Campbell College and Wallace High School will do battle in the final of the John Minnis Burney Cup on Thursday evening.
The highly anticipated boys’ senior schools hockey decider will see the two sides meet for the first time since the group stages of the McCullough Cup.
On that occasion it was Wallace who emerged with a comfortable 4-0 victory, but previous form will go out the window for this week's renewal.
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Gareth Kidd, coach of Wallace’s first XI hockey team, says his young charges are up for the big occasion.
“We are a very young team this year, and we probably didn’t expect to make it to the final so it means a great deal to me, the players, and the entire school to have come this far in the John Minnis Burney Cup," he said.
“We’ve been lucky to have reached five of the previous nine finals, but we don’t feel under pressure – we’re aiming to enjoy the match. If we’re relaxed and we’re confident then we hope we’ll come out on the right side.”
Wallace captain Josh Kamalarajah added: “It’s been a long process and reaching the final is a great way to end the season – we’ve all spoken to each other and we know how much we want it.
“We want to win it – we’ve been giving it stacks all season and it would be amazing if we could go out there and get the result.”
While Wallace have enjoyed more success in the Burney Cup in recent years, Campbell College rose to top of its tough group stages before beating Bangor Grammar School 2-0 in the semi-finals.
Damien Styles, Master in Charge of Hockey at Campbell College, said: “We have a group of guys that have worked exceptionally hard, and it means the world to have reached the final.
“This year we introduced a new coach, Jonny Carron, who has helped the team develop their technical and tactical know-how, and we’re really seeing the difference.
“A lot of the younger guys coming in behind are watching, and they’ve been so inspired by what the team is doing.”
Captain Lawson Adams added: “We had a rough start to the season, but we’ve really progressed as a team and are ready to give it our all in the final.”
Meanwhile, John Minnis, Company Director at John Minnis Estate Agents, the headline sponsor of the prestigious competition, commented: “For the last number of years, we have been proud to support the John Minnis Burney Cup, advocating for youth development, fitness, and friendly competition amongst peers.
“The local community is at the heart of what we do, and we are thrilled to give a helping hand to keeping this much-loved event alive, with this year’s final expected to be the biggest yet.
“It’s been fantastic to see school hockey continue to grow in popularity since the John Minnis Burney Cup began, and we can’t wait to see who will take the trophy home on Thursday.”
The John Minnis Burney Cup will be held on Thursday, March 16, with pushback at 7.30pm, at Stormont ’s Playball Pitches.
Family, friends, and supporters are all welcome. Tickets are not required.
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