Breaffy beat the drop and send Belmullet down

AbbVie Mayo SFL Division 1:

Breaffy, champions just last year, avoided relegation from Division 1 of the Mayo Senior Football League on Saturday evening, with their final round win away to Belmullet instead condemning their hosts to the drop.

Conditions, as is so often the case in Tallagh, were a significant factor in this match, but it was as much what Breaffy scored against the breeze as with it, which was crucial in the context of their 1-14 to 1-7 victory.

In contrast, Belmullet were unable to raise a single flag in the first-half when having to play into the teeth of the elements.

Joe Mellett helped Breaffy get off to the perfect start by landing five points inside the opening 12 minutes, including a two point free, two frees, and one point from play. Mellett would later add a sixth first-half point which allied with singles from Paul McDermott, Robert Fadden and Daire Morrin, and a two point free curled over by Conor O’Shea, meant that the visitors were 0-11 to no score in front at half-time.

Belmullet came out for the restart looking like a team that meant business and considering it took them only eleven minutes to cut their arrears to three points, through a 35th minute goal, a two point free, ’45 and two points from play, there was every chance the day could end with Breaffy headed for Division 2 instead. However, the big turning point was when Joe Mellett hit the locals for a 46th minute goal against the run of play. It sucked the wind from Belmullet’s sails and they were only able to score once more for the entire game, which was a two pointer from play.

Conor O’Shea fired over a free and Mellett, who was excellent throughout, increased his tally to 1-8 when rubbing salt into Belmullet wounds by driving over a two point free against the wind for the final score of the game.

Joining Belmullet in Division 2 next season will be Claremorris whose fate was already decided prior to their trip to Westport on Saturday evening. But Kevin Beirne’s side did end their campaign on a positive note by serving Westport only their second defeat of the season. Claremorris prevailed by 10 points at St Patrick’s Park, 1-22 to 2-9. Westport's place in the Division 1 final, however, had already been secured prior to Saturday's clash.

The catalyst to this Claremorris win was very strong finishes to both halves. The South Mayo outfit held a narrow 0-7 to 1-3 lead after 20 minutes but fired over six more points before the interval to lead 0-13 to 1-4 at the turnaround. And when Westport came back at them with a second goal to make it a two point game, 0-17 to 2-9, with 10 minutes left to play, the visitors from South Mayo rattled off a goal and five points to secure what was their second win, the other having come at home to Castlebar Mitchels.

Mitchels were also in action on Saturday, taking the points from their trip to Garrymore. Kevin Filan’s side won on a scoreline of 2-18 to 1-15 but it’s fair to say that Garrymore will probably have some regrets.

The hosts started the game slowly but in a 20 minute period either side of half-time had outscored Castlebar Mitchels by 1-10 to 0-3 and looked to have all the momentum, only to falter in the final quarter.

Mitchels were 1-7 to 0-2 in front when Mark Gibbons struck Garrymore’s first and only goal of the evening and by half-time the locals had their arrears reduced to two points, 1-9 to 1-7, with Gibbons and Darren Quinn (who had scored Garrymore’s opening two points) firing a point apiece from frees, while Trevor Nally scored a brace from play and Mark Gibbons one from play.

Gibbons was in superb form and curled over a pair of two pointers for his side’s opening scores of the second-half, as Garrymore hit the front for the first time. Indeed a single by Colin Commins moved them two points in front, 1-12 to 1-10, after 40 minutes.

But if Mitchels looked like a team in trouble, they didn’t play like it. Their response was to reel off a goal and five points unanswered and while a Micheál Connolly point and another two pointer from play by Gibbons kept the home side within four points with five minutes left to play, Castlebar were able to close out the game.

A second-half goal from penalty spot by Tiernan Brady ended any hopes of a Crossmolina comeback from their trip to Ballintubber last Friday evening.

Crossmolina had found themselves 0-12 to 0-2 behind after only 19 minutes of this clash in Clogher and remained 10 points behind after 41 minutes, 0-15 to 0-5, before a run of scores by Cillian Fergus, Patrick Leddy and Fionán Duffy saw them close the gap to just three points, entering the final five minutes. Oisin Deane had contributed a first-half brace.

But just when a grandstand finish seemed assured, Brady blasted home a penalty for Ballintubber who tagged on two more points from play to run out 1-19 to 0-14 winners.

With little riding on so many of the final round fixtures, it meant that trends and results had to be taken with a pinch of salt, like how Ballina Stephenites, who had won seven of their eight previous league games to already secure their place in the Division 1 final, were seventeen points in arrears by the half-time whistle sounded on their game away to arch rivals Knockmore on Saturday evening.

The home side led 0-6 to no score after nine minutes and buried a couple of goals just before half-time to lead the Stephenites by 2-13 to 0-2 at the turnaround.

Ballina improved drastically upon the resumption, scoring eight of the ten points in the third quarter before firing home a 46th minute goal. However, Knockmore had all the hard work done in the first-half and despite scoring just three points in the second-half, held on for a 2-16 to 1-15 win.