Moran hits the goal trail in big league win for Colemanstown

Loughrea 0

RAY Moran struck a hat-trick as Colemanstown United maintained their First Division title challenge with a one-sided victory over hapless visitors on Sunday morning.

However long before the kick off, Loughrea had thrown in the towel as over half the side that shocked leaders Salthill Devon the previous week were not available and, indeed, they had just 11 players on the day.

Their cause was further weakened by the opening half dismissal of Gavin Shaughnessy for a verbal issue with the match official and on a bad day for them, an injury picked up by Stephen McCormack saw him retire as they played out the second half with just nine players.

Now none of that can take away from an impressive Colemanstown performance as they were four up at the break and comfortably on the way to victory by the time of all the visitors’ departures. The win was their fifth in succession and, in the process, they have racked up 19 goals, while goalkeeper Alan Finn has conceded just one in that spell.

Though they threatened from early on, it took the home side until the 24th minute to make a breakthrough. Neat footwork by Kerill Hardiman saw him denied twice by an impressive Brendan Quinn before Ray Moran stroked home the second rebound.

They quickly added a second when left full Alan Finn set the ball rolling when winning possession in his own area and releasing Tom Flannery down the line. The striker side-stepped a few token challenges in a mazy dribble that saw him eventually fire home from close range.

At this stage, the dismissal of Shaughnessy just added to the visitors’ problems, but they threatened to pull one back when it took a smart save by Alan Finn to deny Darren Creaven in a one-on-one situation on 32 minutes.

Subsequently, the home side made it 3-0 when Flannery headed a deep Damien Wynne free kick down at the far post and Moran swept home the breaking ball. They added a fourth before the break when Kerill Hardiman finished at close range  after Wynne provided the initial cross from the left.

Loughrea threatened a response as a few set pieces gave them opportunities, but Creaven could get little power into a shot saved by Finn, while a solid challenge by Ollie Crowe denied David Reilly in the box.

Despite the heroics of Quinn, Colmanstown still added four more on the resumption, with Moran getting a touch to a Ronan Geraghty free kick on 53 minutes to complete his hat trick, before Flannery released Hardiman to round the goalkeeper and roll number six into an empty net.

Now credit is due to the remaining Loughrea players who did their utmost in retreat and they even went close to scoring only for Finn to make a smart near post save to deny Brian Kenny, while Creaven was wide with a header.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.