This was a Connaught Cup game where the result certainly didn’t reflect the impetus of Colemanstown’s play and definitely wasn’t a fair reflection of the game in general. While it took Colemanstown a while to adjust to the astro turf conditions which was always a worry once they knew this game would have to proceed on the artificial surface under lights given the weekend closure of all City Council pitches. This was far from how the Colemanstownees were rared! Mervue forged into attack from the start as they hit the crossbar from out wide on the left and missed a close range header early on and one always sensed danger when they got the break. But Colemanstown settled in nicely as long range efforts fell to Tom Flan& Ray Moran. Mervue got off the mark on the half hour when they converted from the penalty spot which appeared a harsh enough decision. They doubled their lead just before the break when their striker finished a good move down the right wing. Fresh from the restart a revitalised Colemanstown resumed play with their best passage of football. For the next 25 mins they played a great passing game and were simply a joy to watch. Conor Feeney had an early 2nd half chance as Colemanstown stepped up their intensity. And then came the wonder strike from Tom Flan and what a peach it was! An unbelievable curling shot from outside the box which seemed to take forever to dip and find the net and so leave the sizeable Colemanstown contingent in awe. The crowd erupted and Mervue were stunned. We could sense a 2nd goal – possibly the equaliser. At this stage Colemanstown were dominating the game and neutrals would be hard pushed to fathom out which team was the Premier league side. Then came the deciding moment another harsh penalty call and even though Alan ‘Junior’ Finn made a sensational save the rebound fell to the feet of the penalty taker who fired home from close range. Mervue scored a 4th in a one-on-one effort after a momentary lapse of concentration from Colemanstown. Tom Flan scored another classic with 2 mins to go when he ran on to a defense splitting pass from Ray Moran. This was a game that Colemanstown didn’t really deserve to lose but probably didn’t do enough to win. One would have to praise the players and management team who put in a trojan effort but at least the night itself ended well: The mystery of the missing buggy was solved!! Final Score Colemanstown 2; Mervue Utd 4