Colemanstown & Bohs played out an entertaining draw in a hotly contested affair played at home this afternoon. Although there was lovely winter sunshine, the cold wind that swept around the grounds wasn’t to either teams liking or to the fans either but both teams were fully prepared for an onslaught with a fierce determination and will to win. Although the home team dominated the early exchanges with chances from Padraig Quirke & Sean Walsh, it was Bohs who dealt the first blow with an exceptionally well taken goal lobbed over John Gormally’s head. 5 mins later Ray Moran who had a superb 90mins floated in a cross which was millimetres away from Sean Walsh’s diving head. On 12 mins Richie Lally’s free from the stand side of the field found Sean Walsh and this time he made no mistake blasting to the net for a well-deserved equaliser. Colemanstown then had a superb passage of play as Tom Flan, just returned from injury, sent a crossfield pass to Richie Lally on the far side of the field and with Richie showing serious wheels as he cut in across the box, his shot was well saved as Sean Walsh was lurking in the box but unable to bundle it over the line. 1-1 at the break.
2mins after the restart Richie Lally had a gifted chance but the ball bobbled at the wrong time and he was unable to get the correct power in his effort and it whizzed over the crossbar. Ronnie Geraghty then fed Ray Moran at the edge of the box but he squandered his chance. 8mins into the 2nd half, Ray fed Tom Flan who rounded 3 defenders and finished well to put Colemanstown in the driving seat. 7 mins later Bohs equalised through a setpiece; a corner which was perfectly executed with a powerful header. Ray Moran went close with a glancing header from a Richie Lally corner. With 10mins to go, the game reached a boiling point as the Bohs custodian received his marching orders for a head butt. The altercation seemed to inject some life into the home team as in the ensuing play, Jayo Finn was wide with a header while subsequently Bohs ‘new’ keeper’s first kick out went straight over the side line and found the head of Johnny Mullins in the stand who learned the hard way not to turn his back on play, keep his hands out of his pockets and keep an eye on the ball at all times. With 5 mins to go Ray’s long ball found Tom Flan who was bundled over in the box and the ref immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Flan himself made no mistake with the take to sway the momentum positively in Colemanstown’s favour. Just before the full time whistle, Bohs scored direct from a free as their striker curled the ball around the wall to squeeze the equaliser in past the left post to draw the score level and finish 3-3.
Colemanstown at times, totally dominated proceedings while at other times found themselves on the back foot. Credit to our lads who could never relax against a dogged Bohs outfit. John Gormally couldn’t be faulted for any of the goals; central defenders Jayo Finn & Garry O’Grady made the hard things look simple and were exceptional in their tackling with vital interceptions throughout. Ronnie Geraghty was superb in his long range passes while Enda Cunniffe has settled into the left back position and looked comfortable throughout. Richie Lally & Gary Lally went in hard for every 50/50 ball & played with their heart on their sleeve while Ray was a revelation and Padraig Quirke did a trojan amount of donkey work in the middle of the park as his little fan club looked on. Squelchy had to retire early due to injury which saw the introduction of Tom Flan who was always a threat. One can never underestimate the spirit of Sean Walsh who never gives up and was a constant thorn in Bohs defence while young Jack Kennedy is well blooded in at this stage.
With 6 games played, this team are still unbeaten with a few games in hand. The press conference afterwards revealed manager Timmy Holian was happy enough with the result.
Panel: John Gormally, Enda Cunniffe, Jason finn, Garry O’Grady, Ronnie Geraghty, Ray Moran, Gareth Lally, Padraig Quirke, Richie Lally, Stephen Walsh, Tom Flan, Sean Walsh, Jack Kennedy.
Meanwhile our Reserves lost out to Galway Hibs 4-2 at home yesterday. Dylan Grady & Rob Lally were the goal scorers.