DCU Freshers winning streak

DCU soccer’s Freshers team defeated Queen’s University 4-1 to pick up the Plate in the Harding Cup.

Brothers Marc and Shane Hughes, Niall Cullen and James Geraghty got the goals as DCU won their first Plate since 1992.

At 3-0 down, Queens University rallied and pulled one back, but DCU capitalised on the gaps left by Queens’ backline to add a fourth goal and kill the tie.

Manager and DCU’s Soccer Development Officer, Fran Butler, was happy with the Plate victory.

Only 14 players travelled to Limerick to compete, with a 15 arriving later to add a fresh pair of legs to the squad, who had to play four matches in three days.

Things started off poorly for the side, with a 2-0 loss to hosts and holders Limerick in the opening game, who also beat DCU on penalties at the semifinal stage of last year’s tournament. This meant a first Harding Cup victory was no longer possible.

Butler said “If we had a full squad of players, including scholarship players, we could’ve done a lot better. We didn’t take our chances on the day [against Limerick].”

Due to an odd number of teams involved, DCU were then entered into a round robin with UCD and Mary Immaculate from Limerick for a place in the final of the Plate.

The round robin matches were all played in a single day with only an hour break between games. UCD beat MI 1-0 in the first game, meaning MI had nothing to play for against DCU.

UCD and DCU drew 1-1, meaning DCU needed to beat UCD’s score against MI to qualify for the Plate final.

“It [the round robin] suited us. Once MI were beaten they knew they couldn’t qualify. There was a target for us to beat” Butler said. A 3-0 victory over MI booked DCU’s place in the final against Queens University.

Butler said the Plate victory was important as “straight away [the Freshers] have a winning mentality.

“Their expectations are raised and they know if they had taken their chances against Limerick they would have won.

“We have a good group of young players to build a good squad for the next couple of years.” he added.

Six or seven of the Plate winning team will now be added to the Collingwood Cup squad next week, making it a young squad mixed of this year’s and last year’s Freshers.