Connacht Cup: Round 1: Abbey Utd (Sligo) 3-2 Colemanstown. Colemanstown United bowed out of the Connacht Cup despite a spirited performance away to Abbey United in Sligo on Sunday afternoon. The lads made the two-hour journey for the 2pm kick-off and started brightly, controlling much of the opening exchanges and looking the more dangerous side in the early stages.
Despite that, it was Abbey United who took the lead after just six minutes. From a throw-in, the ball was played into midfield before a fantastic pass released their left winger, who finished well to give the hosts a 1–0 lead against the run of play. Abbey doubled their advantage on 17 minutes when their right-back played a ball over the Colemanstown defence for the striker, who produced an excellent lob over the goalkeeper to make it 2–0. To Colemanstown’s credit, the lads dug in and continued to compete, and their efforts were rewarded just three minutes before half-time. A James Collevy free-kick caused problems in the Abbey defence, deceiving the goalkeeper before coming off a defender and finding the back of the net to make it 2–1 at the break.
Colemanstown started the second half strongly once again and began to dominate possession and territory. However, the game took a major turn on 60 minutes when Ray Moran was shown a straight red card for what was deemed by the referee to be serious foul play. From our perspective, it was a good tackle, but the decision left Colemanstown with ten men for the remainder of the game. Abbey United took advantage and restored their two-goal cushion with 20 minutes remaining. Their left winger pulled the ball back for an onrushing midfielder, who finished to make it 3–1.
Colemanstown continued to battle despite being down to ten men. Matthew Keane was introduced for Kyle Madden, with Adam Wynne replacing Kevin Barrett as the management looked to inject fresh energy into the side. The pressure eventually paid off. Thomas Carr, who was arguably Colemanstown’s best player on the day, was fouled inside the penalty area and stepped up to calmly convert the resulting penalty to make it 3–2.
The final 15 minutes were nervy for the hosts as Colemanstown, despite being reduced to ten men, pushed hard for an equaliser. The lads gave everything right until the final whistle but were ultimately unable to find the goal that would have taken the game to extra time. A frustrating afternoon and a disappointing way to exit the Connacht Cup, but plenty of positives to take from a spirited performance against strong opposition — particularly after being reduced to ten men. We now turn our attention back to the league and look to build on the positives from Sunday’s performance.
Starting XI: Finn A. (GK), Duffy S., Collevy J., Lally R., Hardiman S., Barrett K., Carr T., Moran R., Proulx T., Williams L., Madden K. Substitutes: Wynne A. — replaced Kevin Barrett, 65’; Keane M. — replaced Kyle Madden, 55’, Kennedy J. — replaced Tiarnan Proulx 75’, Sillence R., Cooke S. (GK)
U21 Men: Div1: Colemanstown United U21s 3–1 Salthill Devon B. It was a night to remember for Colemanstown United as our Under-21 Men’s team recorded their first-ever victory, securing a fantastic 3–1 win over Salthill Devon B under the lights at Colemanstown Astro.
After a difficult start to the season and plenty of lessons learned from the opening two games, the lads came out of the blocks with a completely different attitude. From the first whistle, there was energy, intensity and a real fire in the belly to put things right. And what followed was a sensational opening ten minutes. Colemanstown were ahead after just four minutes, and it was a superb team goal. Nathan Mannion, who was very busy in the opening stages from left-back, won possession in his own half and played into Ryan Gavin. Ryan moved the ball quickly into Matthew Keane, who found Cathal Keane centrally. Cathal then played wide to Kyle Madden. Madden spotted Matthew Keane making a clever diagonal run between the Salthill centre-backs and picked him out perfectly. Matthew took the ball in his stride and finished first time, low and across the goalkeeper to make it 1–0.
A brilliant move from back to front, involving the back line, midfield and both wings before the final run and finish. Just three minutes later, Colemanstown doubled their advantage. Conor Van Oosterhout won the ball back in a defensive midfield position and immediately played into Cathal Keane. Keane found Paddy Gavin, who spotted the overlapping run of left-back Eibhear Colleran. Colleran stormed into the box and unleashed a rasping left-footed strike that smashed off the crossbar. Matthew Keane was following up and reacted quickest to tap home the rebound for his second of the night. 2–0 after just seven minutes.
And incredibly, a minute later it was three. Conor Van Oosterhout started the move once again, finding Madden on the left. Madden took a touch inside, looked up and delivered a superb diagonal ball across the pitch to Matthew Keane on the right wing. Keane took a positive touch forward, drove towards the end line and delivered a fantastic low ball right across the six-yard box where Cathal Keane had timed his run perfectly and arrived in the centre to finish brilliantly. 3–0 inside the opening ten minutes. Three excellent goals, all created through quick passing, intelligent movement and players working for each other.
Salthill Devon settled into the game and began creating chances of their own, but Sean Cooke between the posts was dealing comfortably with anything that came his way. On the half-hour mark, Kyle Madden won a free kick and stepped up to take it himself, forcing an excellent save from the Salthill goalkeeper. Salthill eventually got themselves back into the game on 35 minutes when a quick sideline throw was followed by a ball over the top of the Colemanstown defence. Their striker got in behind and managed to knock the ball past the onrushing Cooke to make it 3–1. Just before half time, Tyler Collins produced a crucial piece of defending. Following a scramble inside the Colemanstown box, a shot appeared destined for goal, but Collins threw himself in front of it and made a vital block to preserve the two-goal advantage.
The second half was a completely different challenge. Salthill came out strongly, pushing forward in an attempt to get themselves back into the game, and Colemanstown had to show a different side of their game. The lads had to defend, stay compact and work for each other. On 62 minutes, Josh Buckley showed exactly that determination, throwing himself in front of a goal-bound strike to make another crucial block. Ryan Gavin, Cathal Keane and Conor Van Oosterhout were excellent in midfield, working tirelessly to close down Salthill attacks, win the ball back and get possession moving quickly towards the wings. Up front, Paddy Gavin worked incredibly hard, making intelligent runs and creating space for his teammates to attack. On 65 minutes, Madden was replaced by Kyle Delaney, who came on to take up a position on the right wing. Three minutes later, Sean Cooke produced another huge moment. Salthill’s number nine swivelled on the penalty spot and got a shot away, but Cookie stretched out a leg to make a brilliant save and deny what looked like a certain goal. Salthill then won three corners in quick succession, but Colemanstown dealt with each one comfortably, with Cookie, Colleran and Buckley all doing their jobs brilliantly.
On 75 minutes, Matthew Keane came agonisingly close to completing his hat-trick. Once again, Conor Van intercepted centrally and immediately released Matthew through on goal. Keane struck with his left foot, but the Salthill goalkeeper made an excellent save to keep the score at 3–1. Debutant Daniel Keating replaced Paddy Gavin on 80 minutes, with Daniel’s strength and ability helping Colemanstown hold the ball up and give the team an outlet as Salthill continued to push. With five minutes remaining, Joshua McDonnell replaced Matthew Keane, while Donnacha Walsh came on for Nathan Mannion. Both worked hard in the closing stages to help protect the lead and secure that all-important second half clean sheet for the final minutes.
When the final whistle went, there was a huge sense of achievement. Colemanstown United U21s had won their first-ever game. Three points are finally on the board after three games, but more importantly, this performance showed just how much the lads have already learned from the opening games. The attitude from the first whistle was outstanding, the football in those opening ten minutes was excellent, and when Salthill put us under pressure in the second half, the lads showed determination, togetherness and a willingness to put their bodies on the line for each other.
It was also fantastic to see the lads on the substitutes’ bench playing such an important role, bringing great energy, encouragement and motivation from the sideline throughout the game. And a huge thank you to everyone who came down to support the team. Your encouragement was noticed and appreciated by the lads.
Player of the Match: This was an incredibly difficult game to pick a Player of the Match from. There were outstanding performances all over the pitch, and ultimately this was a real team performance. From the three goals in the opening ten minutes, to the defending and resilience shown in the second half, every player played their part. A special mention has to go to Matthew Keane, who scored two goals and had an assist for the third goal. But the night belongs to the whole squad. Our first-ever U21 victory. Three points. A brilliant team performance. Match report: Kara Mullins
Squad: Sean Cooke, Nathan Mannion, Josh Buckley, Tyler Collins, Eibhear Colleran, Matthew Keane, Cathal Keane, Ryan Gavin, Conor van Oosterhout, Kyle Madden, Paddy Gavin, Dylan King, Joshua McDonnell, Daniel Keating, Donnacha Walsh, Kyle Delaney, Jamie Lally, Oisin Devine. Management:Orla McCaffrey & Kara Mullins