The Football Association of Ireland’s Emerging Talent squad struck gold on Saturday afternoon to clinch the prestigious University of Ulster Under-16 Foyle Cup trophy.

Man of the match Jason Hughes gave Ireland the lead in the opening stages of the final at the Brandywell before Darragh Satelle doubled the advantage approaching half-time.

Midfielder John Sullivan wrapped up the victory for the Irish in the second half with a third goal.

The Foyle Cup tournament was staged over five days in Derry and the surrounding areas, featuring 124 teams from Ireland, across Europe, Africa and the United States. Ajax, Werder Bremen and Montpellier sent teams to the North-west for the event.

The squad of 18 players representing the FAI in the Foyle Cup are part of the Association’s overall Emerging Talent Programme, a system within which players are afforded the opportunity to train and play with the more talented players and coaches in their Regional area, thus providing them with a more challenging level of training and development.

Stephen McNutt, the FAI’s Regional Development Officer for the Donegal area and manager of the team, was proud of his players.

“The team won the trophy by playing tremendous football over the course of the week. The lads have been a fantastic bunch to manage over the course of week and there is a lot of talent in the panel.”

“Looking beyond this week,” he added. “It was a great opportunity for them to progress into the Ireland Under-17 team for the upcoming UEFA qualifying campaign. It broadens the scope of players available to manager Sean McCaffrey and he has been delighted with their development.”

Ireland team v South Belfast : Ger Hanley, Jason Finn, Neil Harney, Pauric Ormsby, Mark Connolly, Paddy Doherty, Gavin Holohan, John Sullivan, Jonathan Bonner, Jason Hughes, Darragh Satelle.
Substitutions: Ciaran Coll for Bonner (half-time), David Lodola for Satelle and Stephen Last for Ormsby (47 mins), Mark Connors for Hanley (55 mins), Lee Dixon for Hughes (58).