Mervue B 1; Colemanstown United 5
Following on from our underage lads showing us the way as they brushed aside their opposition on Saturday it was the turn of our A team who hit all the right notes with a classy demolition of a Mervue B side who had started their season with three wins from 4. The game started with Colemanstown taking the fight to their hosts Mervue and early chances fell to both Gareth Lally and John O’Brien who combined to great effect only for the Mervue keeper to be equal to their effort.
Despite Colemanstown having the lions share of possession, Mervue did look threatening on the break and a smart save from John Gormally followed by some composed defending from Conor Jackson and Jason Finn kept honours even with half an hour played. In fact it was more composed defending from our dominant centre halves that saw defence turned quickly into attack as Ray Moran was set free on the half way line and as he bore down on the Mervue defence he threaded a precise through ball to Gareth Lally who made no mistake to fire past the onrushing Mervue keeper. A richly deserved lead was almost doubled minutes later when John O’Brien set Ray Moran through on goal; however the Mervue keeper got a strong hand to the strike and his defence managed to hack the rebound clear.
As the half drew to a close Mervue began to exert some pressure. A mistimed challenge gave them a chance to launch a ball into the Colemanstown penalty area and their striker headed the ball back across goal where a Mervue player stabbed home the equaliser to leave honours even at 1-1 as the halftime whistle arrived.
When Colemanstown took to the field for the second half they would have been forgiven for having some mental scars given the return they have been getting of late from some equally good performances. However the character in the team could never be questioned and from the very start of the 2nd half there only ever looked to be one winner in this contest.
Captain for the day Padraig Quirke and Ray Moran began to dominate the midfield while on the wings Colemanstown started to get fullbacks Steven Walsh and Jack Kennedy to join the attack with Dylan Grady and Ronan Geraghty on the wings working tirelessly to keep Colemanstown in the ascendency.
A chance fell to Ronan Geraghty whose shot was deflected for a corner although rather fortunately as it looked to be rising over the bar while moments later Ray Moran’s half volley also just rose over following some great build-up play. Another good move saw Gareth Lally win the race with the Mervue keeper but as he rounded the keeper a Mervue defender arrived to deny Gareth an open goal.
Finally with 20 mins played in the second half Colemanstown regained the lead. Jack Kennedy tore forward down the left wing, his pass found the feet of Tom Flannery who managed to find a yard of space before placing a pinpoint cross on the head of the onrushing Ray Moran who fired a brilliant header to the roof of the Mervue net.
Buoyed by that goal Colemanstown began to turn the screw and they continued to play some brilliant football in what was a great 2nd half performance from everyone involved. Tom Flan was tormenting the Mervue defence and after one or two sighters he had the Mervue keeper at full stretch to keep out his fierce drive but John O’Brien was sharpest to react and fired home the rebound to make it 3-1 with 15 minutes to play. Five minutes later it was the turn of Damo Wynne who cut in from the right wing before leaving the Mervue defenders in knots and firing an unstoppable shot across the keeper and into the corner of the net.
With time almost up, Damo Wynne this time turned provider as a brilliant team move with precise passing saw the ball pulled back to the edge of the box where young Tomas Carr put the icing on the cake with a cool finish to the bottom corner leaving the keeper with no chance……not the last league goal from Tomas I’m sure and great to see the future stars of Colemanstown having such a big part to play with the likes of Jack Kennedy, Dylan Grady, Shane Lally, Jarlath Healy and of course Tomas Carr all featuring prominently this season so far. With the youth team developing well under the management of Conor Jackson and Mark Kirby then there’s no doubt the future looks bright!
The last word in Mervue was left to a man who is doing great work with our players of the future as he coaches/manages our U12 & U13 side…….in the absence of our injured captain Alan Finn – who would normally assume free kick duties, Jason Finn strode forward to take a free kick on the edge of the Mervue box and his left footed drive whistled NARROWLY over the bar to leave the final score at 5-1 and the Colemanstown contingent pleased with a job well done and at last a result our efforts deserved.
Man of the match: Ray Moran – Excellent workrate and application as his constant probing earned him a goal and an assist while he and Padraig Quirke in midfield made several vital interceptions to stop the Mervue attack. Match report compiled by Ronan Geraghty and makes some of the finest reading….. Thanks Ronnie
Squad: John Gormally, Stephen Walsh, Conor Jackson, Jason Finn, Jack Kennedy, Ronan Geraghty, Ray Moran, Padraig Quirke, Dylan Grady, Gareth Lally, John O’Brien
Subs used: Tomas Flannery, Damien Wynne, Ronan Carr, Tomas Carr, Jarlath Healy