Right to Dream made a triumphant return to the Budget Energy SuperCupNI as they swept County Antrim aside in an incident-packed Boys’ Premier Cup Final on Friday evening.
The highly regarded Ghanaian academy had been absent from the tournament since 2019 but returned in style this year.
Their free-flowing football saw them hit last year’s winners Southampton for eight in the semi-finals, with Ibrahim Sidibe bagging two hat-tricks along the way.
Co Antrim had earned their place in yet another Cup Final, defeating Rangers and Manchester United along the way, but they were left disappointed in the Premier section once again.
Emilian Gunleifsson put Right to Dream in front in the first half before late goals from Novak Aletic and Yaya Sidibe sealed a 3-0 victory. Calum Meighan and Jamison Rainey were both sent off in stoppage time as tempers boiled over.
It was a cagey start by both teams, but the county side did have a couple of early sights of goal through Padai O’Kane and Oscar Spence, although neither troubled the Right to Dream goal.
At the other end, Cohen Ennis was in the right place at the right time to block Mohamed Gouda’s goal-bound header.
Co Antrim should have broken the deadlock in the 11th minute when Damian Sitnicki got on the end of Spence’s dangerous corner, but the defender’s back-post header came off the upright.
Right to Dream responded two minutes later, with Yaya Sidibe drawing a good save from Phoenix Blayney, who was making his fifth SuperCupNI appearance.
Sidibe then miscued in front of goal after Gouda had played him in.
The pressure finally told in the 26th minute as Right to Dream took advantage of some indecision in the Antrim defence. The ball fell to Gunleifsson on the edge of the box, and his shot found the net despite Blayney getting a hand to it.
Arda Durmaz then curled an effort inches wide of the far post as the Ghanaian side went in search of a second before the break.
Just before the whistle, Eoin Harden produced a great piece of skill on the edge of the box to flick the ball over Gouda’s head before volleying over while stretching.
Right to Dream continued to ask the questions after the break, with Omar Abdelbaky calling Blayney into action again with a low shot on 41 minutes.
Half-time substitute Jamison Rainey went close to drawing the sides level on 52 minutes as his low drive forced Ahmed Hamada into a good stop after Spence had won the ball back on the edge of the box.
At the other end, Blayney blocked well with his feet as Sidibe got in behind the Antrim defence once again.
With three minutes to go, Right to Dream grabbed a second as the impressive Gunleifsson drilled a ball across the face of goal for Aletic to flick home.
A minute later, Aletic looked certain to make it 3-0 as Yaya Sidibe teed him up in front of goal, but Blayney produced a stunning save to deny him.
It proved only a temporary reprieve for the county side as Sidibe produced a superb individual effort to make it 3-0 in stoppage time.
An off-the-ball altercation after the goal saw Antrim’s Calum Meighan dismissed following a clash with Gunleifsson before Rainey also saw red deep into stoppage time after another coming together. It did little to dampen Right to Dream’s celebrations at the final whistle.
Goals from Harumi Mori and Shota Fukuda secured a third-place finish for newcomers Kamimura Gakuen as they defeated Southampton 2-1.
The Japanese side lit up the tournament on their debut and narrowly missed out on a place in the final after losing by a single goal to Co Antrim on Thursday night, but they rounded off an impressive week by claiming third place.
Seven-time SuperCupNI winners Manchester United picked up more silverware as they won the Globe trophy thanks to a penalty shoot-out victory over Tigres UANL in the final.
After a goalless first half, Arturo Lopez Abimeri and Ellis Mills were both on target to send the game to penalties, with United prevailing 5-4.
Co Down secured third place in the Globe thanks to a 5-2 victory over Sunderland in Bushmills.
Co Tyrone were victorious in the Vase Final, beating Rangers 5-4 on penalties after the match had finished 2-2 in normal time at Limavady Showgrounds.
Co Armagh secured third place in the Vase as they defeated Iconz Elite 2-1 at Seahaven.
Co Londonderry rounded off their campaign with a 3-2 victory over Intercontinental in the Bowl Final at The Ropewalk.
Derby County claimed third place in the Bowl with a 4-0 victory over Co Fermanagh at Parker Avenue.
Boys’ Premier Section Results (Friday 31st July 2026)
SuperCupNI Cup Final
Right to Dream 3-0 Co Antrim
SuperCupNI Cup 3rd/4th Place Play-off
Kamimura Gakuen 2-1 Southampton
Globe Final
Tigres UANL 1-1 Manchester United
(Manchester United won 5-4 on penalties)
Globe 3rd/4th Place Play-off
Co Down 5-2 Sunderland
Vase Final
Co Tyrone 2-2 Rangers
(Co Tyrone won 5-4 on penalties)
Vase 3rd/4th Place Play-off
Co Armagh 2-1 Iconz Elite
Bowl Final
Co Londonderry 3-2 Intercontinental FA
Bowl 3rd/4th Place Play-off
Derby County 4-0 Co Fermanagh
For more information on the Budget Energy SuperCupNI, visit www.supercupni.com
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For further information please contact:
AY.
Russell Lever
Mob: 07841676976
Email: russell@ay.studio
