U13 Boys Div2: Colemanstown United 4–5 Salthill Devon. Saturday saw Colemanstown United host Salthill Devon in an electrifying encounter that ended in a narrow 5-4 defeat for our youngsters. With an upbeat squad of 14 players, Colemanstown delivered yet another thrilling, goal feast performance but ultimately fell just short against a strong Salthill team. Salthill Devon started the game on the front foot as they scored twice in quick succession to establish a 2-0 lead after 17mins. Colemanstown responded through Kealan Murray who produced a superb solo effort as he drove forward from midfield, skipped past multiple defenders, before he finished clinically to reduce the deficit to 2-1 at halftime. Managerial changes saw George Costello replace Conor Saunders, Daniel O’Dea came on for Adam Mitchell – both in defence & Se Laffey took Oran Cosgrove’s place on the wing. However, it was Salthill who struck first again after the restart, extending their lead to 3-1. Colemanstown refused to back down & just 6mins later Kealan Murray was on target once more to bring the score to 3-2. Mark Shaughnessy was introduced & shortly afterwards Colemanstown found an equaliser. A goalmouth scramble led to Se Laffey’s shot rebounding into the path of Oisin Flannery who made no mistake to slot home to level the game at 3-3. However, the joy was short-lived as Salthill responded ruthlessly, netting twice in 3mins to take a commanding 5-3 lead. Colemanstown though refused to wilt & pulled one back through Tim Ruane in the 55th minute to set up a tense finale. Despite pushing hard & the roaring support from the Colemanstown fans in the last 5mins, we just couldn’t find another breakthrough & the game ended in a narrow 5-4 defeat. Colemanstown played some fantastic football & showed great resilience but they will regret some missed opportunities that could have changed the outcome. There were impressive individual battles in midfield & the lads can take plenty of positives from another high energy performance. Match report: Martina Donnellan
Squad: Iarlaith Griffin, Adam Mitchell, Ritchie O’Connor, Caelan Noone, Conor Saunders, Thomas Kennedy, Kealan Murray, Sean Forde, Oran Cosgrove, Tim Ruane, Oisin Flannery, Se Laffey, Daniel O’Dea, Mark Shaughnessy, George Costello.
U15 Girls Championship: Oughterard 2-0 Colemanstown. Colemanstown’s U15 girls made the long journey to Oughterard on Sunday to take on a strong, higher-ranked home side. Despite a determined performance & plenty of effort, they came up short falling to a 2-0 defeat. Colemanstown battled hard throughout the field & created a few promising moments but it was the home side who held firm to see out the win.