Although 2-0 down at half time our ‘A’ team climbed what looked like an insurmountable deficit yesterday against Corrib Celtic to claw their way back to 3-2 only to concede a late penalty which Corrib Celtic converted to ensure a share of the spoils. It can be incredibly hard to battle back when you find yourself in a hole but these lads showed great character and raw passion and were somewhat unlucky in the end not to grab all 3 points. Gerry Moran’s hoary old football myth is that the hardest lead to defend is 2-0. Well he was proved correct yesterday. It was a game of 2 halves as the first belonged totally to the visitors as Corrib Celtic scored on 20mins and again 5 mins before the break to set Colemanstown on an uphill battle. Tom Flan who was closely marked for the entire game had a good effort from 20yards on 30mins but was well wide of the target. The visitors also had another good chance before the break with a low ball drilled across the box but thankfully the inrushing striker was just centimetres away from connecting. 2-0 at the break. The 2nd half was a totally different affair as a few changes from the gaffer made a big difference. Paddy Mullins was shifted upfront where he caused much trouble alongside Flan & Squelchy with only 3 defenders employed at the back, Kegs, Sean Hardy & Lee Murf. 7 mins after the restart we got the rub of the green as an Alo Finn free kick was whipped in from the left and an OG somehow fortuitously found the net in a crowded box as Corrib Celtic attempted to clear the ball but no one is certain if it took a deflection off a part of someone’s anatomy or how it got in but it didn’t really matter too much to our lads once it hit the net. The equaliser came 25 mins into the 2nd half after a Tom Flan header was knocked onto Paddy Mullins who flicked the ball with the outside of his boot to elude the advancing keeper. On 36mins Ronnie Geraghty played a great ball through the middle into the path of Tom Flan who was taken down from behind and immediately the ref pointed to the penalty spot. Up stepped Flan himself to make no mistake to put us 3-2 up. 2mins later another similar ball put through from Ronnie Geraghty this time found the head of Mullins who wasn’t too far off the mark. Seconds later Ray Moran had a chance which was not all that far away either. With 6 mins left Squelchy was judged to have fouled in defence when it looked like the ball was well cleared from danger but the ref pointed to the spot and the Corrib Celtic striker left Dermot O’Halloran in the Colemanstown goal with no chance and so the game was wrapped up at 3-3. In summary this was a challenge which our lads met head on and relished yet the disappointment was obvious in the end. It could easily have been all 3 points given the great confidence & exuberance they played with particularly in the 2nd half. The well deserved Christmas break should also do these lads the world of good.
Next weekend sees our U11’s play Cregmore in the U11 Developmental league on Saturday which is the closing game for the club before we send our Christmas greetings!