Colemanstown Masters started well against Castlerea at home on Saturday last and found themselves 1-0 up on 15mins when Mark Kirby was taken down in the box and Paul O’Connor riffled the resultant penalty to the net. There were little more clear-cut first half chances to talk about. Sayers returned to his normal spot between the posts and made some superb stops as he soldiered on through a dead leg on a hot evening with tempers matching the heat. All four at the back were solid throughout and grew in confidence as the game progressed. Cian O’Toole returned to his normal spot at centre back alongside the steady Ross Sullivan with Alan Walsh also back to his usual position at left back having missed the last couple of games through injury. Veteran Garry O’Grady showed his experience at right back.
Ronan Geraghty, it’s good to see this lad back ….. anchored the midfield position as Adrian Burke lived up to everyone’s usual expectations of him. Liam Flannery worked hard on the right wing with the versatile Kenny Duane doing likewise on the left flank. Up front, Mark Kirby was in his usual threatening form while it was good to see the one armed bandit Paul O’Connor make a safe return from injury. Gary Broderick was in an advisory role for this game, having to take it easy for this one after injuring his back the previous weekend whilst feeding the dog!.
Early in the 2nd half, Colemanstown made it 2-0 as Fintan Finnerty weaved through on goal and the keeper in his ‘all black’ jersey thought he was on a rugby pitch with a hard foul on Finnerty outside the box. Ronan Geraghty floated in the free kick towards the back post where CianO rose highest to head across the box where Barry Donnellan was lurking and he finished nicely. The couple of hours in bed did him well as it awoke him from his sleepy slumber suffering the after effects of jab 2 & it was like he received a shot of an epiPen with energy galore for the game.
With Donnellan receiving a yellow card following a build-up of three heavy tackles, saw the introduction of Prince Philip moments later. The Prince was no sooner on the field when Liam Flannery, after good work on the right, slotted the ball through a gap for Philip to run on to but his run was a bit premature and he was deemed offside. That all elusive goal will come yet Philip, just keep practicing your goal celebration…
With the sun shining and two nerve-settling goals scored, the Colemanstown fans were in a pretty jovial mood as their team began to play the sort of free-flowing, attacking football that we know they are well capable of. This stage of the game also saw the introduction of David Kirby sporting a new military style haircut that Prince Philip was even proud of. Castlerea pulled a goal back midway through the half but with great work from the entire squad, Colemanstown held out for a well-earned 2-1 win. Well done lads, it looks like it might be a 3 game sprint to the finish line with Colemanstown very much in the equation.
Squad: Kevin Sayers, Alan Walsh, Cian O’Toole, Ross Sullivan, Garry O’Grady, Adrian Burke, Kenny Duane, Ronan Geraghty, Liam Flannery, Mark Kirby, Paul O’Connor, Barry Donnellan, Philip Dee, Barry Forde, Damien Mannion, Fintan Finnerty, David Kirby, Gary Broderick.