St Malachy’s v Bangor Academy
3rd-4th Place – Boys’ Model v St Columb’s College
5th-6th Place – Our Lady and St Patrick’s Knock v Holy Cross
7th-8th Place – Laurelhill v Ashfield
U17
Final – St Columb’s v Our Lady and St Patrick’s Knock
3rd-4th Place – Laurelhill v St Malachy’s
5th-6th Place – Boys’ Model v Ashfield
7th-8th Place – Bangor Academy v Holy Cross
Image: The U13 squad from St Columb’s are set to play in a final against Belfast Boys’ Model tomorrow as part of the Translink-sponsored Gold Cup competition.
