Colemanstown Ladies 0 – 3 Dunmore Wed 13th April ‘22
The weather was much nicer for the 2nd leg of Colemnastown vs Dunmore, played at home this evening. This was always going to be a tough battle as Dunmore had only conceded 2 goals in 7 games. The first half belonged to Dunmore as they were on the attack from the off while Colemanstown were a little disjointed. Dunmore’s excellence was rewarded when they scored after 15 mins when their No. 3 finished to the top corner with a smashing effort. Just before half time they scored their 2nd from a corner which took a deflection on route to goal.
The 2nd half was more evenly matched and it has to be said Colemanstown had an equal share of possession as both midfields enjoyed time in the ascendancy. Dunmore created an early chance but Katie Delaney just did enough to put off the striker as she was about to pull the trigger. Ashley Roberts was alert to a corner 5mins after the restart to save well and avert any danger. Ashling Hanley had a good effort after great work from Issa Harun down the line but Dunmore’s custodian went down well to make the stop. The midfield quartet came more into the game at this juncture with Serena Hansberry, Sarah Keane, Rachel O’Brien & Issa Harun giving it their all. Rachel O’Brien had a super chance when she found herself one-on-one with the keeper but Dunmore’s defender came out of nowhere to make a vital interception to concede a corner. Dunmore were wide with a free kick from 30yards while up the other end Aoife Donoghue was wide from a set piece & Issa Harun was off-target from play as most of the 2nd half action was in Dunmore’s half of the field. With 20mins to go a long kick out from Dunmore bounced nicely for Dunmore’s strikeforce and as play looked dangerous, again the backline of Claire Keane, Katie Delaney, Aoife Donoghue & Leanne Devlin were super in their reading of the play. With 2mins to play, Dunmore scored a 3rd, which starved the game of oxygen for the Colemanstown girls and the game petered out from there. 3-0 the final score which certainly didn’t do justice to the brave second half dominant Colemanstown performance although Dunmore were unlikely to relinquish that lead once they had it. Well done ladies on a great game.
Squad: Ashley Roberts, Claire Keane, Katie Delaney, Aoife Donoghue, Leanne Devlin, Serena Hansberry, Sarah Keane, Rachel O’Brien, Issa Harun, Sarah Kearney, Rebecca Clancy, Ashley Hanley, Yvonne Keary.
Colemanstown United U12 Boys 1 – 3 Loughrea Tues 12th April ‘22
This was a game that should have been played in Loughrea, but was moved to Colemanstown because of lack of pitch availability for the Lakesiders. This game was nothing like the previous encounter in February. No wind to influence the halves and only midgets on a still evening were the problem for the large crowd that came to watch the Tuesday evening game.
Loughrea travelled with a totally different team also and the pre-match prep was of little use when they play with a totally different style and approach from the previous encounter. Colemanstown were caught out in the first 5 minutes when Robbie Lydon’s defence was breached from the first attack where the new Loughrea goalkeeper called the shots from his set up in play. The ball was slotted past John Parker in goal and the next few minutes saw Adam Devaney and Cathal Maybin under severe defensive pressure with relentless play down both flanks. Eventually Darren Quirke got control of midfield and within minutes he was spraying the ball to his wingers as Riain Donohue and Dermot Parker were now dragging Loughrea wide. One of those efforts paid off as Dermot Parker bet his man and crossed a neat ball in to Thomas Screene to tap home. 1-1 after 10 minutes and now Colemanstown were in control in what was a fast paced half. Keelyn Kirby was getting half chances up front and with the introduction of David Barrett at right back, alot of the build-up play was beginning across our back 3. As the first half wore on at a frantic pace, it was beginning to become clear that Loughrea were comfortable soaking up each attack and it’s no surprise that they have the least conceded goals tally in the league.
The half time whistle blew and the boys walked off for water wrecked. The introduction of fresh legs in the second half with Adam Kenny, Caolan O’Neill, Finian Walsh and Scott Donoghue gave the game a new freshness and with 2 chances falling to Dermot Parker and another from Keelyn Kirby blasting over the bar, the boys were left wondering why they just weren’t going in. It was a case of throwing the kitchen sink at Loughrea as the boys really wanted to be in contention for the title race at the business end of the season, but it was that desire for all 3 points that ultimately overcame the boys. In the last 10 minutes the boys were out on their feet and with Loughreas’ first second half visit into our half they found it too easy to bypass our defence and slotted a clinical finish to the net. With heads dropped, Loughrea capitalised in the last play of the game to end the night being flattered by the scoreline.
April is a busy month with games for the boys after only 1 game in March, so not much time to dwell on this one before we prepare for the visit of St Bernards to Colemanstown. Final score from Colemanstown – Colemanstown 1 – 3 Loughrea. Match Report by Robbie Parker