Colemanstown U16 Boys 3 – 1 Knock / Kiltimagh Connacht Cup.
An enterprising Colemanstown U16 boys squad started well to produce a good opening quarter against Mayo visitors Knock- Kiltimagh in Round 1 of the Connacht Cup. Roggie & Darren Moran drew the best from the visiting keeper in that first quarter. It was the visitors who opened the scoring 10mins before the break when they worked the ball from the half way line in a well worked move, carved through an opening and their striker found himself one-on-one with the keeper Sean Cooke to finish well. Colemanstown responded well though and with Eibhear Colleran a constant threat up front, he coiled behind a quick breaking attack and got upended in the process. He calmly stepped up himself to take the resultant penalty which sent the visiting custodian the wrong way. 1-1 at half time as the lads were indebted to Nathan Mannion, Conor Walsh, Tommie Muldoon & Tyler Collins who put in some super defensive tackles along with great ball carrying as Colemanstown shared pretty much equal possession for most of the opening half.
The second half recommenced & Colemanstown somehow found other gears. As the boys pressed in search of more goals, Conor Walsh saw his free kick deflect out for a corner. The resultant corner was whipped in by Matthew Keane and EIbhear Colleran rose highest in a crowded box to nod home. Colemanstown continued in much the same vein of form with Matthew Keane, Thomas Rogerson, Josh Buckley, Cathal Keane & Darren Moran very comfortable as they converted most of the possession into attack and with the defense in top form, they limited the visitors chances to efforts from distance.
10mins into the 2nd half, running on came super sub Josh McDonnell with mischievous intent. The industrious Eibhear Colleran let fly towards goal, only to see his effort parried away by the keeper but McDonnell was perfectly positioned to tap the rebound home from close range. Colemanstown changed their tactics & played a defensive game to protect the 2 goal lead with Ronan Screene instrumental in play as he played a through ball to Roggie which he latched onto perfectly but the effort was eventually scrambled clear of the goalmouth. Dylan King was introduced for Eibhear who had run himself to the ground & he was in full flight as he pressed the visitors defence. Colemanstown saw out the win to earn the right to Round 2 of the Connacht Cup.
Match report thanks to Josh Buckley
Special thanks to the parents for the home baked treats for the travelling team & to Jennifer McDonnell who gave a welcome spruce to the clubhouse kitchenette beforehand.
Squad: Sean Cooke, Nathan Mannion, Conor Walsh, Tyler Collins, Tommie Muldoon, Thomas Rogerson, Josh Buckley, Darren Moran, Matthew Keane, Cathal Keane, Eibhear Colleran, Joshua McDonnell, Ronan Screene, Dylan King, Sean Keating, Niall Grady.
Colemanstown U12 Boys 0 – 6 St Johns Rahara Connacht Cup
It was a tough outing in Round 1 of the Connacht Cup for our U12s away to St John’s, Rahara on Saturday afternoon. Playing against a stiff breeze made conditions tough and having to field without Kealan Murray made this game a tall order. Iarlaith Griffin was called on early on to make a few saves while the back 3: George Costello, Marc Scarry & Adam Mitchell up were up against it. The hosts broke the deadlock on 10mins & from there the floodgates opened as they quickly followed up from the penalty spot for what looked like a dubious decision.
St John’s had excellent players and to their credit they took their chances well limiting Colemanstown’s chances. St John’s continued to be ruthless in front of goal and had the victory in the bag by half time with Tim Ruane, Ritchie O’Connor, Thomas Kennedy & Oran Cosgrove getting little time on the ball & lone striker Oisin Flannery had to play deep to win the ball. The Colemanstown boys rallied in the second half, performing much stronger as the defenders defended stoutly and the midfield line combined well. James Kilkenny, Caelan Noone & Tommy Gooney added strength in the 2nd half while Conor Saunders & Daniel O’Dea defended stoutly.
It was a frustrating enough day for our U12 Boys who were punished for some errors but overall played quite well & never gave up.
Squad: Iarlaith Griffin, George Costello, Marc Scarry, Adam Mitchell, Tim Ruane, Ritchie O’Connor, Thomas Kennedy, Oran Cosgrove, Oisin Flannery, James Kilkenny, Daniel O’Dea, Caelan Noone, Tommy Gooney, Conor Saunders.