Celtic's three-in-a-row hopes end late on by Colga
Castlebar Celtic's Daniel Ajenipa tries to go past a Colga defender. Picture John Corless
There will be no three-in-a-row Connacht Cups for Castlebar Celtic after they crashed out at the quarter final stage, to Galway table-toppers Colga FC in the high winds of Clarinbridge on Sunday afternoon.
A goal from man of the match Nathan Ward, who won an Oscar Traynor Cup medal with Galway two weeks ago, three minutes into stoppage time sealed Celtic’s fate on a day when they were second best overall.
Celtic had two half chances in the opening period. Fionn Mahon shot wide from Jason Hunt’s pass and Mark Cunningham blasted over on the half hour. Colga with the strong wind on their backs, had the better of the half. Calum Brown on the left wing was a constant threat and as a result, Mark Cunningham, his marker, was forced to stay defensive.
In the middle Tom Daly and Niall Greaney proved a handful for the Celtic defensive duo of Ioseph O’Reilly and Brian Walsh. Daly came close on three occasions and Greaney had two shots. A combination of pressure from the defenders, good goalkeeping by Peter Basquille and wayward shooting kept the score at nil-nil at half time.
Celtic started the second half brighter. They had the wind advantage and immediately threatened when the returning Jason Hunt went raiding on the wing, before cutting inside and pulling the trigger, only to be denied by Mark Greaney in the Colga goal. From the other side, Mark Cunningham crossed low but there was nobody to connect.
For a while it looked like it was only a matter of time before Celtic would take control. But Colga weathered the storm and created a few chances of their own. As in the first half, Greaney and Daly were the target men. Byrne continued where he left off in the first half, by threatening on the wing and when the three of them combined, four minutes in, it should have been 1-0.
Peter Basquille made a big save to keep Celtic in it, when he blocked Jackson De Silva’s thunderous shot from point blank range on 71 minutes. Daly and Greaney piled on the pressure with shots that missed the target as Colga stepped up the pressure. And then Celtic’s big chance fell to Luke Kelly, when Davitt Neary found him right in front of the goal with a low cross, but Kelly was denied by Greaney in the Colga goal and that was as close as Celtic came to getting anything from this tie.
When Colga got a free kick three minutes into stoppage time, Ward, who had an excellent match at centre back, went forward and scrambled the ball to the net after both Daly and Greaney were denied by O’Reilly and Basquille as the ball ping-ponged on the Celtic goalline. Colga deserved their goal and their win, but to lose at the death is harsh on Celtic. Their defeat ends Mayo interest in this year’s competition; the final four is made up of Galway teams.
“We're very disappointed,” said Castlebar Celtic manager Stevie Gavin after the game. “It was a tight game. It was a tough game. There wasn't much in it. They got that break at the end. It's disappointing, very disappointing. We're literally just after the whistle. It's disappointing, but we've had five unbelievable years. We're all disappointed now, trying to process it, but we've had five unbelievable years. in the Connacht Cup. We've been in three finals and won two of them. Yeah, we're disappointed, but the players gave everything. I can't ask for anything more. That's sport.
“We've won enough games in the last kick of the game as well, so fair play to Colga.
"The game ebbed and flowed. I think the balance of chances, I'm not too sure, I think we possibly had the better chances. They had Peter Baskerville made a great save in the first half and towards, towards I think about 10 minutes left and their keeper made, saved well from Luke Kelly. We had some good balls in the box and we just didn't finish them as well.”
Colga: Mark Greaney; Eddie Silke, Nathan Ward, Liam Corcoran; Jackson Daniel Rosa De Silva; Calum Browne, Ben Lalor, Padraig Pearl, Jorge Inacio Lopes; Niall Greaney, Tom Daly. Sub: Conor Slevin (for Pearl 80).
Castlebar Celtic: Peter Basquille; Mark Cunningham, Ioseph O’Reilly, Brian Walsh, Ben McHale; Ben Murphy, Fionn Mahon, Johnny Cocozza; Luke Kelly, Eoghan Hughes, Jason Hunt. Subs: Davitt Neary (for McHale 69), Oran Murphy and Daniel Ajenipa (for B Murphy and Hunt 79).
REF: John O’Connor (Galway League).
