Derby joy as Castlebar reach Connacht Cup semi-finals

Connacht Junior Cup Quarter-Final 

Castlebar 19 

Ballinrobe 8 

Patrick Hennelly in Cloondeash 

Simon Staunton’s try on 66 minutes for Castlebar finally ended the resistance of a brave Ballinrobe outfit at a bitterly cold Cloondeash on Sunday afternoon.

For long spells of this tie Ballinrobe remained on the coattails of their opponents, and up until Staunton’s aforementioned five-pointer, there was every possibility that the Black and White might launch a stirring comeback in this keenly contested Mayo derby.

The visitors were eager to bounce back from their relegation to the Junior One (B) Division the previous weekend, and hoped to prolong their season by advancing to the last four of the cup.

Ballinrobe did have an early opportunity to sneak in front, however, facing into the teeth of a strong breeze, Evan O’Brien’s penalty drifted wide.

At the other end and despite having the elements in his favour, Matthew Staunton’s radar was also slightly askew, with his penalty on 10 minutes failing to find its intended target and the sides remained scoreless.

Castlebar however were in the ascendency, and their persistence and patience paid dividends on 14 minutes. In what was one of the moves of the game, some quick and intricate passing between Sean O’Grady and James Balaski resulted in Bryan O’Flaherty snaffling up possession and crossing the whitewash, much to the delight of the vocal home attendance. Despite Stephen Rogan misplacing the subsequent conversion, the Sky Blue and Navy now had a strong platform from which to build on.

This keenly contested Mayo derby clash took another early twist when Ballinrobe were temporarily reduced to 14 men on 20 minutes, after Evan O’Brien picked up a yellow card.

Castlebar were dominating possession and they deservedly extended their lead on 29 minutes, as Rogan displayed his prowess from the dead-ball by exquisitely guiding over a three-pointer.

It appeared that the hosts were on the verge of enjoying a healthy half-time advantage, but a resilient and gutsy Ballinrobe didn’t read the script and the black and white’s game plan received the perfect tonic deep into first half injury-time. Some eagle-eyed vision from Tom Staunton resulted in a quick lay-off releasing the scampering Liam Burke and the latter made a beguiling dart for the try line and duly claimed a morale boosting five-pointer for his under-pressure team-mates, who trailed by just three points at the break (8-5).

A positive start to the new half was imperative for the Robesiders, however, just one minute into the new period Castlebar stretched their advantage to six points, courtesy of a well-taken penalty by the reliable Rogan.

Once again a brave Ballinrobe refused to bend the knee and the loyal away supporters were delighted to see O’Brien kick a superlative long-range penalty after 44 minutes to erase the hosts lead to just three points (11-8).

It appeared that a titanic battle was on the cards; however, the away game plan suffered a set-back when the dynamic Liam Burke was forced off through injury after 50 minutes. Indeed, the south Mayo side had to rejig matters even further when the industrious Patrick Moylette picked up a yellow on 62 minutes and was sin-binned, with Rogan’s subsequent penalty for Castlebar stretching the hosts lead to six points.

In such a keenly contested battle the next score was going to be crucial and it fell the way of the hosts on 67 minutes. Some intense pressure from Castlebar eventually reaped rewards, when aided by his team-mates; the busy Simon Staunton managed to muscle his way over the try line and sealed the deal for the Sky Blue and Navy, who never relinquished their 19-8 advantage.

Castlebar will now face the daunting prospect of facing high-flying Connemara away from home at The Monastery Field Clifden, in the Connacht Junior Cup Semi-Final.

Connemara defeated Creggs 28-18 in their Connacht Junior Cup quarter-final tie and the same two sides will clash again next Sunday, March 3, in the Junior One (A) League Final.

Castlebar: Simon Staunton, Joseph Howley, Ronan Ipek, Carl Jackson, Sean Connolly, Bryan O’Flaherty, Matthew Staunton, David Staunton, Zach Wright, Sean O’Grady, James Balaski, Luke Staunton, Barry Walsh, Eoghan Hughes, Stephen Rogan. Replacements: Damien Togher, Donnacha Flynn, Daire Mulgrew, Conor King, Liam Hegarty.

Ballinrobe: James McTigue, Peter Finlay, Jamie Treacy, Patrick Moylette, David Madden, Tom Lynagh, Micheál Walsh, Rory Murphy, Cillian Walsh, Evan O’Brien, Liam Burke, Sean Mullin, Tom Staunton, Jarlath Mullin, Shane Biggins.

Replacements: Killian McAleenan, Stephen O’Connor, Marcin Mikolajewski, Sean McTigue, John Enda Flannelly, Eoghan Lynagh.

REF: Shane Tuohy.