U13 boys SFAI Trophy; Ballymahon 1-5 Colemanstown Utd FC A. Our U13A squad were on the road this weekend in SFAI Trophy action. A change in formation for this one in an effort to cut down on goals conceded worked well as our back 5 of Aaron Burke, Ethan Monaghan, Chris Burke, George Costello and Matt Feeney were dominant in the first half limiting our hosts to a few half chances which Phelim Flynn dealt with comfortably between the posts. Playing with an ever so slight fall in the pitch for the first half Frank Dunne was rampant in the middle of the park covering every blade of grass. The no nonsense defence turned back attack after attack which allowed our midfield to grow into the game. Evan Molloy and Jack Grealish were superb on the wings while Mark Shaughnessy was supplying lovely through balls to Sé Laffey up top who worked tirelessly to get on the ball. Sé was rewarded inside 10 mins as he squeezed between the centre back and defender to get on a through ball and finish to the net. This strong start drove the lads on and created a few more chances but couldn’t find the net. On 20 mins another through ball was picked up by Frank Dunne who rounded the keeper and finished to the net to put us 2-0 up at the break.
Kerrill Walsh replaced Phelim Flynn in goals at half time and the half time message was simple “keep doing what yer doing” Ballymahon took the game to us after half time and had us pinned back for a ten minute spell with a few corners conceded which the lads dealt with. Eventually the home pressure paid off as a corner wasn’t dealt with and ended up in our net as an own goal. Eoghan O Neill replaced Mark Shaugnnessy in midfiled and Eoghan Burke replaced Ethan Monaghan at this point. The lads gathered themselves and seemed to drive on from there. A well worked kick out from Kerrill Walsh to Evan Molloy on the wing gave Evan enough time to turn and send Sé Laffey trundling towards goal. The defender took him out inside the box and Sé dispatched the resulting penalty himself.
Moments after, Sé Laffey completed his hattrick as he picked up a sliced clearance and blasted the ball to the roof of the net. This 4th goal took the pressure off the lads as they began to enjoy the possession and pushed on for a few more goals. Jack Grealish got on the end of a cross but his header thundered wide, but with less than a minute to go he got his goal as he pounced on a defensive mistake to finish from close range. This was the first win of the season for the lads and a quick turnaround to league action on Tuesday night away to Salthill Devon. Final score: Ballymahon 1-5 Colemanstown Utd A. Match Report: Adrian Burke
Squad: Phelim Flynn, Aaron Burke, Chris Burke, Matt Feeney, George Costello, Ethan Monaghan Jack Grealish, Frank Dunne, Evan Molloy, Mark Shaughnessy, Sé Laffey, Kerril Walsh, Eoghan O’Neill, Eoghan Burke.
Boys U13B SFAI trophy: Colemanstown 0- 5 Stonepark (Longford). We welcomed Stonepark from Longford to Colemanstown for a midday kick-off in perfect conditions in the SFAI Trophy on Saturday. Our regular goalkeeper, Avey Mahon, was unavailable, so James Flaherty stepped in between the posts. The back four consisted of Iarla Thompson, Conor Finnerty, Oisín Kelly, and Oisín Duane. George Moore captained the side and played in midfield alongside Cathal Burns, Patrick Collins and Senan Prolux.
Jamie Lally and James Vignoles started up front. We began the game brightly, but Stonepark quickly grew in confidence. They were strong both on and off the ball and began to put us under pressure. After 9 minutes, they hit the post and reacted quickest to the rebound to take the lead. Our heads dropped slightly, but we responded by winning two free kicks in promising positions, the second of which came close to hitting the target. In the 13th minute, Stonepark won a corner. James Flaherty did well to punch it wide, but the resulting corner was struck with power and curl, sailing directly into the net at the back post. Our heads dropped further, and we became weak in the tackle, lacking the effort to track back, which allowed Stonepark to take full control of the game. Igor Zidek replaced Iarla Thompson after 27 minutes. We went into halftime dejected and trailing 5–0.
Interval changes were made in hopes of turning the game around: James Flaherty moved to left back, Andrew Davoren came on for Jamie Lally and took over in goal, and Eugene Kelly replaced James Vignoles.
Conor Finnerty and Oisín Kelly moved into midfield, while Oisín Duane and Cathal Burns pushed further forward. Unfortunately, the tactical changes made little impact. Stonepark resumed their dominance, controlling the pitch and denying us any chance to get back into the game. Cathal Burns had another good opportunity from a free kick outside the box, but again couldn’t find the target—on another day, these chances might have tested the keeper. Niall Kane came on for George Moore 14 minutes into the second half as fatigue began to set in. We rotated some earlier subs, but continued to concede sloppy goals. The final whistle couldn’t come soon enough, with Stonepark never allowing us time on the ball. It was a very disappointing result as we bow out of the SFAI Trophy. There’s plenty to work on in training as we prepare for our next league fixture. Best of luck to Stonepark in the next round. Match Report: Dermot Moore.
U13 Girls Champ. Colemanstown 2-7 Cregmore. We welcomed Cregmore to Colemanstown today for our third league match of the season. The visitors started brightly & scored two quick goals within the opening ten mins to put us on the back foot early on. However, Colemanstown soon began to settle into the game. Our back four of Jade Devaney, Aislinn Murray, Faye Ryan & Helia Costello were rock solid, with Aislinn in particular standing out as she cleared ball after ball & stayed strong right to the final whistle. In midfield Lucy Burke Hardiman, Holly Mellody & Ruby Lally battled tirelessly to regain control. Holly sent in some lovely deliveries, one of which almost led to a goal when Grace Flynn narrowly missed the target. Up front, Lauren O’Grady & Ava Forde linked up superbly. Lauren’s powerful strike rattled the crossbar & landed agonisingly short of the goal line, but Ava Forde was alert to the rebound & slotted it home. Cregmore responded with another goal soon after, but that only spurred our girls on. Ava Forde struck again before the break with a whopper of a goal; a superb effort from just outside the box that flew into the top corner, sparking great celebrations from the Colemanstown supporters. Chloe Burke was introduced in defence & impressed immediately with her speed & composure.
At half time, the score stood at 2–4 in Cregmore’s favour. In the 2nd half, Ciara Somers, Saoirse White & Realtin Saunders came on & made an instant impact as they got stuck in & showed great determination. Emily Tuohy put in a fine display in goal, making some excellent saves to keep the scoreline down. Despite a strong effort across the pitch, Cregmore’s experience showed as they added a few more goals to finish 2–7 winners. Match Report: Ann Forde