U13 Boys Championship 2: Colemanstown Utd FC A: 6 – 1 East Galway United. Our U13A boys put the heartbreak of their exit from the FAI trophy 2 weeks ago behind them with a well deserved win over East Galway United on a chilly Tuesday night last under the lights in Colemanstown. Straight from the kick off it was obvious the lads had a point to prove. The heavy defeat in the last match in the back of their minds was soon to be a very distant memory as Frank Dunne found the net on 5 mins after a great passage of possession involving Jack Grealish, Evan Molloy, Oisin Flannery and James Kilkenny who sent Frank in on goal and he finished with a neat chip over the advancing keeper. Shortly afterwards the whole crowd in attendance thought the lead was doubled as Oisin Flannery looked to have poked the ball over the line. The only one to disagree was the referee, so no goal was given. Colemanstown kept control of the game and the back 4 of Jack Grealish, Conor Egan, Matt Feeney and Eoghan O’Neill kept a high line with Phelim Flynn in goals mopping up the long balls over the top. The dominance and pressure was rewarded when a looping cross from Sé Laffey was dropped by the keeper and Oisin Flannery was on hand to make sure the ball hit the net this time. 2-0 up and the boys were cruising. James Kilkenny added a third goal with a neat finish just before half time to make it 3-0 at the break with Colemanstown firmly in charge.
On 35 minutes Kerrill Walsh replaced Phelim Flynn and Aaron Burke replaced George Costelloe, who had done a mountain of work as our holding midfielder. Moments later Frank Dunne grabbed his second goal. Eoghan Burke replaced Frank, Mark Shaughnessy replaced Eoghan O’Neill and Chris Burke replaced Conor Egan on 40 mins. As the boys pushed forward looking for more goals our backs were left exposed to a counter attack. The initial shot was saved by Kerrill Walsh but the East Galway Utd striker was quickest to react and poked the ball home. Straight from the restart the boys worked the ball upfield and won a corner. Jack Grealish swung it in and after a bit of ping pong in the box Eoghan Burke opened his account for the season with a close range finish. James Kilkenny rounded off the night with a nice individual goal as he broke through the defence and coolly rounded the keeper to slot the ball home. A comfortable win in the end but the boys were made to work hard at times by the visitors. Final score Colemanstown Utd FC A: 6 – 1 East Galway United. Match Report: Adrian Burke.
Squad: Phelim Flynn, Jack Grealish, Eoghan O’Neill, Conor Egan, Matt Feeney, George Costello, Evan Molloy, Oisin Flannery, Frank Dunne, James Kilkenny, Sé Laffey, Kerril Walsh, Aaron Burke, Eoghan Burke, Chris Burke, Mark Shaughnessy.
U14 Boys Div 3: Colemanstown 8–3 Bearna na Forbacha. Colemanstown U14 Boys enjoyed a memorable afternoon on Saturday as they put in a superb team performance to overcome visitors Bearna na Forbacha in a goal filled encounter. The game burst into life immediately as the visitors struck in the opening minute to put Colemanstown under early pressure. However, the response was swift & impressive. Sean Forde levelled matters on 10mins with a beautifully struck free kick, only for Barna/Furbo to regain the lead shortly after from the penalty spot. Colemanstown remained composed though & on 20mins Conor Saunders delivered a fine assist for Kealan Murray, who made no mistake in restoring parity. Momentum swung firmly in Colemanstown’s favour when Sé Laffey was brought down in the box & Sean Forde converted his second set piece of the day to put Colemanstown 3–2 ahead. Just minutes later Sean Forde turned provider when he floated in a superb cross for the towering Kealan Murray to head home which sent Colemanstown into the break with a well earned 4–2 advantage.
Colemanstown exploded into action again right after the restart. Sean Forde completed his hat-trick with another clinical finish to extend the lead to 5–2. Although the visitors managed to pull one back, Colemanstown refused to be rattled. Playing up an age group, Sé Laffey capped off an excellent team move with a brilliant finish to restore the cushion at 6–3. The goals kept coming. Kealan Murray turned provider this time as he slipped the ball to Thomas Kennedy, who calmly slotted home for 7–3. Moments later Caelan Noone rounded the advancing keeper to make it 8–3 as Colemanstown now played with freedom & confidence. To round off a superb display, Trevor Harlowe tapped in from close range to seal an emphatic & thoroughly deserved Colemanstown victory. Credit to the defensive unit of Conor Saunders, Ritchie O’Connor, Oisín Flannery & Tim Ruane, who stood strong throughout despite the end-to-end nature of the game. Every player contributed with sharp passing, tireless work & excellent teamwork; all super qualities that ultimately secured a brilliant win for the squad. Match Report: Ann Forde
U12 Boys Championship 2: Corofin 1–1 Colemanstown. 13 lads travelled to Corofin early on Saturday morning for their latest league encounter. The opening exchanges were evenly matched as both sides tested each other & created meaningful chances. Colemanstown appeared to break the deadlock when Matthew Kelly finished off a superb move started by Patrick Collins but the ref ruled it out for offside. On 20mins Corofin were awarded a very dubious penalty which they converted to take a 1–0 lead into the break.
Half time brought a chance for the Colemanstown lads to regroup alongside a few positional changes. Avey Mahon took over in goal while James Vignoles was redeployed up front. From the restart, Colemanstown immediately went on the offensive, created numerous opportunities, only to be denied by a Corofin keeper in inspired form as he produced a series of outstanding saves. The equaliser eventually arrived through a slice of good fortune. A Cathal Burns free kick swung in from the right took a deflection off the 2 man Corofin wall & nestled in the bottom corner. It was no more than Colemanstown deserved. The goal sparked another wave of chances with Oisín Kelly going one-on-one with the keeper on multiple occasions but again the Corofin keeper was superb. Despite the pressure the game finished 1–1. The draw wax’s enough to keep Colemanstown unbeaten in the league heading into a well earned break until after Christmas. Match Report: Peter Kelly.
Squad: James Vignoles, Eugene Kelly, Conor Finnerty, James Flaherty, Matthew Kelly, Cathal Burns, Oisín Kelly, Nathan Cleary, Patrick Collins, Kayden Brett, Charlie Hutchings, Avey Mahon, Martin Fleming.
U18 Boys Connacht Shield: Bearna na Forbacha 4-0 Colemanstown. Our U18 Boys travelled to Bearna for Round 1 of the Connacht Shield with a squad missing several players due to illness and injury. The previous encounter between these two teams ended in a 10 goal thriller after extra time with Colemanstown winning on penalties. Colemanstown played against the wind in the first half and typically the rain started to fall as the teams began their warm up. The home team started strongly with the central defensive duo of Conor Walsh and Nathan Mannion quick to close down attacking threats along with Cathal Keane and Tyler Collins at left and right back. Bearna’s pressure intensified winning 2 corners in close succession successfully cleared by Conor Walsh who put in a fantastic defensive shift throughout the game along with Nathan Mannion. Brothers Paddy and Ryan Gavin were joined in midfield by Joshua Lualdi and Joshua McDonnell. Sean Cooke was in action from early, quick to get out and pick up loose ball and making a couple of excellent saves in the opening half. Colemanstown played a couple of long balls for Joshua Buckley to run on to up front but even against the wind they were sent too close to the home keeper. Dylan King linked nicely with Joshua McDonnell on the left side but the play was often cut out by the Bearna defence. Intense pressure from the Bearna attack resulted in a goal for the home team 20 minutes in. Colemanstown re-grouped with the pacey Gavin brothers in midfield laying off for Buckley who sent the ball through for Joshua Lualdi who made a great run but again the home defence held firm. Cathal Keane made a perfectly timed tackle to interrupt a good passage of play by the home team and took off down the left wing, finding Paddy Gavin in support but play into the final third was interrupted by the solid Bearna defence. Bearna were creating opportunities but the visitors defence of Conor Walsh, Nathan Mannion, Cathal Keane and Tyler Collins were resolute in putting in strong tackles and showing good positioning and awareness. Buckley was forced to retire 30 minutes in and was replaced by James Somers in midfied with Joshua Lualdi moving upfront to join Dylan King. Somers was involved almost immediately following some tireless work by Ryan Gavin to win the ball. However Bearna’s winger found himself in space shortly afterwards and made no mistake to slot the ball with a superb strike into the net. Noah McDonnell was subbed on shortly before half time making his presence felt with a strong tackle to retrieve the ball from the home team.
Colemanstown played with the wind at their backs in the second half creating more scoring chances, but the ever present threat from the Bearna midfield and strong attackers was felt and the Colemanstown defence was kept busy, with the visitors midfield tireless in both attack and defence. Following another Bearna goal, Conor Walsh was moved to a more attacking midfield role and sent a lovely ball through for Paddy Gavin whose shot was just wide of the post. Following some good link up play by Noah McDonnell through to his brother Joshua, Paddy Gavin again got a shot off to see it go just over the bar. Sean Cooke was switched out of goals to join the attack and Tommie Nutley was introduced between the posts. Nutley was called into action almost immediately with an excellent save to send the ball out over the sideline. The resultant corner was cleared by Nathan Mannion with a fine header, leading to a quick counter by Colemanstown but the Bearna keeper was determined. Sean Cooke almost got one back for the visitors taking a strong shot from outside the box on the right, beating the keeper, only to see the ball bang off the crossbar and out over the sideline. Niall Grady joined the Colemanstown attack and following some good attacking team play Ryan Gavin swung in an excellent corner into the heart of the box, Nathan Mannion jumped and headed it down into the path of Grady but the Bearna defence managed to clear it out of a congested box. The referee blew for full time shortly afterwards. Best of luck to Bearna in the next round. Focus for Colemanstown now shifts to League Cup Sunday week at home. Match Report: Orla McCaffrey.
Squad: Sean Cooke, Conor Walsh, Cathal Keane, Nathan Mannion, Tyler Collins, Ryan Gavin, Joshua Buckley, Joshua McDonnell, Dylan King, Niall Grady, Tommie Nutley, Patrick Gavin, James Somers, Joshua Lualdi, Noah McDonnell. Management: Orla McCaffrey assisted by Gerry Collins
U16 Girls Division 1: Colemanstown 2–7 Knocknacarra ‘B’. With just 12 girls available Colemanstown faced a tough test at home on Sunday against a sharp Knocknacarra ‘B’ side. The visitors started quickly & struck twice in the opening minutes before they added a 3rd with 10mins left in the first half. Colemanstown however, kept their heads up & were rewarded 5mins before the break. A perfectly weighted through ball from Shauna McDonagh sent Eimear Schwitalla in behind the defence & she finished calmly to make it 3–1 at half time. Remarkably, Eimear had just come straight from 4.5 hour voluntary shift in UR proving that she not only serves a great latte but can also serve up a top class finish when needed!
Colemanstown came out fired up after the restart. For the first 10mins of the 2nd half they pushed hard, driven on by the midfield pairing of Muireann Roche & Rachel Kennedy who was also fresh off her own 4.5 hour UR shift earlier that morning. Both were superb with strong support from the defensive duo of Shauna McDonagh & Ruth Burke, who read the game excellently & kept Colemanstown firmly in the contest. 20mins into the half the pressure paid off. Niamh Naughton who tried out the striker’s role for the day, got the final touch in a crowded box to poke the ball home & bring the game back to 3–2. Suddenly momentum was with Colemanstown. But just as hope was rising, Knocknacarra struck back immediately & ruthlessly & scored four quickfire goals to take the game out of reach for Colemanstown & see it out comfortably. The final 7–2 score however, does not reflect the heart, effort & passages of excellent play shown by this determined Colemanstown bunch, who battled right to the final whistle despite limited numbers. Match Report: Niall Rohan
Squad: Ruby Lynch, Grace Jordan, Shauna McDonagh, Ruth Burke, Aoife Walsh, Maddie Rohan, Muireann Roche, Rachel Kennedy, Ella Ryan, Niamh Naughton, Eimear Schwitalla, Kara Higgins.