Ollie Crowe reports on Saturday’s trip to Carraroe where our ‘A’ team shared the spoils with McDara.
A point gained or two points lost was the question asked on the way home from Carraroe on Saturday last, December 14th. It was probably a bit of both! After all, McDara had the best chance of the game, after being awarded a penalty, early in the first half. It was always going to be a low scoring game on a difficult astro turf surface, so it looked bleak, conceding an early opportunity to the home side. However Alan Finn (Junior) thought differently. He spread himself very well to save from the spot kick. Gary Lally then miraculously appeared out of nowhere to bravely clear the rebound, hurting himself in the process.
In reality, that was as close as Mac Dara came, apart from a couple of long range efforts. Colemanstown were the side who threatened most consistently, throughout the game.
The Colemanstown lads offered huge amounts going forward. The attacking intent was evident early on with Colemanstown confident in possession, stitching together neat moves. The lads were eager and while they didn’t get the goal they craved, it wasn’t for the lack of trying.
Early in the first half, Geordan Kenny was put through by Tom Flannery, but his long distance shot was off target. Gary Lally tried a long range shot, after a silky dribble from midfield. Richie Lally also tried his luck from long range on 20 minutes. Tom Flannery’s 30th minute free kick wouldn’t dip on time. Our best chance, in the first half came from a great passing move that ended up in a Damien Wynn header narrowly going wide.
The second half showed a similar pattern. Both defences held firm. Chances were confined to long range efforts. Colemanstown’s best chance fell to Tom Flan, who bought a good save from the keeper, after some typical skills on the edge of the box. A late Alan Finn cross was met by substitute Conor Callaghan, who also made the McDara keeper work.
All in all, there were no major regrets in not being able to secure the three points. A point away from home on a difficult surface is nothing to be disappointed about.
As usual the lads showed great honesty. The back four of Padraig Quirke, Jason Finn, Conal Docherty and Alan Finn were faultless. The central midfield duo of Gary Lally and Richie Lally ran themselves into the ground, as did Shane Lally and Damian Wynn on the wings. Up front Geordan Kenny and Tom Flan kept the defence busy as well as helping out in midfield when needed.
Substitutes David Mullins, Conor Callaghan, Dylan Grady added quality when called upon. The squad is building nicely. The fixture list looks fairly heavy after the Christmas period but a good run with a few early wins in 2020 could see these lads back challenging for an interesting finish to the season.