All Saints were the deserved winners in this hot-headed Glasgow Schools Cup Final. A dominating performance in the midfield from Nathan Fell secured the trophy, with the tough-tackling captain scoring two and setting up another.

It started scrappily at a sun-soaked Loreto. Tackles and aerial challenges were flying in and it wasn’t long until one header resulted in a goal. All Saints skipper Fell bulleted a long throw into the box, and Merci Ngoy was on-hand at the front post to nod in the opening goal after only 14 minutes.

Holyrood almost hit straight back. Anton Neely’s free-kick caused the All Saints goalie trouble, and the ball bounced high around the six-yard line. Dan Martins rose a leg, and the referee gave a penalty for high feet. Neely stepped up again, and hit his penalty low to the left, but keeper McClellan was fully behind it and kept the Saints ahead.

One or two chances were exchanged with Merci Ngoy and Fell again testing the Holyrood keeper, but there was nothing Aaron McKissock could do to keep Fell’s next shot out. 

The referee played a good advantage in midfield, allowing Scotland Schoolboys’ star Fell to control the ball, knock it past his man and curve a shot into the bottom corner with the outside of his left foot. It was a sublime piece of skill, and it doubled All Saints lead on the half-hour mark. 

But, Holyrood were able to hit back just before half-time. Ikenna Anunobi broke through after a great ball from Shakhar Kamal and won a corner. Centre-half Danny McGeever lept through the air and powered a bullet header into the net. 2-1 going into the break.

A few late challenges started to appear after some tasty first-half incidents, and the referee started to dish out the cards, with Merci Ngoy, Kieran Redmond, Johnny Lyon, and Euan Rodger all going into the book in the second half.

All Saints managed to get another goal on the hour mark, and it was that man Fell again. Elie Ngoy kept the ball in well on the left-hand side and found Lyon, who held off two defenders to find Merci Ngoy. The big striker showed good composure to find Fell unmarked at the back post, and the captain cooly slotted in his second, and All Saints' third.

Holyrood’s final chance to get back into the game was ended by some valiant defending from Paul Fee. After initial good play from Holyrood substitute Danny Mefford to get into the box, Neely hit his shot straight at the keeper. The ball was cleared, but goalscorer McGeever hit a wonderful pass to the back post to find Tyler McGee. He looked certain to score, but Fee threw himself in front of the shot.

Ultimately, it was a deserved win for All Saints, who thumped Cleveden 7-2 in the semi-finals and got through a tough 4-3 win against Lourdes in the quarters. The attacking trio of Redmond, Lyon, and Merci Ngoy were a danger throughout, but it was a midfield masterclass from Fell who dominated from start to finish.