Our A team travelled to Tuam on Friday night last to take on Tuam Celtic for their 4th League game of the season
Unfortunately the tie clashed with two north board football semi finals that involved 7 of the panel who lined out for both Padraig Pearses and Menlough.
However the depth of the squad and the addition of some promising young talent meant that we were better equipped this year than we may have been in seasons past to deal with the loss of so many of our squad.
The game started off with little in the way of goalmouth incident as both midfields battled to get a grip on proceedings with Colemanstown having the better of the chances early on as Squelchy and Sean Walsh combined well down the right flank to work some good openings only for the final ball to let us down on occasion.
In defense Ronan Geraghty was deputising for Conor Jackson at centre back and he needed all the help of his central defensive partner Jason Finn to keep a lively Tuam strike force at bay as Tuam grew into the game and looked to soak up pressure and hit Colemanstown on the break. Indeed Jason was immense throughout this encounter and thwarted the Tuam attack on numerous occasions while also looking to step forward and get us on the attack at all times.
The deadlock was broken 5 minutes before half time when a Tuam corner was defended well only for the clearance to be returned to the area where a momentary lapse in concentration saw the Tuam striker rise unchallenged to head home the opener.
Half time arrived with the Tuam side leading 1-0 in an evenly matched contest as the Colemanstown bench swelled with the arrival of the victorious footballers from both their successful semi final encounters.
Colemanstown started the second half with a new impetus and dominated the opening 20 minutes with Mossy Carr working tirelessly in midfield alongside Ray Moran and Alan Finn as our midfield trio pushed high and controlled the game while our fullbacks of Stephen Walsh and Jack Kennnedy camped in the Tuam half as wave after wave of attack finally bore fruit when great work by John O’Brien in the Tuam penalty area saw him clipped as he looked to get his shot away and the referee pointed to the spot.
Ronan Geraghty dispatched the resulting spot kick and deservedly levelled the tie with 25 minutes left to play.
Colemanstown continued to dominate after the equaliser as the not so fresh legs joined the action and chances fell on 3 or 4 occasions only for the final shot to rise high and it seemed as though the game would peter out to a share of the spoils.
However lady luck was not on our side and in the 87thminute a Tuam free kick was swung into the box and as the heads rose to meet it the ball somehow found it’s way into our net to the dismay of all involved.
As stoppage time ticked by and Colemanstown pushed forward to get the equaliser their efforts deserved another huge piece of good fortune. However, another Tuam goal saw them seal the win and leave the final result at a bitterly disappointing 3-1 to the hosts.
It’s been a tough start to the league campaign and a harsh lesson learned for the lads as that little bit of luck has just not been going our way. We travel to a table topping Mervue side on Sunday next and if we keep our attitude and workrate at the levels we expect from a Colemanstown side then no doubt our luck will change……
Man of the Match: Jason Finn – was solid as a rock at the back and took no prisoners while always looking to get us playing on the front foot.
Team: Joe Flannery, Stephen Walsh, Ronan Geraghty, Jason Finn, Jack Kennedy, Ray Moran, Alan Finn, Tomas Carr, Sean Walsh, John O’Brien, Shane Lally
Subs used: Jarlath Healy, Conor Jackson, Ronan Carr, Gareth Lally, Padraig Quirke
An excellent match report from Ronan Geraghty on last Fridays league encounter in Tuam.