Ballina are brushed aside by brilliant Brigid’s

Mayo’s wait for one of its clubs to win a Connacht senior title will enter an eleventh season after Ballina Stephenites exited this year’s championship at the hands of St Brigid’s on Sunday afternoon. Of bigger concern than Mayo’s wait however, will be just how comprehensively their standard-bearers were beaten, with the scoreboard reading 1-21 to 3-8 in favour of the Shannonsiders at full-time. Factor in that the locals had eleven different scorers from play and kicked twice as many wides as the Stephenites, and it was quite the reality check.

The early indicators, however, were that the day might pan out very differently, as Dylan Thornton had punched the ball into the St Brigid’s net after only three minutes, while a second Ballina goal in the 18th minute, acrobatically finished by Evan Regan, kept the Moysiders a point ahead. However, St Brigid’s, who had been gifted a Senan Kilbride goal, reeled off nine points unanswered before half-time, including a two pointer by brilliant wing-back Ruaidhri Fallon, to lead 1-12 to 2-1 at the turnaround.

A third Ballina goal arrived only four minutes into the second-half following excellent work by Mike Murray, Dylan Thornton and Sam Callinan, with first-half sub Ben Thornton supplying the finish, but St Brigid’s, who were ravenous under the breaking ball throughout, continued to attack from all angles, and by the 47th minute were ten points clear, as Fallon added another brace and Brian Derwin and sub Charlie O’Carroll whipped over excellent points.

But Ballina never died, and with Mikey Murray landing a two-pointer and Evan Regan two singles, had Ben Thornton managed to finish a 52nd minute goal chance, that would have reduced the deficit to four points. St Brigid’s, however, were able to see out the game in relative ease to secure a Connacht final showdown with Moycullen, which will be a clash of the 2023 champions against the 2022 champions.

See Tuesday’s Western People for full coverage.