Ballina should expect to begin Moclair Cup defence with a win
Ballina Stephenites' Sam Callinan has broken into the Mayo senior set-up and is now among the first names on his club's teamsheet
Group 2 – Round 1
Mayo Gaels v Ballina Stephenites
at Mayo Abbey
Saturday, Aug 17, 5pm
Mayo Gaels did the hard work early on last year by beating Balla in their opening game. With two points safely in the bank, they went out and, as expected, lost to Ballina and Breaffy. Their group is eerily similar this year, with Westport replacing Breaffy. A similar showing this year will be enough for Mayo Gaels this time around.
They are a club moving in the right direction however and would have fancied reaching the quarter-finals in a group without two recent senior champions.
They have a fine group of attackers in their squad. Jack Fallon, James Jennings and John Gallagher are all quality footballers and they will be bolstered by the return of Adam Gallagher, who has represented Mayo at all levels. Ethan Henry is a brilliant prospect for Mayo Gaels and Ruairi Keane will be key at half-back.
Reigning Moclair Cup champions Ballina Stephenites will fancy their chances of going all the way again this year. While last year’s final was far from excellent viewing, it showed that Ballina were willing to be patient and to grind out victories, which has been key for previous winners like Ballintubber and Knockmore.
They have probably the strongest blend of youth and experience in the county. Players like Padraig O’Hora and Evan Regan have been standouts for a number of years now with Ballina. O’Hora has been a match for any forward in the county and Regan has been a nightmare for any marker tasked with trying to keep him quiet, as a return of 1-28 in 2023 and 4-18 in 2022 would suggest.
Luke Feeney, Frank Irwin, Dylan Thornton, Sam Callinan and Luca Duggan are just some examples of the outstanding younger players in the Ballina squad, all of whom could stake a claim to start for most teams in the county.
The local derby with Balla in round 3 will be the most important game for Mayo Gaels this year and you would expect the county champions to get off to a winning start.
