Delight for Donegal Underage League and Letterkenny Rovers at Barcelona Cup 2024

The Donegal sides who competed in the Barcelona Cup 2024 enjoyed a weekend they will never forget 

The Donegal Underage League 2012 tasted success in their competition having broken into two teams, held in Salou and Cambrils area in the south of Barcelona, with the other coming ninth to win their play-offs, with Letterkenny Rovers making it as far as the final in theirs.

The Donegal Underage League Yellow - with Paddy McNulty and David O’Carroll at the helm - went the whole way to win the group, defeating French side FR Haguenau A 1-0 in the final with Charlie Carr scoring the winner.

Beforehand, Donegal impressively won their group, following an opening 1-1 draw with AM Football Escola from Sweden, where Tiarnan Caterson grabbed the only goal. This was followed by a 10-1 success over Montrose Youth Whites of Scotland, where Levi Kelly hit five, Zac O’Carroll two and further goals from Ryan McNulty, Oisin McGee and Tiarnan Caterson.

Donegal concluded the group stage with a 2-1 win. with Garbhan O’Donnell and Logan Morrow scoring against the FR Haguenau A they would end up facing in the final.

The quarter-final saw a 4-1 win over HIK C of Denmark with Tiarnan Caterson netting twice, Zac O’Carroll and Garbhan O’Donnell on the mark. In the last four, Donegal defeated local Catalonian outfit CEF Bosc de Tosca 1-0 thanks to a Logan Morrow goal.

Harry McBride, Eoghan O'Neill, Zac O'Carroll, Garbhan O'Donnell, Oisin McGee, Tiarnan Caterson, Ryan McNulty, Logan Morrow, Charlie Carr, and Levi Kelly were the winning squad.

The Donegal Underage Green team, 2014, with Caolan McConnell and John Brennan at the helm, finished third in their group.

They opened with a 2-2 draw against France’s FR Haguenau B, with Daithi McHugh scoring both goals. Dylan Temple was on the mark in their second outing, a 3-1 loss against HIK C from Denmark. Third place in the group was confirmed with a 5-1 win over Pro Football coaching from Northern Ireland. Patrick Caldwell, Dylan Temple, Daithi McHugh, Conor Dorrian and James McCormick did the scoring.

That meant play-offs for ninth to 12th place, with Donegal winning out in their semi-final of that category 2-0 against Sweden’s AM Football Escola courtesy of Dylan Temple and Conor Dorrian goals. Ninth place overall was assured with a 4-2 win over England’s FC Revolution. Daithi McHugh, Dylan Temple, James McCormick and Patrick Caldwell did the scoring.

Patrick Caldwell, Dylan Temple, Ethan O'Sullivan, Aaron McGlynn, Conor Dorrian, Tomas Molloy, Mason McConnell, James McCormick, Daithi McHugh and Jason McGavigan formed the squad.

The Letterkenny Rovers U-10s side put in a great performance, winning their three group games - 3-2 against fellow Irish side Leicester Celtic from Rathfarnham thanks to Alfie Gallagher, Zach McKinley and James McLaughlin goals; a 4-0 win over Workington Red of England with Zach McKinley grabbing a brace, while James McLaughlin and Charlie Lynch also hit the target and a 5-2 success over Edinburgh’s Salvesen B. Femi Gallagher managed to score a brace, with Shane O’Donnell, Mason Oliver and Alfie Gallagher also getting goals.

In the last eight, the Leckview side were 5-1 winners against Street 2 Pro from England with Charlie Lynch scoring a hat-trick, joined on the scoresheet by Rhys Lynch and James McLaughlin. They went on to overcome Salvesen A 2-1 in the semi-finals, with Zach McKinley and Charlie Lynch both scoring.

The final didn’t go the way of Letterkenny, losing out 4-0 to Mount Merrion Youth FC from Dublin, but all in all, it was a top showing for the team managed by Marcus Oliver and Charlie Lynch.

The squad was made up of Scott McLaughlin, Finn Dillon, James McLaughlin, Martin Okedokun, Alfie Gallagher, Mason Oliver, Shane O'Donnell, Charlie Lynch, Femi Gallagher, Zach McKinley and Rhys Lynch.