Get a sense of the disappointment of the ‘A’ team’s share of the spoils yesterday as unfolded by Ollie Crowe of the ‘A’ Team management quartet.
Cois Farraige 3 Colemanstown 3
The deep feeling of disappointment could not be masked after the final whistle, in Rossaveal on Saturday. After dominating the game from start to finish and showing their usual craft, work rate and honesty, our boys didn’t get what they deserved, after being robbed of all three points, by a last minute equaliser from the home team, Cois Farraige.
Colemanstown controlled the game from the beginning with every player dominant in their position as they passed the ball extremely well. They created numerous chances. The home side, who now lie next to table toppers Mervue, were offered nothing, in terms of scoring chances. It was a tough pill to swallow, to have to share the points.
Our lads exploited the spaces offered by a very large pitch. Threats came from both wings, through the middle and up front. Alan Finn and Geordan Kenny, whose partnership is blossoming nicely, put early pressure on the home side, from the left wing. From the other wing, David Mullins combined well with the hard working Damian Wynne. Conal Docherty and Jason Finn were rock solid in defence and were calm and collected on the ball. In the middle, the midfield trio of Richie Lally, Padraig Quirke and Gary Lally moved the ball cleverly and created numerous chances for the industriousTom Flannery.
Our first goal came from Gary Lally’s clever chip to Richie Lally. Richie beat the offside trap, calmly rounded the keeper to score his first of the season. Our second goal came from a similar Gareth Lally chip. This time it was Geordan who collected. He showed coolness beyond his years to find Padraig Quirke, who finished, despite having little time.
The home side were reduced to ten men near the end of the first half.
Kevin Sayers dived bravely to steal the ball from the feet of the the Cois Farraige striker who was destined to score.
Our domination continued in the second half. Tom Flannery’s continuous hard work was rewarded on 60 minutes, after Damian Wynn dispossessed the Cois Farraige left back and crossed to Tom who finished nicely.
The home side pulled one back after a nicely taken header. But, in truth, it looked inevitable for Colemanstown to score a fourth. Tom hit the post, Geordan hit the side netting. Second half substitute Dylan Grady, who was a thorn in the home side’s defense, cleverly chipped the keeper, but unfortunately was inches over the bar.
Then on 83 minutes the home side were given a lifeline, by being awarded very dubious penalty. Even at 3-2, we still looked like winning the game. Second half substitutes Shane Lally, John O’Brien and Sean Walsh added fresh legs and continued to pressurise the home team. However, with time up, Cois Farraige earned a corner, after good attacking play on the left. They scored from the resulting corner to break the hearts of the away side. True to their nature, our lads did manage to create one final chance. Richie had a powerful shot from the edge of the box that went narrowly over the crossbar.
Needless to say, both management and players were heart-broken after the final whistle. But that’s sport. The boys couldn’t have given more. They couldn’t have dominated more. They couldn’t have tried harder. It was such a pity that their relentless efforts, on a very heavy pitch, after a long journey, were not rewarded with maximum points.