U14 Girls Connacht Trophy: Colemanstown 3 -6 Corrib Celtic. Colemanstown got off to a challenging start, conceding within the opening two minutes at home today against visitors Corrib Celtic in the Connacht Trophy. However, the girls responded brilliantly, drawing level at 1–1 thanks to a superbly placed strike from Sorcha Nic an Iomaire, who fired home from the edge of the box. Unfortunately, the equaliser was short-lived, as Corrib Celtic capitalised on a low cross to finish from close range and retake the lead. Just before halftime, Colemanstown conceded again—this time from the penalty spot. The buildup featured what appeared to be a debatable offside, but the referee waved play on, and Corrib Celtic converted to make it 4–1. Colemanstown nearly struck back on the stroke of halftime with a well-worked corner routine, only to see the effort come off the foot of the post and drift wide.
Colemanstown re-emerged for the second half with tremendous energy and determination. Niamh Lally sparked the comeback with a thunderbolt from 40 yards, pulling the score back to 4–2. With momentum building, the girls continued to press and were rewarded when Amy Morrissey unleashed a smashing strike to make it 4–3. Now in the ascendancy, Colemanstown pushed hard for the equaliser. Chances fell to Ava Forde and Sorcha Nic an Iomaire and an indirect free kick inside the box saw Sorcha link up with Niamh Lally who narrowly missed the target. With Colemanstown committing bodies forward in search of the equaliser, gaps opened at the back, and Corrib Celtic capitalised with two late goals to seal a 6–3 win. Despite the scoreline, this was a very spirited and impressive performance from all the Colemanstown girls. The game was far closer than the final result suggests, with the team showing heart, resilience, and moments of real quality throughout. Match Report: Garry O’Grady
U13 Boys: Championship 2. Colemanstown Utd A: 3-4 Maree Oranmore. Our U13A boys faced a strong Maree /Oranmore side in Colemanstown in very windy conditions in their latest league encounter yesterday. Playing against the wind in the first half the boys did extremely well to limit the visitors attacks. The first 15 mins saw both sides enjoy some good possession and good passages of play. The visitors had a few half chances but Kerrill Walsh in goals was equal to the attempts ably assisted by the defencive line of Jack Grealish, Conor Egan, Matt Feeney and Mark Shaughnessy. George Costelloe our starting CDM was doing well breaking up the play and starting attacking moves to link up with our wingers Sé Laffey and Evan Molloy. James Kilkenny was putting in his usual never give up performance with tackle after tackle in midfield and his link up with Oisin Flannery and Frank Dunne was asking questions of the Oranmore/ Maree defence. The deadlock was broken on 20 mins when the visitors capitalised on a defensive error and their striker finished superbly to the net. Our response was positive as the boys attacked from the kick off forcing a couple of corners in quick succession. Frank Dunne had an effort blocked and Oisin Flannery hit the rebound sharply but the ball went over the bar unfortunately. James Kilkenny had an effort off the post which was swept clear by the defence. We looked like heading in 1-0 down at the break which was impressive considering the conditions but play continued into the 37th minute incredibly and we were hit a suckerpunch with the last kick of the half to send us in 2-0 down.
The message relayed at half time was to keep playing the way they were playing. The goals would come. Chris Burke replaced Mark Shaughnessy at the break. Almost straight from the restart a great move starting with Jack Grealish found Evan Molloy on the right wing. Evan slipped a lovely through ball to the inrushing James Kilkenny who rounded the keeper expertly and finished to the net. Colemanstown piled on the pressure playing the majority of the 2nd half in the Maree half of the pitch. A combination of good goalkeeping and scrambled defence kept Colemanstown out. Aaron Burke replaced George Costello in midfield while Eoghan Burke replaced Conor Egan in defence. In a rare breakout a ball over the top was gathered by the Maree number 10 and he found the net to restore their 2 goal cushion. On the 49th minute a corner swung in by Sé Laffey was sent to the net by Evan Molloy to set up a nervy final 10 minutes. Shortly afterwards Frank Dunne thundered a shot off the post with the keeper beaten. Kerrill Walsh saved a 1 on 1 shot brilliantly to keep our hopes of getting something from the game alive. At 3-2 the lads pressed on looking for the equaliser with an opportunity falling to Oisin Flannery but the Oranmore/ Maree keeper did well to force Oisin wide and the ball rolled narrowly wide. The visitors then hit us on the counter attack with a through ball and their number 10 again raced through and hit an unstoppable shot to the top corner. The lads never gave up and on 58 minutes we had a free kick on the edge of the box. As Frank Dunne lined up the free the referee awarded us a penalty for rough play in the box by a defender. Evan Molloy hit the penalty superbly and our hopes of an equaliser were alive again. The resulting kick off was the last kick of the game as the referee blew up for full time although there appeared to be additional time left. Final score from Colemanstown: Colemanstown Utd A: 3 – Maree /Oranmore. Match Report: Adrian Burke
Squad: Kerrill Walsh, Jack Grealish, Mark Shaughnessy, Conor Egan, Matt Feeney, George Costello, Evan Molloy, Oisin Flannery, Frank Dunne, James Kilkenny, Sé Laffey, Aaron Burke, Eoghan Burke, Chris Burke.
U13 Boys Div. 2: Colemanstown Utd B 1 – 3 Maree/Oranmore C. Colemanstown Utd B entered their U13 Division 2 fixture against Maree/Oranmore C on a wet and very windy Saturday, hampered by a depleted squad. The starting XI, captained by goalkeeper Avey Mahon, featured a back four of Oisin Duane, Matthew Kelly, Eugene Kelly, and James Flaherty. The midfield engine room was occupied by Iarla Thompson, Cathal Burns, Patrick Collins, and George Moore, supporting the strike partnership of Jamie Lally and Andrew Davoren. We found ourselves down within a minute when Maree/Oranmore capitalised on a lapse in defensive clearance to take a quick lead. 0-1. The home side had a golden opportunity to equalise on seven minutes when Andrew Davoren couldn’t sort his feet out quickly enough following excellent midfield build-up. Maree/Oranmore swiftly punished this miss, scoring their second a minute later directly from a free-kick on the edge of the box, which was powerfully struck high into the net. 0-2. The strong wind behind the visitors proved a major factor, culminating in a third goal on 19 minutes—an unstoppable long-range shot after Colemanstown gave the ball away cheaply in midfield, making the score 0-3. After 19 minutes, Martin Fleming came on for Iarla Thomson, making his debut, but Colemanstown struggled to make an impact on the Maree/Oranmore keeper, heading into the break three goals down.
We regrouped at half-time and made several strategic changes. Oisín Kelly came on for Andrew Davoren, increasing the midfield to five players, with Jamie Lally moved out to the left wing and debutant Martin Fleming taking up a position as the lone striker upfront. With the wind now at our backs, the team showed significantly improved pressure. Thirteen minutes into the half, Patrick Collins had a great chance to pull one back, but the Maree/Oranmore keeper produced an outstanding save. The pressure intensified, driven by the hard work of Oisin Duane, Matthew Kelly, Cathal Burns, Oisin Kelly and Patrick Collins. Martin Fleming was working his socks off up front. The breakthrough finally came in the 19th minute of the second half. A corner resulted in a foul on a Colemanstown player in the box, and the referee awarded a penalty. Cathal Burns stepped up and confidently slotted the ball home, getting the home side on the scoreboard at 1-3 with just ten minutes left to play. We shifted to a 3-5-2 formation to chase the game. This nearly backfired when a Maree/Oranmore forward was put through on goal, but Eugene Kelly put in a crucial, last-ditch, man-and-ball tackle. The challenge resulted in a free-kick and Colemanstown’s first yellow card of the season for Eugene. With five minutes remaining, George Moore was replaced by Iarla Thompson as Colemanstown made their final push. Despite the brave effort and a vastly improved second-half performance, we just could not find the second goal needed to reignite the match. The final score stood at 1-3, with Colemanstown showing fight, character, and tactical flexibility in a challenging, high-intensity game. Match Report: Dermot Moore.
Squad: Avey Mahon, Oisin Duane, Matthew Kelly, Eugene Kelly, James Flaherty, Iarla Thompson, Cathal Burns, Patrick Collins, George Moore, Jamie Lally, Andrew Davoren, Oisin Kelly Martin Fleming. Unavailable: Senan Prolux, Conor Finnerty, James Vignoles, Igor Ziolek, Niall Kane, Dara Ryan.
U15 Boys Div 2 Athenry ‘B’ 2-4 Colemanstown. Our U15 lads made the short trek to Athenry on a windswept afternoon yesterday and despite only having one sub started strongly. Aided with a strong breeze the lads went 3 up in the first 20 mins with the first coming from a cross field ball from David Barrett who found Dermot Parker who took on his marker and coolly finshed over the keeper. The second came after a free found Finian Walsh at the back post & he crossed to Dermot Parker who again just got in ahead of the defence to flick the ball into the net. Tim Ruane and Thomas Kennedy worked hard to keep the pressure on and after winning a free, up stepped David Barrett who struck home the 3rd from long range to leave the lads 3 up at halftime.
The second half found a renewed effort from the homeside who got right back into the game with 2 goals to leave the lads fighting to hold onto their reduced lead. Oisin Nugent, David Barrett, Daragh Blake worked tirelessly aided by Sean Forde in midfield to keep getting the ball to the forward line and in the last few minutes the ball fell to Owen Hillary who beat a couple of defenders and again coolly slot the ball beyond the keeper to wrap the game up. All the lads put in a mighty shift in tough playing conditions. Match Report: Alan Walsh.
Squad: Aidan Quinn, Daragh Blake, Oisin Nugent, David Barrett, Caelan Noone, Sean Forde, Owen Hillary, Finian Walsh, Mikey Nutley, Thomas Kennedy, Tim Ruane, Dermot Parker.