Cold, wet and windy conditions met the Colemanstown United F.C. Youth team yesterday as they arrived at the clubhouse for their final game of the season. In all fairness, it was a day you would be hard pushed to put the poor dog out but these lads braved the elements knowing they had the League Cup in the bag and so the weather failed to take the smiles off their faces. Bearna Na Furbacha travelled to Colemanstown with just 10 players to fulfil the fixture and must be credited for their efforts on the day. 5 mins in, a long ball from Geordan Kenny (who captained the side on the day in the absence of Jack Barrett who was unfortunate to miss out due to suspension served on the wrong player in the previous game) to Alan Naughton seen him through to round the keeper and finish coolly. The lads played pedal to the metal football as they got down to brass tacks from early on. On 8mins a quick free from centre back Rob Cosgrove put Naughton on the run again on the left where he beat Barna’s right back and squared the ball to Harry Greaney who unluckily shot wide. Shortly after a good interception from left back Jason Keane erased any danger in the Colemanstown area.
Colemanstown endured a couple of minutes of pressure from there but chances were kept to a minimum by the back four, led by Conal Docherty and Rob Cosgrove at centre back. On 15 minutes Colemanstown made it 2-0 after great work in midfield from Harry Greaney who played the ball through to green machine Shaun Keane whose first-time flick played Naughton through to drive to back of the net. Geordan Kenny then went on a weaving run from the kick-off skipping by four challenges only to see his shot blocked by Barna’s centre back who was conspicuous for the travelling team. With the wind swirling and clouds closing in the first half petered out with some scrappy play in the middle of the park. Half time 2-0
A couple of half-time changes and chat by manager Mark Kirby saw the lads come out for the second half with a bit more pep in their step. Their momentum was soon dampened quite literally by a strong hail/sleet shower where the referee appropriately stopped play to allow the weather to pass. The game took time to get going once again and mid-way through the second half some good pressure by the Colemanstown midfield saw them turn over the ball on the right wing. Oisin Flannery broke free with the ball, found himself in the box where he struck low from a narrow angle to beat the keeper. Barna responded well with a period of pressure and eventually got their reward breaking in from the right wing and putting the ball past keeper Daniel Glynn. The Colemanstown boys responded well once again with Oisin Flan put though by Alan Naughton on the right where he powered through to slot home his second of the day.
A handful of minutes later a long ball from Daniel Glynn in goals put Flan through on the right again where he took the ball once again in his stride to give the crowd deja vu with a near identical strike to his previous goal and so claim his hattrick. As Colemanstown cashed in on the pressure, with 5 minutes left a great dribbling run of play from Geordie Kenny on the left, played back to Shaun Keane on the edge of box for him to strike home to finish emphatic 6-1 winners.
It was a great performance from the lads in front of the home crowd. Ger Treacy, Secretary Galway FA presented the Cup and medals to the lads where she spoke kindly of Colemanstown United and praised the ongoing work and developments in the club. She reminded the lads that their next step now is to progress into adult football and carry their success from there. After the presentation captain Jack Barrett and assistant captain Geordan Kenny were asked for their speech. Jack shied away with Geordan stepping forward with a short and sweet thanks to the management team of Mark Kirby and Conor Jackson for their time effort and dedication over the season. He also thanked his team mates and credited them on being a pleasure to play with and thanked all the parents for their efforts in bringing them to matches and training. Great to see a bit of silverware back in the club after a few fruitless years. It was even sweeter to see some lads, in particular Daniel Glynn, Jason Keane, Shane Burke & Mika Harun amongst the winners as they earned their first medal since their first U12 training session under David Gilligan 6 years ago. Well done lads, keep it going.
Squad: Daniel Glynn, Shane Burke, Conal Docherty, Robert Cosgrove, Jason Keane, Mika Harun, Harry Greaney, Geordan Kenny, Alan Naughton, Shaun Keane, Oisin Flannery, Mike Mulligan. Photo shows joint captains Jack Barrett & Geordan Kenny together lifting the Cup under the watchful eyes of Geordan’s younger brother.
Match Report by David Gilligan
