Colemanstown U12’s were plucky underdogs today and defied the odds with a good run in the opening round of the Connacht Cup in Barna/ Furbo this afternoon. Colemanstown had every right to be the major underdogs in this game as a Division 2 team who took on a premier juggernaut side but the gulf in class was not quite that evident. In fact Colemanstown had the hosts on the back foot for almost all the first half as a David Walsh goal on the 12th minute along with some fine goalkeeping from Fionn Flattery saw the boys in green go in at the break 1-0 up. Within 6mins Colemanstown had 4 good chances which were either squandered, offside or saved. The goal was executed perfectly as David Walsh ran on to an inch perfect pass from midfield from Jonah Donnellan and as David found himself one-on-one with the keeper, he made no mistake. The rest of the half petered out as half chances fell to both teams but neither side were unable to penetrate two solid defence lines as Colemanstown’s rearguard of Diarmuid Ryan, Ross Lally, Cathal Kennedy & Niamh Kennedy were well on top.
Within 2 mins of the restart, the hosts equalised matters as our defence was breached and although Fionn Flattery made a great stop, the rebound was bulleted to the back of the net. Fionn Flattery made 2 exceptional saves, one with his feet and the other a great diving save to turn the ball around the post. Barna/ Furbo scored their 2nd 9mins into the 2nd half to put them in the driving seat for the rest of the game and kick started a bit of an onslaught at the Colemanstown goal but Fionn Flattery was exceptional between the posts. Midway through the 2nd half David Walsh did well to win a corner which he swung in himself and as the ball bobbled around in the box Diarmuid Ryan got his boot to it but it ricocheted off the crossbar and was eventually cleared from danger. Fionn Flattery made an exceptional triple save to keep Colemanstown in the game as the boys in green were searching hard for the equaliser. Then hearts were broken with 6 mins remaining as Barna/Furbo scored their 3rd from a set-piece; a corner swiftly taken and one of their strikers got a head to it to ensure no way back for Colemanstown’s young warriors. Right at the death Fionn Flattery was forced into another double save while Diarmuid Ryan whipped the ball off the goal line to ensure the result stayed at 3-1 for Jayo Finn’s U12 side.
In the end, an upset it was not to be as Cian Burke, Jonah Donnellan, Dylan Murphy, Ella Carroll who for the 2nd consecutive game took a deflection of the ball on the face, Cathal Hynes & Sean Connolly tried hard in midfield while up front David Walsh and Daniel Melia did well. Final score: Colemanstown 1; Barna/ Furbo 3