Plenty of footy for the boys on the Emerald Isle. We’ll have full match reports and pictures for you each day after the final whistle. Here’s what’s in store for the Blue & White Army:

MATCH 1: vs. CBS SEXTON STREET, LIMERICK

Bellarmine Prep 5 - CBS Limerick 2

No one expected much from the Mighty Lions as we prepared to play our first match just 4 hours after landing at Shannon Airport. After a bus ride to the hotel, and a visit to Hogwarts…..err….Crescent Comprehensive School, the boys stepped onto the pitch to play a talented CBS Limerick side. CBS struck first after 10 minutes with a thundering strike from just inside the left side of the penalty area, and with the Lions playing on vapors, it was easy to wonder if this was just a taste of more to come. But the Lions drew level on a penalty kick after Dylan Gaydosh was drug down inside the area. Tyler Mernaugh made no mistake as he placed the kick safely to the right of the keeper.

Five minutes later, the Lions took the lead 2-1 as Dylan Gaydosh slotted a shot on the ground from just outside the 6 yard box to the far post that beat the CBS keeper. Bellarmine would add 1 more before half after Chandler Dent lofted a through ball down the left side to Dylan who got in behind the CBS defense. Going around the keeper to the end line, Dylan cut the ball back to Tyler who calmly side-footed the ball into the back left corner of the net. The first half ended 3-1, and based on the run of play, it seemed that CBS had no way back.

The game was never in doubt after the 3rd Bellarmine goal, and the Lions added 2 more in the 2nd half. Dylan bagged his brace with a nice effort from just outside the 6 yard box, and John McDonald notched his first goal in Ireland with a thundering strike into the top right corner from 24 yards away. CBS got one back in with 10 minutes to play, but with Bellarmine comfortably ahead, it was too little to matter.

Match 2: at CRESCENT COLLEGE COMPREHENSIVE S.J.

Bellarmine Prep 0 - Crescent 2

A Crescent forward cleaned up a loose ball inside the 6-yard area to give the hosts the lead after 10 minutes, and a 63rd-minute strike proved enough to seal the win for Crescent. The Lions were on the backfoot the entire first half as a steady 20-mile an hour wind made it very difficult to get the ball out of their own end. Even with the wind at their backs in the second half, the Lions didn’t finish their chances. A header glanced just wide of the post, a nice strike hit the crossbar and it was just one of those games where if we could have scored one, we would have scored two more. But, it wasn’t to be. Still, there were sequences of very good soccer by Bellarmine on both sides of the ball, and in many respects, the boys played a better match against Crescent than CBS.

Crescent College Comprehensive SJ is a secondary school located on a section of 40 acres of parkland at Dooradoyle, Limerick. The college is one of a number of Jesuit schools in Ireland. The modern school in Limerick dates from 1859, when the Jesuits returned to Limerick to manage a school on behalf of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Limerick. Click here to visit the school’s website.

MATCH 3: at CLONGOWES WOOD COLLEGE

Bellarmine Prep 4 - Clongowes Wood 2

The Lions returned to winning form with a solid 4-2 win over Clongowes Wood. Bellarmine jumped out on top after 10 minutes when Tyler Mernaugh lofted a searching free kick to the right edge of the box that found the head of John McDonald. The rain and hail came next, and Bellarmine continued to have the lion’s share of possession in Clongowes’ end. In fairness, Clongowes missed 2 great chances in the final 20 minutes of the first half, but it ended 1-0 in favor of the visitors.

In the 2nd half the Lions stepped up the pressure and doubled their lead after 47 minutes. Alex Vogt sent a low ball through the box to an awaiting Dylan Gaydosh on the far post for a simple, side-footed tap in. Clongowes pulled one back 8 minutes later after a cracking shot from just outside the area, and it was match on. The Lions bounced back with another goal from Dylan in the 61st minute, and added a late 4th goal from Ryan Rash whose left-footed blast nicked the far post, sending the ball into the opposite side netting behind the keeper. Not even the ghost of James Joyce could help find a way back for the home side on this stormy day in Dublin, and the match ended 4-2 to the mighty Lions.

Clongowes Wood College is a private secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane in County Kildare, Ireland. Founded by the The Jesuits in 1814, it is one of Ireland’s oldest Catholic schools, and featured prominently in James Joyce’s semiautobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Clongowes currently has 450 students in its 194th academic year. Click here to visit the school’s website.

MATCH 4: at ST. MARY’S COLLEGE

Bellarmine Prep 1 - St. Mary’s 0

The weather in Galway was miserable, and the soccer not much better, as the Lions edged past St. Mary’s 1-0.

In the first 20 minutes, St. Mary’s streamed forward in waves, attacking the Bellarmine goal time after time. But the back line was resilient and gave the Lions’ midfield an opportunity to stay in the game and develop a rhythm to the match. Tyler Mernaugh’s strike from the right edge of the area that rebounded off the post was the best the Lions could do early on.

The game turned in the 25th minute after Dylan Gaydosh was hauled down in the right side of the box and awarded a penalty. Tyler made no mistake from the mark, and Bellarmine grabbed the lead 1-0.  In the second half, the game wore on, with each keeper troubled only occasionally. But, in the final 40 minutes there was precious little spark or urgency from either side, and the mighty Lions edged past St. Mary’s 1-0.