Castlebar Celtic win record-breaking tenth Connacht Cup
Castlebar Celtic players celebrate with the Connacht Junior Cup. Picture: David Farrell Photography
Castlebar Celtic have officially secured their place as the most successful team in Connacht Cup history after they defeated Maree/Oranmore 2-1 in Lecarrow this afternoon to win the trophy for a tenth time.
Maree/Oranmore, appearing in their first ever Connacht Cup final, were the underdogs but went ahead against the run of play through Malachy Black on 34 minutes. Celtic equalised instantly when Luke Kelly found the net and they went ahead jest before half-time when Jordan Loftus headed home Jason Hunt's free-kick.
It was all Celtic in the second half but they could not put their opponents away, with Dylan Edwards seeing a goal disallowed when his free-kick was chalked off after Luke Kelly was deemed to be obstructing the Maree/Oranmore goalkeeper.
The Galway side dug in but were hit with a hammer blow on 78 minutes when Ciaran Black was sent off. Celtic could have added a couple of more goals late on but it mattered little while at the other end, Maree/Oranmore were held off by an excellent rearguard, led by the superb Ioseph O'Reilly who was deservedly named man of the match.
