Ballina boys bask in back-to-back glory

Connacht Gold Mayo SFC – Final 

Ballina Stephenites 1-12 

Knockmore 0-08 

Anthony Hennigan at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, Castlebar 

A 38th Mayo SFC title came a lot easier than anticipated for Ballina Stephenites who swept aside the challenge of next-door neighbours Knockmore, in Castlebar, last Saturday night.

The defending champions, who won last year’s final by scoring only six points, had matched that tally before the end of the first quarter, and while a firework exploded above the Albany End at the start of the second, the biggest bang had already occurred in the opposite goalmouth as Evan Regan smashed home a goal fit to grace any occasion.

Knockmore were so un-Knockmore like that it sort of summed up their evening that co-captain and the usually ultra-reliable David McHale was the man stripped of the football in the lead-up to Evan Regan’s sensational ninth minute major. , a goal that was fit to grace any occasion.

Ballina were ruthless and merciless from the first whistle until last, celebrating every score, every free won, every overturn, as if that particular gain in itself was the match-winning moment. Put them all together, and the Stephenites were as comprehensive Mayo champions as when Castlebar Mitchels beat Knockmore by a dozen points in the 2016 final.

They also won despite the loss of full-back – and former All-Star – Ger Cafferkey before the game due to injury. And whereas Knockmore had failed in an 11th hour appeal to Croke Park to have midfielder Pearse Ruttledge’s suspension overturned, Ballina Stephenites were able to counter the absence of Cafferkey with the return from injury of current and former Mayo players Padraig O’Hora and Mikey Murray. Midfielder Murray picked off a couple of second-half points while O’Hora ended the game as the official man-of-the-match.

It’s that sort of strength in depth – and experience, having now contested three straight Mayo SFC finals – that will have many people believing Niall Heffernan’s could leave a serious imprint on this season’s Connacht Club SFC, which sees them begin that campaign overseas against North London Shamrocks on the weekend after next.

In Sam Callinan, they have a Rolls Royce defender who continues to improve and who still only 21, has the potential to become one of the country’s very best, if he isn’t already. The supporting cast of Liam Golden, David Tighe, Luke Jordan, Sean Regan, until injured, and O’Hora, helped goalkeeper David Clarke keep his fourth clean sheet of the championship.

The midfield partnership of Murray and exquisite free-taker Frank Irwin completely overwhelmed that of Knockmore’s Connell Dempsey and Kevin McLoughlin, who to be fair, looked every inch a player that had sat out the previous two rounds because of injury. While up front for Ballina, the form of Conor McStay is probably as good as has been seen from the centre-forward, so when you have a predator as sharp as Evan Regan inside him again, there is more and more to like about this Ballina side that in back-to-back county finals, has conceded a miserly combined tally of 12 points. Factor in the 1-9 conceded when losing the 2022 final to Westport and it still only amounts to an average concession of eight points per game.

It's a meanness that saw their opponents Knockmore go 20 minutes either side of half-time without a score. When Caolan Hopkins finally ended that barren spell in the 40th minute, his point turned out their only one from play after half-time, with the remainder of their second-half scores coming from the boot of free-taker Aiden Orme, whose stoppage time black card only rubbed salt in Knockmore’s wounds.

Ballina had overcome early wides by Padraig O’Hora and Evan Regan to lead 1-2 to no score after nine minutes. Points by Frank Irwin and Regan, both of them frees, preceded a goal generated by overturning David McHale on the halfway line. Luke Doherty’s instant delivery over the exposed Knockmore full-back line landed to an unmarked Evan Regan who advanced to the 20-metre line before rifling the ball, with all the speed and accuracy of a sniper, past Mayo goalkeeper Colm Reape into the bottom right corner.

Caolan Hopkins struck over a self-won free to open Knockmore’s account in the 11th minute and Keith Ruttledge traded a point with Sam Callinan, but that still left Ballina 1-3 to 0-2 in front at the end of the opening quarter.

Knockmore stayed in contention when Aiden Orme replied to a pointed free by Regan with an absolutely stunning score, chipping the ball into his hands and cutting in from the top right to curl over off his left. But Ballina Stephenites were to finish the first-half strongly and with dual star Sean Regan (he sat out Tooreen’s Connacht Club IHC win against Four Roads earlier in the day) punching a high ball by Luke Feeney over the bar, and Frank Irwin clipping over his second free, the Green and Red were 1-6 to 0-3 ahead at the turnaround.

Injury saw Sean Regan replaced at half-time by Ciaran Boland, a Mayo U20 defender of two seasons ago and another example of Ballina’s panel depth, and the leaders wasted little time in strengthening their position upon the restart, with Conor McStay opening his account after only 58 seconds, in a brilliantly quick attacking move that contrasted starkly with the laborious nature of Knockmore’s approach play heretofore.

The chasers, unable to ever really get to the pitch of the game, were seriously curtailed by Darren McHale being kept on the backfoot by Sam Callinan’s bursts forward, and when Mikey Murray ran onto a pass from Luke Feeney to kick Ballina 1-8 to 0-3 in front in the 39th minute, even this far out from full-time the result looked done and dusted. It was a suspicion confirmed by Ballina responding to Caolan Hopkins scoring off his left for Knockmore’s first point of the half, with three more of their own, through Irwin, a free, McStay and Niall Feeney, which stretched their lead out to 10 points at the three-quarter mark.

It could even have been worse for the Aidan Kilcoyne-John Brogan managed Knockmore, as Evan Regan came within the width of a post from crashing home his and his side’s second goal.

It didn’t matter that the chasers struck four of the game’s final five points, all of them from Orme (three) and Hopkins frees, as the Stephenites had already turned their thoughts to a weekend getaway in London. Their final point was created by McStay and finished by Murray.

It’s the first time since also beating Knockmore in the 2004 Mayo SFC Final that Ballina Stephenites have successfully retained the Moclair Cup.

with an exquisite goal on the counterattack by Evan Regan helping to send them into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead.

Scorers – Ballina: Evan Regan 1-2 (0-2f), Frank Irwin 0-3f, Conor McStay and Mikey Murray 0-2 each, Sam Callinan, Sean Regan and Niall Feeney 0-1 each.

Knockmore: Aidan Orme 0-4 (3f), Caolan Hopkins 0-3 (2f), Keith Ruttledge 0-1.

Ballina Stephenites: David Clarke; Liam Golden, Padraig O’Hora, David Tighe; Sean Regan, Sam Callinan, Luke Jordan; Mikey Murray, Frank Irwin; Luke Doherty, Conor McStay, Niall Feeney; Evan Regan, Luke Feeney, Brendan Collins. Subs: Ciaran Boland (for S Regan ht, inj), Ciaran Treacy (for O’Hora 48-61, blood), Dylan Thornton and Ciaran Sweeney (for Doherty and L Feeney 58), Stephen Mullins (for Golden 60), Treacy (for N Feeney 60+3).

Knockmore: Colm Reape; David McHale, Kieran King, Adam Battle; Nathan Armstrong, Conor Flynn, Sean Holmes; Connell Dempsey, Kevin McLoughlin; Oliver Armstrong, Darren McHale, Keith Ruttledge; Liam Durcan, Aiden Orme, Caolan Hopkins. Subs: Adam Naughton and Billy Ruane (for Dempsey and Flynn 39), Charlie Bourke (for Ruttledge 48), Peter Naughton (for Durcan 53), Darragh Staunton (for Armstrong 57).

REF: Jerome Henry (Castlebar Mitchels)