Boys U14 Div3: Colemanstown 2–1 Ballinasloe. Our U14 side welcomed Ballinasloe to Colemanstown on a wet & windy Saturday for this Div 3 encounter, played in two hard fought halves. Aided by a strong breeze, Ballinasloe dominated much of the opening half & created numerous chances. However they were repeatedly denied by some excellent last ditch defending from Conor Saunders, Tim Ruane, Ritchie O’Connor & George Costello. Despite sustained pressure from the visitors, Colemanstown held firm & went in at half time level at 0–0, knowing that with the wind at their backs they would have a real opportunity in the 2nd half.
The 2nd half saw Colemanstown come out with renewed determination & they got the perfect restart when Sean Forde struck a powerful free kick from just outside the box, & planted the ball into the bottom corner to give Colemanstown a 1–0 lead. From then on, Colemanstown took control of the game. The lead was soon doubled in spectacular fashion when Sé Laffey found Thomas Kennedy in the middle of the field. With plenty still to do, Thomas showed great skill & composure as he dribbled past four Ballinasloe players before he coolly finished past the Ballinasloe keeper to make it 2–0 with an outstanding individual goal. Ballinasloe responded to pull a goal back & then applied sustained pressure right up to the final whistle. However, Colemanstown showed great resilience as they stood firm defensively & withstood a late onslaught, helped in no small part by a series of outstanding saves from keeper Iarlaith Griffin. It was a thoroughly deserved & hard earned win in tough conditions & a superb team performance that left the lads beaming at the final whistle. Match Report: Ann Forde.
Squad: Iarlaith Griffin, Sean Forde, Ritchie O’Connor, George Costello, Tim Ruane, Conor Saunders, Thomas Kennedy, Mark Shaughnessy, Sé Laffey, Caelan Noone, Niall Mason, Aaron Burke, Trevor Harlowe, Tommy Gooney, Oisín Dolan.
Men’s Div 1: Colemanstown 2-2 Bearna na Forbacha. An entertaining and hard-fought encounter in Colemanstown on Saturday evening saw the league’s top two share the spoils in a pulsating affair that had everything you would expect from a clash of this calibre. Played in difficult conditions, the strong swirling wind played a major role throughout the contest. Colemanstown made full use of the elements in the first half, playing with the wind and dominating long spells of the opening period. The hosts started brightly and created a number of early chances. Tomas Flannery and Kevin Barrett both went close with very good opportunities, while Tiarnan Proulx came agonisingly close when his effort was dramatically cleared off the line. Colemanstown continued to apply pressure and were finally rewarded just before the halftime whistle. A powerful strike from Ray Moran was parried by the Barna goalkeeper, and Tomas Carr reacted quickest to slot home the rebound, giving Colemanstown a deserved 1–0 lead at the break.
The second half saw a complete shift in momentum as Barna, now playing with the wind, took control. They drew level from a corner kick, where a deflected effort found its way in at the back post. Colemanstown responded well to the setback, regaining composure and beginning to enjoy more possession as the game opened up. With around 20 minutes remaining, Colemanstown struck again from a set piece. Sean Hardiman’s effort came off a defender looping into the net to give Colemanstown a 2–1 advantage. However, Barna showed great character and resilience. With five minutes left on the clock, a Barna effort was held up by the swirling wind and deceived Junior in goal. The shot was parried, but Barna’s striker followed up to finish and restore parity. The closing five or six minutes were frantic, with chances at both ends and either side capable of snatching a late winner. In the end, the final whistle brought an end to a thrilling contest that was played in great spirit and intensity. On reflection, a draw was probably a fair result for both teams in what was an excellent advertisement for the league. Match Report: Jason Finn
U14 Girls Connacht Trophy Rd. 2 Skyvalley Rovers 5–0 Colemanstown. Our U14 Girls made the trip to Onagh Park on the Roscommon border on Saturday afternoon to face Skyvalley Rovers in Round 2 of the Connacht Trophy. It proved to be a challenging afternoon for the girls as the home side set a strong tempo from the outset. Skyvalley Rovers made good use of their home advantage & moved the ball well to apply sustained pressure, which resulted in a number of goals. To their credit, Colemanstown showed great spirit throughout & continued to press & work hard despite the scoreline. Our defence was kept busy for long periods, while the girls battled to create chances against a well organised Skyvalley side. Skyvalley secured a convincing 5–0 victory to book their place in Round 3 of the Connacht Trophy.
U12 Boys: Connacht Cup: Colemanstown 0-0 Westport: Colemanstown won 4-3 on penalties. Twelve hardy souls made the long journey to Westport yesterday afternoon to take on Westport ‘B’ in the Connacht Cup & they were rewarded with a dramatic penalty shoot out victory which sends Colemanstown through to the next round. Colemanstown won the toss & opted to play with the breeze at their backs, hoping it would work to their advantage. In truth, it was the hosts though who enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, doing most of the attacking in the 1st half. Despite this, Colemanstown did create chances, most notably through Oisín Kelly, whose long range volley was well dealt with by the Westport keeper. We also earned a number of corners but the breakthrough just wouldn’t come. Westport, however, carved out the clearer opportunities of the 1st half as they broke through on three separate one-on-one chances. Each time they were denied by an outstanding Avey Mahon in goal, who showed superb composure to keep the game scoreless. It remained a 0–0 stalemate at the half time break.
Late in the first half Colemanstown were forced into a change as Riley O’Donoghue picked up an injury which saw the introduction of Colm Mac an Iomaire. At the restart Nathan Cleary was introduced while James Vignoles took over between the posts for the 2nd half. Colm Mac an Iomaire immediately changed the dynamic of the game. His blistering pace caused constant havoc & despite often being marked by three defenders, he broke free twice, one effort drifting narrowly wide and another grazed the post. Riley O’Donoghue was re-introduced midway through the half & made an instant impact down the left wing but in vain he watched as his powerful strike thundered off the woodwork. Both defences stood firm for the remainder of the game & with neither side able to find the elusive winner, the game went straight to penalties.
James Vignoles bravely donned the gloves for the shoot-out & was the hero of the moment. Successful spot kicks from Oisín Kelly, Riley O’Donoghue & Matthew Kelly put Colemanstown in a strong position. James Vignoles then produced a superb save before stepping up himself to calmly dispatch the decisive penalty to seal a 4-3 shoot-out victory which sparked jubilant celebrations among players & management alike. The long spin home was made all the sweeter, with thanks to Gerry Fahy for the bus hire & a well earned victory stop in Supermacs, Ballindine, to refuel after a hard fought & memorable afternoon for these boys. Colemanstown now march on to the next round of the Connacht Cup. Match Report: Peter Kelly
Squad: Avey Mahon, Eugene Kelly, Conor Finnerty, James Flaherty, Matthew Kelly, Cathal Burns, Oisín Kelly, Riley O’Donoghue, James Vignoles, Nathan Cleary, Igor Ziolek, Colm Mac an Iomaire. Unavailable:Patrick Collins, Kayden Brett, Charlie Hutchings, Martin Fleming.
Women’s Champ Cup: Colemanstown 0-0 Ballinasloe (Ballinasloe won 5-4 on penalties)Colemanstown Ladies’ Championship Cup journey came to a cruel end on Sunday afternoon, edged out on penalties by Ballinasloe Town after a fiercely contested tie finished scoreless through regulation time. Played in testing conditions, with a strong headwind and persistent sideways rain, the match demanded resilience as much as quality. Colemanstown embraced the challenge from the outset, moving the ball with purpose and using the width of the pitch to good effect. Their wide players delivered a series of dangerous balls into the area, but despite promising positions, the finishing touch proved elusive. Ballinasloe’s threat came largely through direct play, launching long balls into the box that required constant vigilance from the Colemanstown back line. Both defences held firm, and with neither side able to find a breakthrough, the teams went into the interval locked at 0–0.
With the wind now at their backs, Colemanstown pressed forward in the second half in search of the decisive goal. They sustained pressure for long spells, probing patiently and forcing Ballinasloe deeper, but the combination of conditions, brave defending, and fine margins kept the net untroubled. When the final whistle blew with the scores still level, the contest moved to the inevitable — and unforgiving — penalty shoot-out. Despite a valiant effort, Colemanstown were edged out 5–4, bringing a frustrating end to a performance that deserved more. Elimination will sting, but the display itself spoke of a side capable of competing under pressure, in adversity, and against the elements. On another day, with one moment of precision, this might have been a very different story. Match Report: Neil Ryan
U13 Boys Champ 2: Colemanstown Utd A: 3-4 Maree Oranmore. Saturday 6th December. Our U13A boys faced a strong Maree Oranmore in their latest league affair in Colemanstown in very windy conditions. 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. Maree had a few half chances but Kerrill Walsh in goals was equal to the attempts ably assisted by the defensive line of Jack Grealish, Conor Egan, Matt Feeney and Mark Shaughnessy. George Costelloe our starting CDM was doing well breaking up the play and started attacking moves to link up with our wingers Se Laffey and Evan Molloy. James Kilkenny put 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 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 to force 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 started with Jack Grealish finding 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 Maree keeper did well to force Oisin wide and the ball rolled narrowly wide. Maree 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: Colemanstown Utd A: 3 – 4 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.