U18 Boys Championship: Colemanstown 3 – 0 Cregmore/ Claregalway. Our U18’s put in a massive ‘dig deep’ performance on Sunday to beat Cregmore / Claregalway 3-0 in their latest league encounter. Nothing less than a win in their final league game against Athenry will see them finish out at the summit & take the League Championship honours for 2025. Both teams had an equal share of possession for the first half hour or so of this penultimate league game. Tiarnan Lohan & Aironas Kantauskas were presented with the first decent opportunities as Colemanstown looked to capitalise on a fast start, before a quick corner taken by Cregmore culminated in 3 consecutive clearances from the Colemanstown rearguard as both defences were well on top for the first half. Donnacha Walsh, Diarmuid Ryan & David Walsh were led at the back by the powerful engine of Shane Duffy who bossed proceedings at the back while Fionn Flattery led in goals with plenty of encouragement to the players in front of him. It was 29mins before our next chance when Aironas did all the donkey work but in the end a weak shot made an easy save for the visiting custodian. The first real clear-cut chance presented on 32mins when a quickly taken free from Kyle Madden for Tiarnan Lohan to run on to & with just the keeper to beat, he fired well over. 6mins later Kyle Madden saw his free kick parried away by the keeper but there was no one following up to finish the rebound. Immediately down the other end, Cregmore had a golden opportunity but blasted over. Just before half time, Tiarnan Lohan was inches away from connecting to an inviting cross swept in from Kyle Madden & at this stage one felt that a solitary goal would win it as both teams had an equal share of first half possession although Colemanstown created the better of the chances. 0-0 half time. The 2nd half saw Colemanstown re-emerge a different outfit as they pressed in attack from the outset with Josh Buckley, Aironas Kantauskas & Kyle Madden working wonders in midfield & orchestrating great attacking play. Kyle Madden fired over on the 46th minute while 6mins after the restart, Madden drew a whopping diving save from the keeper & in the ensuing play David Walsh’s left footed effort from the edge of the 18’ box forced yet another one-handed diving save to keep the game in stalemate. Moments later Josh Buckley’s glancing header was directed straight at the keeper & one felt a goal was near given the onslaught on the Cregmore goal. Then a corner kick from Aironas Kantauskas bobbled around in the box before Diarmuid Ryan got a final boot on it but it appeared to deflect off the side of Josh Buckley’s head as it was heading towards the goal. Aironas had a speculative shot from distance which he fired over the bar while a long free from Shane Duffy at the back was headed on by Josh Buckley but he didn’t get the power on the nod & an easy save in the end for the keeper. Aironas & Kyle Madden then in quick succession, provided the delivery for Tiarnan Lohan but he flashed his effort straight at the keeper on both occasions. Donnacha Walsh made a perfectly timed interception when a goal looked ominous for Cregmore in a rare 2nd half attack for them. On 71mins Colemanstown got the reward they deserved. An intricate Shane Duffy delivery from the back saw the pacy Tiarnan Lohan beat the off side trap, composed himself before he picked his spot with a left footed banger. Minutes later Lohan again saw his effort thunder off the post while Matthew Keane was unable to find the net with the rebound. It got better for Colemanstown on 79mins when a throw from Cregmore was picked up by Tiarnan Lohan who had all the space in the world, turned onto his perfect left foot & his low finish made it 2-0 & a bit of breathing space. At this stage Matthew Keane & Tyler Collins were both on the field of play at right wing & right back respectively. With a few mins to play, Mathew Keane added extra gloss to the scoreline. A long Fionn Flattery kick out found Tianan Lohan, again the architect, who held up the ball superbly & squared across to Matthew Keane who planted a smart finish to make it 3-0 in a fine 3-touch move which was enough to silence Mark Keane in the stand! 3-0 it finished in a pulsating & captivating 2nd half with some great flashes of both teamwork & individual brilliance. Match Report: Martina Donnellan
Panel: Fionn Flattery, Donnacha Walsh, Diarmuid Ryan , Shane Duffy, David Walsh, Conor van Oosterhout, Kyle Madden, Aironas Kantauskas, Josh Buckley, Cathal Kennedy, Tiarnan Lohan, Matthew Keane, Tyler Collins, Sean Connolly, Fionn Campbell
U16 Boys Div1: Colemanstown United 2 – 1 Mervue Utd B. In an exciting home match, Colemanstown United U16’s secured a narrow 2-1 victory against Mervue B. The game was a showcase of skill, determination & tactical prowess from both sides. The game began with Colemanstown United taking control early on. Their persistent attacks paid off in the 15th minute when James Somers slotted home a rebound from a corner kick – the persistence message on winning the second ball paid off, – with a powerful well placed shot into the bottom corner. Colemanstown continued to dominate possession as multiple chances fell to Jamie Lally and Tadgh Hart, but Mervue B’s defense held strong, preventing any further goals in the first half. The teams went into the break with Colemanstown 1-0 ahead. Mervue B came out with renewed energy in the second half, putting pressure on Colemanstown’s defense. However, Colemanstown doubled their lead in the 55th minute through a well-placed header by defender Padraig Fallon from a corner kick. Mervue B managed to pull one back in the 70th minute, making it 2-1, but despite their best efforts, they couldn’t find an equaliser. The final whistle confirmed Colemanstown United’s 2-1 victory. The game proved too tight to allow all players some game time, but there are plenty of games coming on. Overall this was a great team performance, highlighting the lads’ ability to execute the game plan and maintain composure under pressure. This win gives Colemanstown United U16’s renewed belief in their ability and should help place the team in a position to compete for the higher end of the table. Next game is at home again to St. Patrick’s & promises to be another exciting challenge. Match Report: Luca Lualdi.
Panel: Tommy Nutley, James Somers, Fionn Proulx, Morgan Keogh, Mike Lally, Oisin Gavin, Noah McDonnell, Tadgh Hart, Ryan Shaughnessy, Jamie Lally, Sean Keating, Joshua Lualdi, Stephen Murphy, Gearoid Walsh, Padraig Fallon, Martin Mellody, Paddy Gavin, Jamie Cunniffe, Tom Holohan.
U12 Boys Div. 2: MacDara A 0 – 0 Colemanstown Utd B. Our U12B boys made the long journey west to Carraroe on Saturday to face title challengers MacDara A. Taking on the westerners is never an easy task & this encounter proved no different. In a tightly contested battle, both teams showed tremendous resilience & determination throughout the game. Solid defending & disciplined play from Colemanstown ensured the game ended in a hard fought 0-0 stalemate. The result leaves both sides now sharing joint 2nd place on the table, just two points behind unbeaten league leaders Cregmore/Claregalway. However both Cregmore/Claregalway & MacDara have games in hand which means for us, every point is crucial at this stage of the season. Match Report: Martina Donnellan
U12 Boys Championship 1/2 Quarter final. Tuam Celtic A: 3 -0 Colemanstown Utd A Our U12A boys team travelled to Tuam on Saturday afternoon to play our league cup quarter final. The hosts started strongest and settled quicker into the match pinning our boys into our half for the first few minutes. Kerrill Walsh in goals had a few saves to make while our back 3 of Chris Burke, George Costello and Matt Feeney worked tirelessly helped out by a midfield 4 of Se Laffey, Oisin Flannery, James Kilkenny and George Moore to close down the Tuam attacks. Mark Shaughnessy in the lone striker role did well to hold up the ball and link up with the wingers. Evan Molloy was introduced for Mark and he was proving a handful upfront as he used his pace to get in behind the defence on numerous occasions but the ball just wouldn’t hold up on the downward slope for him. Jack Grealish and Frank Dunne were introduced for Chris Burke and George Moore and immediately got moving around getting on the ball and trying to help break the deadlock while Conor Egan replaced George Costello at the heart of our defence. Half time score was 0-0 as we faced the hill for the second half. Aaron Burke replaced Se Laffey at half time and Phelim Flynn replaced Kerrill in goals. Phelim was called into action straight away with a good save. Tuam broke the deadlock from a corner that wasn’t cleared and their midfielder got a head to the ball to finish to the net. Shortly after Eoghan O’Neill, Ethan Monaghan and Jamie Lally replaced James Kilkenny, Matt Feeney and Evan Molloy. Tuam applied more pressure in attack and were rewarded with a second goal when their striker got to a through ball to poke it past Phelim. The third goal came with a few minutes left from another uncleared corner. 3-0 it finished as we wish Tuam Celtic the best of luck in their semi final. Match Report: Adrian Burke
Squad: Kerrill Walsh, Chris Burke, George Costello, Matt Feeney, George Moore, Oisin Flannery, Se Laffey, James Kilkenny, Mark Shaughnessy, Evan Molloy, Frank Dunne, Jack Grealish, Ethan Monaghan, Aaron Burke, Jamie Lally, Phelim Flynn, Conor Egan, Eoghan O Neill.