"They have been immense" - St Columb's College's Ryan Horner praises NI Cup winners

St Columb's College secured a record-breaking 4–1 victory over Lurgan Junior High School to claim a remarkable fourth consecutive Northern Ireland Under-12 Cup title on Friday afternoon at Blanchflower Stadium in Belfast.

The historic four-in-a-row success was secured thanks to goals from Shea Breslin, Ryan Curran and Jacob McMonagle as the Derry school eased to victory on the day. St Columb’s were full value for their win and dominated from the opening minutes, restricting Lurgan to very few clear openings apart from their 36th minute strike from Charlie Stewart, which briefly offered the Armagh side hope in the second half.

However, the Derry kingpins were not fazed by the shift in momentum and quickly reasserted control. Substitute Ryan Curran showed great composure to finish from close range soon afterwards, allowing the Foylesiders to see out the closing stages comfortably as they secured another historic title.

St Columb’s have enjoyed a remarkable journey through this season’s competition, recording victories over St Joseph’s, Omagh CBS, Laurelhill of Lisburn and Ashfield on their way to the final. A semi-final meeting with Belfast Cup finalists Coláiste Feirste followed, with the Derry school producing another assured performance to book their place in the decider against Lurgan on Friday.

Speaking after the match, manager Ryan Horner praised the achievement of his players and admitted the fourth goal proved crucial in ensuring the Armagh school were unable to build momentum after pulling one back.

“I thought the boys played very well, and I thought their first-half performance was excellent,” he said.“We settled quickly and played good football, and to be 3–0 up at half-time was a dream scenario, to be honest.”

“We needed the fourth goal as well because when Lurgan got one back, it could easily have gone the other way. I’m just delighted, delighted for the boys and delighted for the school. We want to keep this going now and really push on.”

Captain Shea Breslin was once again in inspired form for the Derry school, registering two superb goals as well as providing an excellent assist for Jacob McMonagle in the opening half.

The St Columb’s forward also became the first player since Derry City FC captain Michael Duffy to score in every round of the competition, a feat achieved by Duffy more than two decades ago. Horner believes Breslin has more than enough ability to follow a similar path in the years ahead.

However, he was quick to emphasise that the victory reflected the contribution of the entire panel, with every member of the squad playing their part throughout the campaign in securing another historic success for the college.

“I’ve mentioned Shea a few times in the lead-up to this game,” Horner added. “He’s a very quiet and humble lad, but he’s scored in every round, and the last person to do that was Derry City’s current captain, Michael Duffy, so it’s no mean feat for Shea, and he’s more than capable of following in his footsteps.

“But it has been the entire squad that have got us here; they have been immense, and they have all played a part in this journey. All the boys have featured at some stage during the campaign and contributed along the way. It’s not just about today; they’ve all played their part, so fair play to them. They are a great group of young lads.”