Boys U13 Div 2: Colemanstown United 3–3 Salthill Devon. Last week, Colemanstown United played host to Salthill for a spirited midweek encounter under the lovely long Tuesday evening natural light. In what turned out to be a thrilling 3–3 draw, both teams showcased great passages of play, tactical battles & end-to-end action. The visitors got off to a quick start, opening the scoring in the 6th minute to take an early 1–0 lead. Colemanstown responded well, stringing together some slick passing moves despite Salthill’s pressure & pace on the counterattack. Their efforts paid off on 14mins when George Costello played through Keelan Murray, who slotted home to level the game at 1–1. However, Salthill regained the lead just 3mins later, capitalising on a spell of dominance to make it 2–1. As the first half neared an end, Colemanstown were dealt a blow deep into injury time when they conceded a penalty. Salthill converted to go 3–1 up at the break. Managerial adjustments at halftime injected new life into the home side. Oisín Flannery replaced Tim Ruane, Mark Shaughnessy came on for Oran Cosgrove & Se Laffey took the place of Thomas Kennedy. Colemanstown came out firing in the 2nd half & pulled one back shortly after the restart. A clever assist from Sean Forde set up Keelan Murray, who bagged his second of the evening to make it 3–2. Tim Ruane, Thomas Kennedy & Oran Cosgrove were later reintroduced as the home side pushed for an equaliser. Their persistence paid off on 53mins when Sean Forde, already influential in the game found the net to draw Colemanstown level at 3–3, sparking celebrations from the home crowd. Despite some late pressure from both sides, neither could find a winner & the match ended all square in an entertaining six-goal thriller. Match Report: Brian Saunders.
Squad: Iarlaith Griffin, Conor Saunders, George Costello, Ritchie O’Connor, Caelan Noone, Thomas Kennedy, Sean Forde, Keelan Murray, Oran Cosgrove, Tim Ruane, Daniel O’Dea, Oisín Flannery, Se Laffey, Mark Shaughnessy.
Junior Championship: Colemanstown A 5–2 McDara. Colemanstown A Team made the long journey west to Carraroe at the weekend & came away with all 3 points after a dominant 5-2 win over McDara in their latest league outing. Colemanstown started with real intent & found themselves 3-0 up within just 25mins. The opener was the result of a well-worked move down the right involving Aironas Kantauskas, Padraig Quirke & Alan Finn. Their intricate play set up Richie Lally, who timed his run to perfection & calmly finished ahead of the advancing keeper. The 2nd goal was a classy move that began with a pinpoint ball from Sean Hardiman at the back landing at Kevin Barrett’s feet. A slick one-two between Barrett & Richie Lally ended with Kevin Barrett slotting home neatly. The 3rd goal came soon after. Jamsie Collevy delivered a dangerous ball into the box & although Kevin Barrett’s initial shot ricocheted in the crowd, Harry Mitchell was alert to the rebound & tucked it away from close range. McDara pulled one back before halftime from a corner that took a deflection at the near post, which wrong footed Fionn Flattery in goal to make it 3-1 at the break. Colemanstown resumed the 2nd half strongly. Mossy Carr was introduced for the ever-reliable Padraig Quirke & it didn’t take long for Colemanstown to restore their three goal cushion. Richie Lally showed great awareness to intercept a loose McDara pass before he drove forward & finished confidently to make it 4-1. At this stage, Jack Dillon, Kyle Madden & Shane Quirke brought fresh legs to the field. The 5th goal capped off a fine team performance; Aironas Kantauskas again provided quality service from the right, this time he found Jamsie Collevy at the back post who made no mistake.McDara grabbed a late consolation with an excellent strike from an equally impressive delivery, but it wasn’t enough to dampen Colemanstown’s dominant display. With the win, Colemanstown keep their slim hopes of staying in the Championship alive. While survival now hinges on results elsewhere, this performance will provide a much needed morale boost. Well done lads. Match Report: Martina Donnellan
Squad: Fionn Flattery, Jamsie Collevy, Shane Duffy, Sean Hardiman, Aironas Kantauskas, Kerrill Hardiman, Richie Lally, Shane Quirke, Harry Mitchell, Kevin Barrett, Alan Finn, Mossy Carr, Jack Dillon, Kyle Madden, Shane Quirke.
U14 Boys Div2 Match Reports vs Oranmore: Maree & Athenry. Our U14 boys played two league matches in a week. First game up was away to league winners Oranmore/Maree on a wet evening. It was Colemanstown who struck 1st with a goal of the season contender from Owen Hillary alas all it done was awaken the home side who led 2-1 at half time. Following a quick early goal in the second half extended their lead but the boys battled hard and the score finished 3-1 to the home side who subsequent collected the cup. Roll on to an evening in Colemanstown which was totally different with the sun beating down and a local derby with Athenry with absolutely nothing but pride to play for. With the bare squad of players the boys battled hard and won 3-1 in a game of two halves The first goal came from Athenry after a ball over the top caught out the back line. Two Athenry penalties followed and the first Aidan Quinn saved to his right while the 2nd the Athenry player blazed wide. This gave the boys belief and they rallied to score two before half time to turn the game on its head. The 1st of Dermot Parker’s hatrick came after great work on the wing from Sean Forde and Owen Hillary sent him away and he levelled up the score 1-1. A second goal soon followed after a ball over the top from Oisin Lally Nugent sent Dermot Parker away who again scored well to leave the score 2 – 1 at half time. Into the second half and with the boys full of belief another ball from Finian Walsh over the defence sent Parker away to roll the ball into the corner for his hatrick. Aidan Quinn played excellent in goals backed up with a penalty save. The back 4 dealt with every ball superbly and the midfield worked tirelessly to support both the defence and attack on a warm evening. Match Reports: Alan Walsh.
Squad: Adian Quinn, Daragh Blake, Darragh Finnerty, Oisin Lally Nugent, Gearoid Griffin, Owen Hillary, Sean Forde, Finian Walsh, Thomas Kennedy, Dermot Parker, Mikey Nutley, Iarlaith Griffin, Tim Ruane, Conor Saunders.