Alan Finn to the rescue in Mervue

Some great moments in soccer matches come from late shows and that was epitomised yesterday when Alan Finn stole all 3 points in a last gasp winner with only minutes to go. There might not be a goal as important scored again by Finn as this one keeps Colemanstown ‘A’ in touch at the top of the table as it looks likely that the title race for Division 1 league honours will go right down to the wire. This 3-2 win over Mervue certainly keeps the pressure on leaders Salthill Devon. It took a while for the lads to acclimatise to the expanse and underfoot conditions of the state of the art astro turf facility in Mervue. Despite coming from behind twice in an action packed game that featured end to end stuff, Colemanstown came more to the fore especially in the 2nd half. Mervue opened the scoring on the half hour mark when they scored direct from a free kick as Ray Moran responded with a rasper of a shot from just outside the box which ricocheted off the crossbar. There were plenty of other simmering moments in the first half but they never really transferred into real chances. 1-0 at half time. In the 2nd half Colemanstown pressurised from the off as they carved more chances. The equaliser came from Jason Finn who was well positioned on the back post to meet a neat cross from Kegs and his left footed shot eluded the keeper. Colemanstown’s confidence was growing yards as they were first to every ball but their momentum was broken when Mervue were awarded a penalty which they dispatched with ease. 2-1 down with 10mins to go and a lot of work to do! They responded in heroic fashion as Ollie Crowe hit the post and Kerrill Hardy hit the side netting from close range. They were getting close, and the equaliser would come. All their meaningful possession would pay dividends! And so it did as Kegs squeezed in the equaliser from the extreme left with his left foot after a long pass down the left wing from Alan Finn. The decisive goal came with just minutes to go as Alan Finn swung in a corner and with plenty of movement and running in the box, the ball somehow crossed the line albeit some might argue that it reflected off the defenders. Alan Finn got the applauds and the credit afterwards as it was a goal that will be hard to beat in terms of importance. Colemanstown put in a good solid 90mins and showed great character to come back and claim all 3 points and should be buoyed up with this result heading into their next battle.