U12 Boys Championship 1/ 2 Cup 1st round. Colemanstown Utd 2 – 1 East Galway Utd. In honesty this home game played yesterday should have been over as a contest at half time only for the brilliance of the visiting keeper. He pulled off 6 or 7 tremendous saves to deny us goals while he faced a stiff breeze. East Galway Utd won the toss and elected to play against the wind in the first half. Colemanstown piled on the pressure with wave after wave of relentless attacking but the keeper was equal to every shot. Efforts from Frank Dunne, Evan Molloy, James Kilkenny and Oisin Flannery couldn’t find the net. Phelim Flynn in goals had little to do but distribute a few nice kick outs and marshall the back 3 of Chris Burke, Conor Egan and Matt Feeney who controlled the defence expertly. We were finally rewarded with a goal on 25mins as some neat footwork from Mark Shaughnessy bought him a yard of space and he curled a beautiful effort around the stretching keeper to break the deadlock. 1-0 at half time and facing into a storm. Kerill Walsh was the only half time substitution as he took over in goals for the second half. Despite playing against the wind the boys controlled the game and kept possession limiting East Galway Utd to a few long range efforts. On 15 mins the equaliser was hit after a spinning effort was saved by Kerrill Walsh but their striker was first to react to finish to the net. Jack Grealish, Se Laffey and Ethan Monaghan replaced Chris Burke, Mark Shaughnessy and Matt Feeney who had worked their socks off all day. Again we piled on the pressure and after a few corners were cleared a loose ball fell to Frank Dunne on the edge of the box. He controlled it superbly and fired a beauty into the top corner. A quick formation change saw George Moore and Aaron Burke replace James Kilkenny and Evan Molloy. The boys held on despite a few late attacks to take the victory and a place in the next round. The well earned selection boxes were scoffed down after the game as the boys head into the Christmas break. Match Report: Adrian Burke.
Match day Squad. Phelim Flynn, Chris Burke, Conor Egan, Matt Feeney, James Kilkenny, Oisin Flannery, Mark Shaughnessy, Evan Molloy, Frank Dunne, Aaron Burke, George Moore, Kerrill Walsh, Ethan Monaghan, Jack Grealish, Se Laffey
U14 Boys Div1/ 2 Cup. Moyne Villa 1 – 4 Colemanstown. An emphatic 1st half performance aided by the breeze laid the foundation for our U14 Boys to earn their way to Round 2 of the Divisional Cup away to Moyne Villa yesterday. Unlike last week, this week the lads took the opportunities that came their way. Daniel Ruane & Dermot Parker teamed up well together as Ruane provided the assists for Parker’s first 2 goals in similar fashion – both Ruane crosses from the left into the box, which were splendidly controlled & equally well finished by Dermot Parker. Colemanstown maintained their composure & pressed hard earning 7/8 corners in the 1st half. Daithi Burns & Daniel Ruane also has notable half chances. Our 3rd before the break came from a set piece. A Finian Walsh corner whipped into the box was met by Owen Hillary on the volley to steer past the keeper & leave the score 3-0 & Colemanstown in the driving seat at the break. Thomas Kennedy & Sean Forde were introduced to the wings for the 2nd half where they both caused new problems. From the restart, the Headford side started to create chances with the breeze at their backs for the 2nd half & clawed one back early on as Colemanstown were coming to terms with the tough conditions. Then Moyne Villa were awarded a penalty & it looked like they would be right back in the game but Aidan Quinn had something to say about those thoughts. In another thrilling moment, a split second reaction from Quinn saw him make a fine stop. The hosts created a few more chances but many attacks were snuffed out by a vigilant Colemanstown back 4 of Liam O’Connor, David Barrett, Darragh Finnerty & Daragh Blake who were well on top of their game. Tim Ruane & Conor Saunders teamed up well up front but it was Sean Forde who made certain when he made an advancing run up the left wing, took on the defenders before cutting into the box where he scored a peach from close range with 10mins to go. Moyne Villa hit the crossbar after that from distance but a resilient Colemanstown stayed firm with everyone putting in a sizeable shift to advance to Round 2 of the Cup competition. Match report: Martina Donnellan
Squad: Aidan Quinn, Liam O’Connor, David Barrett, Darragh Finnerty, Daragh Blake, Daithi Burns, Jack Barrett, Daniel Ruane, Owen Hillary, Finian Walsh, Dermot Parker, Thomas Kennedy, Sean Forde, Conor Saunders, Tim Ruane.
U18 Championship: Colemanstown 7 – 0 Merlin Woods. Our U18s mastered a dominant win over Merlin Woods battling through tough weather conditions to take the 3 points. Colemanstown ran riot in the 1st half & registered the opener when a long Shane Duffy free found Kyle Madden who floated in a cross which hit some part of Tiarnan Lohan’s anatomy, he still managed to get the shot in which thundered off the crossbar but was on hand again to volley home the rebound as early as 4mins. Moments later Conor van Oosterhout saw his powerful effort sail wide but by the 9th minute Lohan scored his 2nd. Shane Quirke originated the move feeding Jonah Donnellan whose cross into the box was met by a fully stretched Lohan at the back post. Lohan who turned everything he touched to gold today, had scored his hatrick by the 10th minute. This time he headed home a David Walsh corner at the back post to put Colemanstown firmly in command. As Colemanstown mounted the pressure, they created a hatful more chances. Shane Quirke got on the scoresheet on 17mins after he showed great trickery & footwork with side steps & step overs before he struck from the edge of the box into the far corner. Diarmuid Ryan was wide with a header & Tiarnan Lohan drew a diving save from the keeper. Then came a passage of play worth waiting for just before the break. Kyle Madden executed a spectacular rainbow flick near the right corner flag, delivering a precise cross to Lohan, who capped off his 1st half heroics with a stunning 4th goal which was well worth the wait as he timed his run with precision to leave the crowd in awe, delivering a great passage of brilliant play which was the highlight of a super opening half. 5-0 at the break. The 2nd half saw the introduction of Donnacha Walsh & Cathal Kennedy for Kyle Madden & Jonah Donnellan. Fionn Flattery made his first save of the game, 5mins after the restart when he had to be vigilant to concede a corner. Josh Buckley saw his header saved before Tyler Collins was introduced to right back. Then a rare sight ensued as Fionn Flattery traded his gloves for an outfield jersey, slotting in at left back for the remainder of the game, with David Walsh taking over duties in goal. Tiarnan Lohan continued to cause problems as the visitors scrambled the ball off the goal line inches ahead of the advancing Lohan. Midway through the 2nd half a Merlin Woods free kick from the centre circle flew over David Walsh’s cross bar as Fionn Campbell was introduced on the left wing to continue the running & attacking prowess of Shane Quirke. Conor van Oosterhout had a speculative shot from a good distance out which wasn’t too far away from the top of the crossbar. With about 5mins to play, Colemanstown extended the lead. Donnacha Walsh did great work at the right corner flag, worked the ball into the edge of the box only to see his effort parried by the keeper towards the left corner flag where Aironas Kantauskas retrieved the ball, dribbled towards the edge of the 18’ box where he let fly across the box into the far top corner. Right at the death, Colemanstown scored their 7th when Donnacha Walsh superbly controlled a lovely floated delivery from Cathal Kennedy & still with some work to do, he drilled his effort across the goal into the far corner where Aironas was on hand to make sure but it was Donnacha who claimed the goal to round off a dominant Colemanstown display. It was a strong team performance overall, but Tiarnan Lohan undoubtedly stole the spotlight with his four 1st half goals. Final score: Colemanstown 7 – 0 Merlin Woods. Match Report: Martina Donnellan
Squad: Fionn Flattery, Josh Buckley, Diarmuid Ryan, Shane Duffy, David Walsh, Conor van Oosterhout, Aironas Kantauskas, Jonah Donnellan, Shane Quirke, Tiarnan Lohan, Cathal Kennedy, Tyler Collins, Fionn Campbell, Donnacha Walsh.