U15 Girls Div 1: Colemanstown 1 – 3 Kiltullagh Pioneers. Our U15 Girls kicked off their league campaign with a tough opening fixture against Kiltullagh Pioneers, fielding many of our U14s who showed great determination throughout. With no regular keeper available, Grace Connolly stepped in between the posts & performed superbly in difficult conditions of driving wind & rain.
Both sides started evenly, but midway through the 1st half Kiltullagh found the breakthrough to make it 1-0 & added a second 10mins later. Colemanstown carved out chances of their own with Evelyn McDonnell & Aoife Morris working tirelessly to create chances while Shauna McDonagh impressed in a new centre-back role alongside Laoise Naughton. The half time score stood at 2-0.
10mins after the restart, Kiltullagh extended their lead to 3-0. Colemanstown rallied & were rewarded with 10mins left when Laura Hayes was fouled in the box. Maddie Rohan coolly dispatched the penalty, rifling it into the top corner to give the girls a deserved goal. Despite continued pressure, the visitors held on to win 3-1. It was a decent team performance in tough conditions, with plenty of positives to build on for the season ahead. Match Report: Niall Rohan
Squad: Grace Connolly, Niamh Naughton, Laoise Naughton, Shauna McDonagh, Ruth Burke, Maddie Rohan, Muireann Roche, Emma Collins, Aoife Morris, Evelyn McDonnell, Lisa Curran, Aoife Walsh, Laura Hayes.
U13 Girls Championship: Moyne Villa 8–2 Colemanstown Utd. Barry Forde’s U13 charges travelled to Headford on Sunday morning to take on the mighty Moyne Villa in what proved to be a tough league opener. Colemanstown began brightly, stringing together some lovely passages of play. Ava Forde & Lucy Burke Hardiman both went close to opening the scoring as they showed real attacking intent. However, once Moyne Villa settled, they began to dominate proceedings. The hosts struck several times before the break, as Colemanstown’s only response came through a well taken effort from Ava Forde.
The 2nd half followed a similar pattern, as Moyne Villa added further goals to extend their lead. Colemanstown battled gamely to the end & were rewarded late on when Lauren O’Grady was fouled inside the box. She dusted herself off & calmly slotted home the resulting penalty to secure a deserved consolation. Despite the 8–2 scoreline, there were plenty of positives for Colemanstown to build on in the coming weeks, with some excellent spells of play and two well taken goals to show for their efforts. Match Report: Martina Donnellan
U15 Boys Div. 2: Cregmore/Claregalway 2 – 1 Colemanstown. Our U15 Boys kicked off their new campaign with an away fixture against Cregmore/Claregalway on Saturday. Playing with a crossfield breeze in the first half, Colemanstown created several promising chances but were unable to make the breakthrough. Efforts from Sean Forde & Caelan Noone forced saves from the home keeper, while Owen Hillary also tested him with a well struck effort. From a series of corners delivered by Finian Walsh, the lads came close, but that final touch to open the scoring just didn’t fall their way. At the other end, the defensive quartet of Oisín Lally Nugent, Odhrán Madden, Darragh Finnerty & Daragh Blake stood strong to keep the home side at bay up to the break.
With the wind advantage in the 2nd half, Cregmore/Claregalway applied sustained pressure & managed to find two goals to put themselves in control. To their credit, Colemanstown never gave up and were rewarded late on. A ball over the top from Darragh Finnerty released Iarlaith Griffin, who showed great composure to slot home a well taken goal. Despite pushing hard for an equaliser, which their performance arguably deserved, the lads just couldn’t find the all elusive equalising goal.
It was nevertheless an encouraging start to the season, full of effort & commitment & something to build on ahead of another local derby against Athenry in a couple of weeks’ time. Match Report: Alan Walsh.
Squad: Aidan Quinn, Daragh Blake, Oisín Nugent, Darragh Finnerty, Odhrán Madden, Sean Forde, Finian Walsh, Owen Hillary, Thomas Kennedy, Mikey Nutley, Iarlaith Griffin, Tim Ruane, Caelan Noone, Conor Saunders.