Colemanstown U16s 1 – 1 Oranmore- Maree (AET) Won 5-4 on penalties.
After a 1-1 draw in 80 minutes, and a goalless 20 mins of additional time; Fionn Flattery guessed right to make a fine penalty save to ensure Colemanstown U16s advanced 5-4 on penalties in the Connacht Shield in Oranmore yesterday morning. From the start, this was an edgy affair with chances at a minimum although Oranmore – Maree created plenty of half chances in the first half and were well on top as Fionn Flattery was tested early on and pulled off a good near post save in the first half. There was 10mins left to play before Colemanstown really got into the game when Shane Duffy went on the run down the right flank and struck a piledriver from 25yards which drew a super save from the host’s custodian who was in superb form. Tiarnan Lohan came close with 2 long range efforts on both occasions which were just off target. In that first half Josh Buckley was perhaps the most instrumental player on the field, with his timely clearances and interceptions at right back with help from Sean Connolly at left back & centre backs Diarmuid Ryan & David Walsh. 0-0 at half time.
The management duo of Gary Broderick & Kerrill Lally changed things around 10mins after the restart as Ross Lally was slotted into left back to help steady the ship. Tomas Rogerson was introduced at left midfield and Tiarnan Lohan redeployed at centre mid. Eventually a goal arrived originated from the back by Diarmuid Ryan who neatly picked out Kyle Madden on the right wing and his delivery into the box found Ross Lally running with pace and he finished well to put Colemanstown 1-0 up and in the driving seat. Dylan Murphy was introduced up front as Colemanstown began to create chances. Soon after his introduction, Murphy found himself one-on-one with the keeper following some great harrying from Cathal Kennedy to chip the ball over the top for Dylan to run on to but the keeper saved well. The same two players linked up again 5mins later but again Murphy’s effort was saved. With 6mins left, Colemanstown were punished for failing to take their chances. A mistake from our keeper saw a bit of a mess up as the ball was fumbled and dribbled over the line to level terms. The last 6mins were pretty much played at an even par as both teams were glad of the refs whistle to get a chance to regroup.
10mins a half of extra time produced little by both sides in terms of chances. As the game was coming to a close, Oranmore-Maree broke from a Colemanstown corner but the perfect reading of the game by Ross Lally saw him run the width of the pitch to make a last ditch interception to put the ball out of play and so the game headed for a penalty shoot-out. Tiarnan Lohan, David Walsh, Cathal Kennedy & Kyle Madden all scored as Fionn Flattery turned saviour when he stretched to his right to make a super one handed save while Oranmore also hit the post with one of their spot kicks. Colemanstown prevailed 5-4 on penalties and in doing so earned a place in the next round of the Connacht Shield.
Squad: Fionn Flattery, Josh Buckley, David Walsh, Diarmuid Ryan, Sean Connolly, Shane Duffy, Donnacha Walsh, Ross Lally, Tiarnan Lohan, Kyle Madden, Cathal Kennedy, Tomas Rogerson, Dylan Murphy, Matthew Keane, Joshua McDonnell, Ronan Screene.
Colemanstown U17s 4 – 1 Loughrea in U18 Connacht Cup
Colemanstown U17s advanced in the U18 Connacht Cup on Friday night courtesy of a 4-1 win over Loughrea in Kiltulla astro. Colemanstown were the quicker side out of the blocks and had created presentable chances within the first few minutes with Jack Jordan failing to make the desirable contact. Colemanstown didn’t have too long to wait for the opening goal after a poor clearance from Loughrea fell to Jonah Donnellan and he cracked home an unmerciful shot to the top corner from just outside the centre circle. Colemanstown continued to make inroads. Luke Williams failed to keep his header down as he connected well to Dean Connaire’s corner and Jack Jordan had two consecutive efforts which the keeper had to go on his knees to gather while Jason Rabbitte also tested the keeper when he got on the end of Jack Jordan’s delivery from the left, all within the first quarter of an hour play.
2mins later Jason Rabbitte doubled Colemanstown’s advantage following a super cross field pass from Dean Connaire and a smashing one-two between Tommy Mellody and Ciárán Keating saw Keating whip in the cross which was met on the volley by Rabbitte to slam home No. 2. As Colemanstown kept plugging, Tommy Mellody saw his free kick from the edge of the D sail straight into the keeper’s clutches, Harry Mitchell did well to beat the offside trap but saw his effort saved by the keeper and also hit the post with a free kick. Colemanstown dominated possession and scored again heading towards the 40min mark when Tommy Mellody was taken down; the resultant free was fired in by Ciárán Keating and the bounce in the box was met by the head of Luke Williams who was left with the simplest of tasks to head home from 3 yards out to make it 3-0. Luke Wilbur had to be alert to a speculative Loughrea effort just before the break as he stretched well to make a good diving save to keep the score 3-0 at the break.
In the 2nd half, Colemanstown appeared to be cruising, but were shaken out of their complacency 15mins into the second half when Loughrea clawed back a goal. The introduction of Jack Jordan, Kyle Madden, Johnny Keane, Cathal Kennedy & Fionn Flattery in goal added extra bite and fresh legs. Kyle Madden inflicted further damage to ensure there would be no comeback when he fired in an effort from the right which took a deflection on route, as he found the net to make it 4-1 late on. Encouraged by the goal, Colemanstown kept plugging away to ensure no more goals were conceded as the game finished out 4-1 for Jason Finn & Gareth Lally’s charges and on to Round 2 of the U18 FAI Cup.
Squad: Luke Wilbur, Dean Connaire, Luke Williams, Cian Ruane, Ciárán Keating, Jason Rabbitte, Jonah Donnellan, Eanna Burke, Jack Jordan, Harry Mellody, Tommy Mellody, Jack Dillon, Kyle Madden, Cathal Kennedy, Jonathan Keane, Fionn Flattery, Ciáran Mulhern.