It isn’t often that a team from Northern Ireland can claim rank amongst Europe’s Elite but for Glentoran’s U13 side this became a reality last week. Representing Northern Ireland in UEFA’s ALLtogether European Football Festival, Glentoran did battle with some of Europe’s top teams in Berlin under the shadow of the magnificant Olympiastadion.
The opposition included a top side from 25 different European countries, most commonly the country’s divisional winners. Glentoran qualified as winners of the NIBFA Cup, Foyle Cup and All-Ireland Cup in 2013 but expectation for this great tournament was far lower.
In Tuesday morning's opening ceremony Lewis McGarvey and Mal Smith hoisted the Northern Ireland flag up as they crossed the stage to be greeted by polite applause from Europe and a deafening cheer from our parents and fans. The ceremony included tricks and skills from a football freestylist before UEFA played the famous Champions League theme tune to open the event. If there was any doubt on the importance on this tournament, it was made clear to everyone now.
After a frustrating opening two days of thunderstorms, The wee Glens finally kicked off on Wednesday morning against Albanian side FK Sopoti. The boys clearly itching to go won a remarkable 12-0 with hat-tricks from Ethan Galbraith and birthday boy Matty Strain. A small team from Northern Ireland had instantly starting raising eyebrows amongst Europe’s Elite.
Playing defending champions EPS Makedonia of Greece next in the group the Glens sent more shockwaves through the tournament going 2-0 up only to be pegged back in the dying minutes and settle for disappointing but still impressive 2-2 draw. FK Trakai-Rotalis of Lithuania followed and were comfortably defeated 4-0 as Northern Ireland topped the group to advance to Thursday’s last 16.
After the games on Wednesday Glentoran along with English side Lambeth and Welsh champions TNS were invited to the UK embassy in Berlin. Joined by former Premier League and German star Thomas Hitzlsperger we were given a presentation by the embassy before being invited to play a few football based games. Glentoran presented the embassy with a gift of a photo print of East Belfast's most famous landmark- the H&W twin cranes.
Back to the pitch on Thursday, The Glens faced a Gibraltar FA side boasting one of the best 13 year old players arguably in the world. The Gibraltar captain has already signed a contract to play for Real Madrid and had led his side through their group. Niall Grimley in defensive midfield was given the job of stopping him and did so in some style, frustrating the Gibraltar star throughout. Glentoran’s attacking strengths were on full view as well bagging 3 more goals to counter Madrid’s future star’s two as the Glens progressed 3-2 winners.
Friday morning saw Glentoran face a Romanian side AS Progresul who won their first 4 games an aggregate of 17-0. Again, the young men from East Belfast showed no signs of fear, taking the game to the Romanians with goals from Mal Smith and Barry Baggley sending them through to the semis. The semi final against Croatians NK Uljanik was another one to remember for the attacking talent on show. The Croats defeated Welsh champions TNS in the quarter finals but the Glens raced 3-0 up at Half Time. A weather delay in the second half stopped momentum leading to a nervous, frantic end but The Glens hung on for a 3-2 win and qualifying for the club’s first European Cup Final in 100 years since the Vienna Cup, 1914.
At this point the powers of social media went into overdrive in the hours leading up to kick off. Messages of support from the proud Glentoran faithful came beaming in but not just from fans. The wee Glens received messages from former stars including cult hero Glen Little and former assistant manager Tim McCann. The boys were mentioned on Radio Ulster too. Manager Stephen Lowry ensured each message was read out to the boys before kick off to inspire them.
The Final contained a crowd of over 500 people watching the showcase event as the sun set on the historic 1936 Olympic site. The National Anthem was playing for all of Europe to hear the remarkable story of the team.
The opposition was Slovenian champions and household name Olimpija Ljubljana. The Slovenians hadn’t conceded a goal in the entire tournament and were recently crowded winners of a European competition in Croatia. Despite a solid first half display and a determined, battling second half the wee Glens European dream fell just short in a 2-1 defeat. Ben Cushnie however bagged the only goal the Slovenian’s conceded and certainly one he will never forget.
The second place trophy looked almost like a win in itself showing how UEFA valued making the final of such a prestigious tournament.
Glentoran manager Stephen Lowry said of the final “We gave them a hell of a fright that they had not previously been used to by the looks of it. Our performance was remarkable throughout the tournament. The coaching staff couldn’t be more proud”.
Glentoran Director Grahame Jenkins also paid respects saying ‘Phenomenal achievement by the boys in Berlin, they will receive a heroes welcome when they get home to our fans”.
This Glentoran team symbolises the forward strides being made by the Glentoran Academy. It is fantastic to see so many players from both communities wanting to play for our great club. Eddie Patterson has shown how much he cares for our youth team with the number of players who have had first team opportunities of recent which fuels the likes of this U13 squad for what to expect in the future.
Congratulations to all the boys on their memorable week. A number of the boys will also be representing Northern Ireland in the coming weeks in the Milk Cup so we wish them the best of luck there as well.
The Academy would also like to place our thanks to so many people for getting behind us on the forums and social media. The support helped add to our incredible experience.
Glentoran U13 Squad: Lewis McGarvey (c), Mal Smith (vc), Paul McLaughlin, Sean Gallagher, Ethan Warnock, Jack Reilly, Myles Murray, Peter McCreery, Niall Grimley, Jamie Marlin, Barry Baggley, Ben Cushnie, Christopher Conn, Eoin Brown, Matty Strain, Ethan Galbraith, Joseph Shelvin. Coaching Staff: Stephen Lowry, Glenn Lowry, Andy Jenkins, Chris McCluskey