Barcelona , Chelsea , Porto , Manchester United, County Down – the top 5 positions in the Premier Section of the Milk Cup of 2005.

County Down finished the best of the Irish Teams and was presented with their award at finals night in the Coleraine Showgrounds.

The Down boys played a goalless draw in their first game against a strong Sheffield United side. Down’s defence with captain Tennant McVea and Jay Magee were strong and were ably supported by Craig Patterson and Ryan Berry in midfield. Goalkeeper Stephen Carroll pushed over a strong shot near the end which was balanced with an equally fine save from the Sheffield keeper right on the full time whistle.

Day two brought on Otago from New Zealand . A feature of this game was the haka performed at the beginning of the game by the Kiwis.

The game was played at a fast pace with Jay Magee opening the scoring with a training ground move which pleased the Manager Damian McCorry and Coach Gary Hazley after 15 minutes followed by an excellent goal by Colin Manley after 21 and fellow forward Ryan Tumelty after 25 minutes.

Captain Tennant McVea finished off a cross to the top corner 18 minutes into the second half with Ryan Tumelty completing his double and County Down ’s 5 th ten minutes from time. This big win gave the Down boys a place in the last eight of the Milk Cup where they met Porto from Portugal at the Ballymoney Showground’s.

The Down boys conceded two quick goals in the first 8 minutes during a thunderstorm and although they steadied the ship the Porto Team had too much class and played with the diamond formation also imported to Chelsea which Down found hard to cope with. A punt down field from the Porto keeper wasn’t dealt with and Down conceded a slack third. Three minutes from the end the best Down move of the match ended with Craig Patterson volleying to the net to give the large Down support something to cheer.

This then left the Down Team playing for 5 th – 8 th places. Cruz Azul from Mexico was the opposition on Thursday at the University with Down getting off to a quick start when leading scorer Ryan Tumelty finished off a great move after 2 minutes. The Mexican’s played some really good football after this setback and got back into the game with a burst through the middle which Aaron Hogg was unlucky not to save. The Team got some very strong words at half time from Manager Damian McCorry and came out at half time transformed. Colin Manley scored after 65 minutes to secure a great win for the Down Team who played some great football in the second half with Timmy Hanna and BJ McMenamin starring in the middle of the park.

Last game on the Friday was against Scottish Premiership opposition Livingstone. Like the previous game the Down Team got off to a quick start with a goal from Jay Magee after 3 minutes. Some great football from Eamon Murray and Paul Walsh followed although Livingstone equalised from a corner after 20 minutes. Colin Manley had a great chance to score the winner after both teams had goals disallowed for offside but the game finished level and was decided by penalties. The Down boys scored their first 4 spot kicks with Stephen Carroll saving the first and the third, 5 th place in the 2005 Milk Cup was County Down ’s.

This is the second best finish by a County Team in the Premier section of the Milk Cup only surpassed by the 3 rd place finish in 1999 also by the County Down team.