Ladies crowned Div1 winnners in their first year

Colemanstown ladies were certainly on the crest of a wave on Saturday after clocking an unbeaten league run in the build up to their final league outing in sun drenched Colemanstown against near neighbours St. Bernards in a real local derby. This Colemanstown ladies team have been admired for their fighting qualities all season as they played this game with a great team spirit and put Bernards under pressure on the ball. They had a steady custodian in Sinead Cosgrove, better known as ‘Cossy’ and she certainly maintained her reputation on Saturday when she competently dealt with everything which came her way. Paula Kelly and Alisha Flannery kept a tight ship at the back while Orla McCaffery and Niamh Ryan were rock solid in the corners. Catherine Burke has excelled all season no matter where she plays while her thwarting and dinking runs were a joy to watch as she tormented the Bernard’s defence on every given opportunity. Shauna Ward showed a great degree of skill and craft while wingers Trisha Burke and Trish Kelly were scourges of the Bernard’s defence with their lightening pace and great runs down the wings. Up front, Lorraine Lally had some great chances although the Bernard’s keeper was equal to the task while Natasha Finn held the ball up well and laid off some top class passes. Eavan McDonagh & Ciara McMenamy helped maintain a steady ship on their introduction. Linda Mannion’s fine header, soon after her introduction was spectacular in itself and even had her husband left scratching his head, just a pity she headed it the wrong way! Denise Costello continued the thwarting runs on the left flank while Tess Mullins was a revelation as she has been all season and taught a hatful to her big cousin Clare Mullins who also had a few good runs at the defence late in the game. All in all, it was a solid performance even though the winning margin was not quite as wide as the away meeting of these two sides as epitomised by Captain Paula Kelly in her colloquial acceptance speech. Colemanstown were made fight for their victory this time, albeit their win was carved out on 15mins when Catherine Burke rose highest to a splendid ‘half’ bicycle overhead cross from Trisha Burke. Trish Kelly also had some first half chances but the keeper pulled off some great saves. In the 2nd half, Tess Mullins added to her seasons goal tally when she sealed the win with a good finish following trojan work in the build up from Denise Costello and Catherine Burke. It’s been a splendid season for this group of girls managed and trained by Kara Mullins, a legend herself, who had these girls in tip top shape which helped them carve out such fantastic displays all season. The revival of the ladies team was a pearl of wisdom of Kara herself, following a 15 year absence of a ladies team in the club. They now have a solid foundation for playing Premier League status next season . Mike Daly, Galway FA presented the cup to captain Paula Kelly who made a fine speech, thanking her colleagues, the many vocal supporters who turned out for every game, the groundsman who had the pitch and its facilities in splendid shape and thanked the opposition for the fine sporting game. The girls partied til the early hours with great celebrations and boy did they deserve to! All is not over yet as the Knock out cup competition has yet to commence and who knows? The cabinet is not full yet!