Ballinamallard Youth U12s proved their worth on an international stage with a superb win in the Barcelona Cup played in Catalonia at the weekend.

Ballinamallard Youth U12s proved their worth on an international stage with a superb win in the Barcelona Cup played in Catalonia at the weekend.

The young Mallards played some superb stuff over the two days of competition and to add icing on the cake of their win, as the Ballinamallard captain Daniel Hughes received the cup, it was announced that Ballinamallard player Stephen Drumm had won the Player of the Tournament Award and that his team-mate Adam Groogan had won an award as the goalkeeper for the side conceding the fewest goals.

Coach Joe Corcoran had nothing but praise for his young charges.

“I am so, so proud of these young players. Their attitude, behaviour and desire to do well has been outstanding and they matched every team they met. This has been a great experience for them which they will have learnt from. The tournament itself was first class, well organised and of a good standard. It is certainly something that Ballinamallard will look at again,” said Corcoran.

The Mallards travelled to Barcelona on Thursday and after a day of acclimatisation on Friday kicked off on Saturday in spectacular fashion winning all three games to put them top of the table with a maximum nine points.

In the opening game Ballinamallard were 4-0 victors over Pro Soccer Academy 2 with Stephen Drumm, Codi Halligan (penalty), Tom Kelly and Daly Corcoran all finding the net. In their second game Ballinamallard were again the winners beating Sports Direct Academy 2-0 with goals from Jack Ovens and Stephen Drumm while in their third game against Sabadell Nord FC goals from Daly Corcoran, Stephen Drumm and Reuben Jentsch ensured a 3-1 victory.

On Sunday morning the young Mallards faced FCB Escola, Barcelona’s Youth Academy and were disappointed to go down 2-0 in a game where they competed well and were in no way outplayed by their illustrious opponents.

In their last group game Ballinamallard played Pro Direct Academy 1 and while still hopeful of reaching the final got off to the worst possible start to find themselves 2-0 down after just three minutes. Undaunted and displaying great team spirit, the young Mallards staged a remarkable comeback to score seven goals to win 7-3 and claim their place in the final with a Daly Corcoran hat-trick, a brace for Stephen Drumm and goals apiece for Daniel Hughes and Tom Kelly.

In the final, Joe Corcoran’s young team met Spanish side Sabadell Nord FC who had finished level on points with Ballinamallard at the top of the table, but goals from Stephen Drumm and Tom Kelly saw the young Mallards emerge victorious winning 2-0 to lift the prestigious Barcelona Cup.

A remarkable few days for the Ballinamallard kids with their manager, Joe Corcoran full of praise for them. A delighted Joe commented: The Barcelona Cup will now be added to the list of remarkable achievements for the Ballinamallard United youth teams.

Ballinamallard United U-12 squad – Nick Collen, Daly Corcoran, Stephen Drumm, Adam Groogan, Codi Halligan, Daniel Hughes, Reuben Jentsch, Tom Kelly and Ben Ovens,