IN A spectacular display of pure raw courage, guts and determination in searing heat conditions of over 21 degrees Celsius, Youghal United AFC will enter the halls of history after beating the Guinness Book of Records for a ‘Continuous game of 5-A Side Soccer’ at Ardrath Park over the June Bank Holiday Weekend.
By Derek Kiely | Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

The official record did stand at 27 hours and 15 mins and as Youghal United started on their quest at 9.02am on Saturday the 5th of June they had beaten that record at 12.20pm on Sunday the 6th of June, where no less than 752 goal had been scored at that point in time, but the Youghal lads continued on their target of 33 hours plus which the incredibly achieved at 6.32pm on Sunday evening scoring 946 goals in total.

The concept of the whole event of trying to break the record came about in September 2009, when ideas were needed to raise funds for Youghal United’s Soccer Academy and money to support underage School Boy’s and School Girl teams.

The Original committee of Emmett Perry, Kevin ‘Jock’ Gallogley, Brian Wade, Finbar Walsh and Pierce Hennessy got the ball rolling on the record attempt and in just nine months the dream was achieved.

Emmett Perry said “It has been a long road, but the support we have received has been brilliant. Local sponsors like Farrell’s, Bertie’s, T & M Fitzgerald and the Quality Hotel Youghal has been great and the work by everyone involved in the attempt has been nothing short of miraculous”.

The rules governing a Guinness Book of Records attempt are very strict.

1. Only 16 players allowed in total.
2. An official referee has to be in control of the game at all times.
3. Every kick has to be recorded by Video, for proof of timing.
4. The game has to be played at a respectable pace and no time wasting is accepted.

All of the above were adhered to impeccably and Youghal United AFC must be congratulated for the way the venue was set up over the weekend.

The players were encamped in a special section of the ground visible to all and hundreds of people at some stage of the attempt either during the morning, afternoon, evening or during the night to support the lads.

Along with the obvious centre-piece of the Guinness Book of Record attempt, the Youghal United club also invited all the other sporting associations in the area to come along and set up stands displaying their sports, making the whole event a real community effort.

Perry said “The players are real heroes in my opinion, they have literally given everything they have for this attempt I can’t thank them enough. At 5 am on Sunday morning the will power was tested to the limit, it was cold, wet and fatigue was a huge issue, but they dug deep and showed unbelievable heart to keep going”.

The players who made this piece of Youghal sporting history are:

Patrick Morrissey, Christophe Colin, Kevin Gallogley, Barry Goggin, Diarmuid Schuel, David O’Keefe, Mike Lyons, Aidan Ryan, David Kenneally, Peter Geary, Leon Geary, Martin Cohen, Pierce Hennessy, Anthony Kelly, Gavin O’Leary and Stuart Hickey.

These 16 players will be admired and revered for many years to come after such an astonishing achievement.

Perry finished by saying “The support we have received is brilliant and we silenced the doubters who said we couldn’t do it and I must thank the referees, Eddie Foley, Ken Hennessy, Seamus Landers, Paul and Kieran Griffin, David Coleman and Ed McNally.

There are so many people we want to thank who gave their time up for this event and we would really like to thank Ken Dempsey who gave us all the Exercise and Nutritional advice we need throughout”.

Youghal United will now go into the history books for an amazing 33 ½ hour record for a continuous 5 A Side soccer match. Congratulations, it will take some effort to beat this one.
Click on image to enlarge – More photos to follow in later post – All Photos: www.youghalonline.com