Remember the name Roland Banya.
Earlier in the week we brought you the news that FC Barcelona, Deportivo de La Coruña, Celtic, Lyon and West Brom were sending teams to Dublin for a tournament with St. Kevin's Boys, one of Irish football's leading talent conveyor belts.
The under-13s competition has been taking place over the past two days, and the Saints have only gone and done the unthinkable.
Coming off the back of a 1-1 draw with Celtic in their opening fixture yesterday, the Santry side today took on a Barcelona outfit from the Catalans' famous La Masia academy system. A Roland Banya goal was enough to separate the two sides, with Kevin's pulling off a famous victory over the Spanish giants.
We were there when @FcKevins beat Barcelona!! Boys really enjoyed the game. Quality was outstanding. pic.twitter.com/ukBb7BhDWu
— keith peppard (@Kpep84) March 26, 2016
Rather beautifully, the game was halted in the 14th minute in honour of Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff.
🎥 El Infantil B y el St. Kevins, en Dublín, se ha detenido en el minuto 14 en homenaje a Johan Cruyff.#FCBMasia pic.twitter.com/r7O1kjrJ8x
— FC Barcelona - Masia (@FCBmasia) March 26, 2016
The Saints subsequently advanced to the semi-final where Roland Banya struck again against Deportivo, with the club that has produced the likes of Robbie Brady and Jack Byrne emerging as 2-1 winners over another Spanish opponent. Ruairi Kinsella notched the Dubs' second goal before Deportivo pulled one back to produce a nervy finish.
The Shanowen Road giant-killers will take to the field against Barcelona for the second time, in their second ever Academy Cup final. Kick-off is at 1:30pm.
We're going to bloody win the Euros, lads, aren't we?
For coverage of the final, follow the club on Twitter, and Herald Striker, who are providing extensive coverage of the tournament.
