Wikipedia - Cherry Orchard F.C.
Cherry Orchard Football Club is an Irish association football club based in the Cherry Orchard area of Ballyfermot, Dublin. Their senior team plays in the Leinster Senior League. They have also competed in the FAI Cup, the FAI Intermediate Cup, the FAI Junior Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup. The club also has reserve teams playing in the Leinster Senior League and enter teams in the Dublin & District Schoolboy League. The club's youth system has produced dozens of players who have gone onto play for clubs throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom. In addition, several have also gone on to represent the Republic of Ireland at various international levels.
History
Senior teams
When Cherry Orchard was formed in 1957 it initially only organised adult teams. They began playing in the Leinster Alliance League and then the Leinster Junior League before switching to the Athletic Union League in the mid-1960s. Cherry Orchard (also known as Orchard) first came to national prominence when they won the FAI Junior Cup in 1981–82. Between 1984 and 1985 and 1986–87 they also won the FAI Junior Cup three times in a row and then won it twice in a row in 1989–90 and 1990–91. During this time Orchard also won the Athletic Union League five times. Based on these successes, the club decided to join the Leinster Senior League for the 1992–93 season. In their first season in the Leinster Senior League, Orchard gained promotion to the Senior Division. In 1993–94, in their debut season in the Senior Division, Orchard won their first Leinster Senior League title. In the 2015–16 season, 'The Orchard' won the Leinster Senior League Senior 1 Sunday Division and the Charlie Cahill Cup double. They also finished runners-up in the Leinster Senior League Major Saturday Division.
Youth academy
Cherry Orchard first began to field schoolboy teams in 1970. In the decades since, Orchard have won an assortment of schoolboy and youth league and cup competitions at both provincial and national level. In 1993, Cherry Orchard also won the Milk Cup, beating Rangers F.C. 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the final played before a crowd of 10,000 at the Coleraine Showgrounds. All the previous winners of the Milk Cup had been academy teams of top clubs from England and Scotland. Cherry Orchard regularly supplies players to Republic of Ireland schoolboy and youth teams. In 1998 when the Republic of Ireland won both the UEFA European Under-16 Championship and the UEFA European Under-18 Championship both teams included former Orchard players. Andy Reid played in the Under-16 team, while Alan Quinn scored in the Under-18 final against Germany.
La storia del Cherry Orchard è caratterizzata da periodi sia di successi che di difficoltà. Negli anni '60 e '70, la squadra raggiunse i suoi massimi livelli, vincendo diversi titoli regionali e partecipando a varie competizioni nazionali.
Tuttavia, negli anni '80 e '90, il Cherry Orchard attraversò un periodo di crisi, retrocedendo nelle serie inferiori e lottando per mantenere la propria posizione nel campionato irlandese. Fu solo negli anni 2000 che la squadra iniziò a riprendere quota, ottenendo promozioni e raggiungendo nuovamente livelli significativi.
Uno dei momenti più importanti della storia del Cherry Orchard fu la vittoria dell'FAI Intermediate Cup nel 2004. Questo trionfo permise alla squadra di qualificarsi per la UEFA Europa League, dove affrontò il NSÍ Runavík delle Isole Faroe.
Tra i calciatori più importanti che hanno militato nel Cherry Orchard, si possono ricordare:
* Jason Byrne, ex attaccante della nazionale irlandese e del Blackburn Rovers
* Keith Fahey, ex centrocampista del Birmingham City e della nazionale irlandese
* Daryl Horgan, attuale centrocampista dell'Hibernian e della nazionale irlandese
* Sean Murray, ex attaccante del Bohemians e della nazionale irlandese
Il Cherry Orchard è una squadra ricca di storia e tradizione, che ha rappresentato l'Irlanda in diverse competizioni europee. Con una forte presenza locale e una passione incondizionata per il calcio, il Cherry Orchard continua ad essere una forza significativa nel panorama calcistico irlandese.