U14 Girls Div1: Colemanstown 3-2 Loughrea. Our U14 girls welcomed a strong Loughrea side to Colemanstown on Sunday morning, fully aware that they were in for a tough battle. What followed was a pulsating, end-to-end encounter packed with determination, commitment, goals & ultimately, a fantastic comeback for Colemanstown. The girls started brightly & from the off, showed that they were ready for the challenge. Just 4mins were on the clock when Lucy Burke Hardiman opened the scoring with a brilliantly taken goal to give Colemanstown the perfect start.
There was also a debut to celebrate, with Rachel Lyons making her first appearance for the club in midfield. Rachel settled into the team superbly & quickly looked right at home, combining brilliantly with her midfield colleagues. Faye Ryan made a big impact when introduced, adding fresh energy & determination & never gave Loughrea an easy moment as the team continued to work tirelessly all over the pitch. Ava Forde was causing all sorts of problems for the Loughrea defence & was getting plenty of opportunities in front of goal, but despite her best efforts, that elusive second goal just wouldn’t come.
In midfield, Rachel Lyons, Lauren O’Grady, Lucy Burke Hardiman & Ruby Lally were immense. Their communication, work rate & willingness to support each other gave Colemanstown a strong platform, while up front Ava Forde & Helia Costello ran themselves into the ground, covered every blade of grass & put the Loughrea defence under huge pressure. Loughrea eventually found a way through on 18mins to restore parity at 1-1. The remainder of the first half was a real nip-and-tuck affair, with neither side willing to give an inch. Both teams had chances, both defences stood firm & when the half-time whistle sounded, the sides went into the break level at 1-1
The 2nd half began at a frantic pace & it was Loughrea who struck almost immediately, scoring within 30seconds of the restart to take a 2-1 lead. For many teams, that might have been a crushing blow. But….not these girls. There was no heads-down attitude & no panic set in. Instead, Colemanstown dug even deeper & began the fightback. Ella Kavanagh was introduced as the management looked to freshen things up & just 4 minutes later the moment Ava Forde had been waiting for finally arrived.
After peppering the Loughrea goal in the 1st half, Ava found the back of the net to level the game at 2-2! Game on…… At the back, Realtin Saunders, Chloe Burke, Jade Devaney & Aislinn Murray were absolutely outstanding, refusing to give the Loughrea attack an easy route through. Behind them, Emily Tuohy was superb in goals, sweeping up everything that came her way and providing a hugely assured presence between the posts.
And then came the moment that everyone on the sideline will remember for a long time. Ava Forde was fouled 25 yards from goal. The striker dusted herself down, stepped up to take the free kick herself & unleashed an unstoppable piledriver that flew into the net!
GOOOOOAL! 3-2 Colemanstown!! The sideline erupted. The players went absolutely crazy. Ava had completed the comeback with a sensational free kick & Colemanstown were in front! The final few minutes were incredibly tense as Loughrea threw everything forward in search of an equaliser. But the Colemanstown rearguard were magnificent. Aislinn Murray led by example at the back, put in a tremendous defensive performance, while Realtin Saunders stood back on her own goal line at one stage when Emily Tuohy had advanced from her line to make a crucial tackle on a Loughrea striker.
Every player threw themselves into the battle. Every tackle mattered. Every clearance was cheered. And then, finally, came the whistle. Colemanstown 3–2 Loughrea. A huge win. A famous win. Perhaps most importantly, a victory built on dedication, teamwork, communication, character & resilience. To see the girls continue to fight when they were behind twice was wonderful to watch. They never stopped believing & never stopped working for each other. The scenes of joy at the final whistle were fantastic, with the management trio Barry Forde, Kerrill Hardiman & Shane Kavanagh celebrating alongside a delighted squad. After a long wait for a league victory, this one tasted especially sweet. Match Report: Ann Forde.
Squad: Emily Tuohy, Realtin Saunders, Chloe Burke, Jade Devaney, Aislinn Murray, Helia Costello, Lucy Burke Hardiman, Ruby Lally, Lauren O’Grady, Ava Forde, Rachel Lyons, Faye Ryan, Ella Kavanagh.
Boys U18 Div 1: Bernards 4 -3 Colemanstown. Our U18 Boys side suffered their first league defeat of the season on Sunday afternoon, going down 4-3 to near neighbours St. Bernard’s in Abbeyknockmoy. In what was always likely to be a cagey local derby, with many of the players close friends from school, the game was a scrappy but competitive affair. The hosts led 3-1 at half time, with two unfortunate own goals contributing to the deficit. Martin Mellody got Colemanstown on the scoresheet in the 1st half to keep us in the contest.
The 2nd half remained evenly balanced, with James Gerrard adding another for Colemanstown before St. Bernard’s restored their advantage. Tadhg Hart then struck to make it 4-3 & set up a tense finish. The lads pushed hard for an equaliser in the closing stages but couldn’t find the breakthrough, with St. Bernard’s holding on for a 4-3 win. The lads will learn from this one & look to bounce back strongly in their next outing.
Goals: Martin Mellody, James Gerrard, Tadhg Hart.
U12 Boys Div 1: Colemanstown Utd A 1-4 Cois Fharraige: A lively and competitive home encounter on Saturday to kick off the season, with an impressive Cois Fharraige taking the spoils. U12 9v9 format football marks the transition from non-competitive to competitive football so all the trimmings from referees to off side for the boys to contend with, which they did very well. Playing with a stiff breeze in the first half, Cois Fharraige took advantage early on with a well worked goal. Colemanstown battled back though and were unlucky not to draw level following a Finn O’Grady thunderbolt hitting the crossbar. Cois Fharraige finished the half strongly adding 2 more goals in quick succession leaving it 0-3 at half time.
Colemanstown went for broke in the second half and deservedly scored following great pressure from Finn O’Grady and a sweet finish from Fionn Ruane. There was huge effort all over the field with lots of chances created but finding the net again for the remainder of the game proved elusive. David Burke and Max Igoe brought fresh legs when introduced. A late Cois Fharraige counter attack was finished clinically and that proved to be the final goal of the game. Colemanstown didn’t give up and battled to the end, going close to scoring several times. Lots of encouraging signs and plenty to work on. Match Report: Mike Morrissey
Squad: Odhran Lynch, Panos Costello, Shane Barrett (C), Shay Morrissey, Patrick Quinn, Charlie Butler, Aaron Keady O’Connor, Finn O’Grady, Fionn Ruane, David Burke, Max Igoe Unavailable: Colm Mac an Iomaire