U12A Boys Connacht Cup: Yeats Utd; 0 – 9 Colemanstown Utd. Our U12A boys squad made the 2 hour trip to Carney in Sligo on Saturday for a 2pm kickoff. The final scoreline bore no reflection on the first half which was a typical cup tie, end to end attacking with our boys creating the lions share of good scoring opportunities but failing to convert. Some last gasp blocks denied Evan Molloy, Jack Grealish, Frank Dunne, Se Laffey and Oisin Flannery from breaking the deadlock for the majority of the half while Phelim Flynn wasn’t troubled between the posts and was only called upon a handful of times to tidy up a few through balls. The back 3 of Aaron Burke, George Costello and Matt Feeney dealt well with the crosses coming in from Yeats’s 2 excellent wingers. With 5 mins to go Evan Molloy eventually opened the scoring with a nice finish after a great flowing move from defence involving Aaron Burke, Se Laffey, Jack Grealish, Frank Dunne and Oisin Flannery who slipped a neat ball to Evan Molloy to open his account. Shortly afterwards Aaron Burke was replaced by Chris Burke after suffering a dead leg. 1-0 at the break in a very tense affair. Nobody in attendance was expecting what unfolded in the second half. Kerrill Walsh replaced Phelim Flynn in goals with Mark Shaughnessy replaced Se Laffey who had ran himself into the ground. We expected the Yeats boys to come out fighting and they did but some slick movement from our boys resulted in Evan Molloy getting the ball just inside their half and with a terrific mazy run he found the net for his second. This goal was the catalyst we needed with some exceptional football and movement from our boys as Jack Grealish and Oisin Flannery found the net within minutes of each other. Jamie Lally made his introduction for Jack Grealish and immediately got into the game forcing the defence into a rushed clearance that Frank Dunne pounced on to grab our 5th. George Moore replaced Frank Dunne who had a massive shift put in. Ethan Monaghan replaced Matt Feeney and got stuck in straight away to keep the speedy right winger at bay. Jamie Lally weaved his way towards the penalty area and looked to have been fouled inside the area but the referee adjudged it to be just outside. Jamie Lally placed the ball and hit a spectacular free kick to the top left corner of the goals. 6-0 now and the lads were hungry for more. Kerrill Walsh pulled off an excellent fingertip save to keep the clean sheet while the rebound was sent narrowely wide by the inrushing striker. Eoghan O’Neill made his debut appearance for Evan Molloy to bring fresh legs into the match. Oisin Flannery grabbed his 2nd goal after a goalmouth scramble and shortly after Mark Shaughnessy weaved around the box before hitting the net. Eoghan O’Neill rounded off the scoring with a neat finish from a squared ball by Mark Shaughnessy. A comprehensive win on the road in what was definitely a game of 2 halves. Thanks sincerely to the Yeats Utd hospitality crew who provided tea, coffee, sandwiches and snacks after the match. Thanks also to Brendan Boyle buses and Seamus for transporting us to the match. Final score: Yeats Utd; 0 – 9 Colemanstown Utd. Match report: Adrian Burke.
Matchday squad; Phelim Flynn, Aaron Burke, George Costello, Matt Feeney, Se Laffey, Oisin Flannery, Frank Dunne, Jack Grealish, Evan Molloy, Kerrill Walsh, Chris Burke, Jamie Lally, George Moore, Ethan Monaghan, Eoghan O’Neill, Mark Shaughnessy.
U14 Boys Colemanstown 1 – 1 Ballinasloe (Colemanstown won 4-2 on pens). Our U14 Boys beat Ballinasloe Town in a penalty shootout in Saturdays Connacht Shield following a 1-1 tie at full time. Daniel Ruane opened the scoring on 5mins following some early frantic but sustained pressure; he doesn’t score too many but this one was worth the wait. A corner whipped in by Owen Hillary & Ruane was perfectly positioned at the back post to nod home. With the score at 1-0, Colemanstown seemed to be in control for most of the 1st half. Dermot Parker hit the butt of the post as the rebound went agonisingly wide while Daithi Burns was adjudged to have carried over the endline when a good goal chance was imminent. Against the run of play Ballinasloe equalised when Ballinasloe won the ball back from a quick Quinn kick out & a long range effort found its way past Aidan Quinn in goals. In the 2nd half Sean Forde & Thomas Kennedy were introduced as fresh legs & brought with them some cutting edge. Assisted with the breeze in the 2nd half Ballinasloe had the upper hand. Their striker hit the crossbar in a bid to take the lead with a long range ambitious effort. Our back 4 kept their defensive line tight at the back & linked up well with midfield. Sean Forde played havoc & was unlucky to see his piledriver thunder off the woodwork while Tim Ruane saw his effort sail over the crossbar as Colemanstown pressurised over the last desperate stretch of regular time. Meanwhile at the other end Aidan Quinn was in top of his game with some cracking saves to keep the game at stalemate. In the end, neither team could find a winner which sent the contest to a tiebreaker. In the shoot out Dermot Parker, Owen Hillary, Finian Walsh & Daithi Burns converted their attempts from 12 yards while keeper Aidan Quinn was the hero, making a massive stop from Ballinasloe’s first effort in the tiebreaker while they fired their 2nd spot kick over to ensure it was Colemanstown who prevailed 4-2 on penalties & just about worthy winners in an equal enough contest. Match report: Martina Donnellan
Squad: Aidan Quinn, Daragh Blake, Darragh Finnerty, Oisin Nugent, Liam O’Connor, Finian Walsh, Jack Barrett, Dermot Parker, Owen Hillary, Daithi Burns, Daniel Ruane, Thomas Kennedy, Sean Forde, Tim Ruane, Mikey Nutley, Gearoid Griffin.
U18 Boys Championship: Colemanstown 5 – 3 Bearna na Forbacha. There was an 8 goal thriller in Colemanstown today in terrible weather conditions but the lads won’t mind the soaking once they got their first 3 points of the league season on the board against the unbeaten table toppers. Colemanstown opened up a 2 goal lead by the 12th minute. The first arrived from a through ball by Diarmuid Ryan from the midfield area which Jonah Donnellan latched on to & his right footed low hard drilled effort from the edge of the box found the far left corner. Then Tiarnan Proulx & Aironas combined for Aironas to finish splendidly followed by an exuberent goal celebration where he took a bow to his team mates. Twas no wonder he felt so good, having played earlier in the morning in the A teams loss to West Utd. It took 16 mins before Barna had their first effort on goal when they capitalised on some hesitation in the Colemanstown defence but their unmarked striker pulled his effort past the face of the goal while David Walsh’s free kick failed to dip on time on the 19min mark. Following a quick counter attack, Colemanstown scored No 3 as Tyler Collins found Jonah Donnellan & his left footed effort this time found the far right corner to make it 3-0 & an almost perfect start that put Colemanstown firmly in the driving seat aided well by Josh Buckley’s ability up front to hold up the ball well. However midway through the half the visitors settled more into the game & began a fight back. Fionn Flattery had to be quick off his line to save with his shoulder while the ensuring kick out saw Barna break on the counter with a free kick awarded. Conor Kelly took the free quickly, down the line to the left winger & he squared across the box where it was fired home from close range. Shane Duffy, just back from injury was introduced at right back & immediately he got stuck in. An inviting Barna ball into the box was majestically flicked away acrobatically by Duffy, would love to see this in slow motion again…. as Ross Lally, Diarmuid Ryan & David Walsh did everything asked of them in defence. Tiarnan Proulx then hit the post while the last passage of play before half time saw Fionn Flattery make another fine stop as he reached highest in a crowded box taking great care not to step over the goal line. 3-1 to Colemanstown at the break. Tiarnan Lohan was sprung from the bench for the 2nd half – another lad who’s nice to see return to the squad & Matthew Keane was introduced soon after & immediately their presence was felt. Jonah Donnellan claimed his hatrick soon after the restart when the two Tiarnans linked up well, only for Tiarnan Lohan to be upended & Donnellan dispatched the spot kick well. Fionn Flattery was called on again as he confidently fetched a high ball well in a crowded box. Barna fought back again though & scored directly from a Conor Kelly corner which he swung in nicely & aided by the breeze, it sailed in over Fionn’s head. Midway through the half, Barna had the ball in the net again but a VAR review rightly cancelled out the goal in a roller- coaster game. With 30mins played in the 2nd half, Colemanstown scored No 5. A ball down the line to Proulx, squared across to Tiarnan Lohan whose effort was only parried by the keeper & Tiarnan Proulx pounced to make sure of the rebound. A passage of good passing play from Barna culminated in a shot that went the right side of the crossbar as Cathal Kennedy & Shane Quirke were introduced with 10 to play. Cathal Kennedy had a late chance to add to the scoreline but he miscued his effort which almost missed the sensory garden & drew a great cheer from the Colemanstown dugout. There was further heroics from Fionn at the death as he dived well to get his paws to a Barna effort from a good distance but it seemed like the ball took forever to go around the post. The resultant corner was whipped in & flicked to the net by Barna to finish out a fine Colemanstown performance & more importantly the lads picked up their first 3-pointer of the season. Final score from a wet & windy Colemanstown: Colemanstown 5 – 3 Barna na Forbacha. Match report: Martina Donnellan
Squad: Fionn Flattery, Tyler Collins, Diarmuid Ryan, Ross Lally, David Walsh, Conor van Oosterhout, Kyle Madden, Aironas Kantauskas, Jonah Donnellan, Tiarnan Proulx, Josh Buckley, Shane Duffy, Tiarnan Lohan, Cathal Kennedy, Shane Quirke, Jamie Nutley, Tomas Rogerson, Jamie Nutley, Nathan Mannion, Fionn Campbell.