Breaffy have no answer to rampant Rovers display
Crosmolina’s Oisin Deane hammers home a goal during Saturday's clash with Breaffy. Picture: David Farrell Photography
The high-scoring exploits of Crossmolina Deel Rovers continued last Saturday evening as they convincingly swept aside an understrength Breaffy.
As well as county trio Aidan O’Shea, Matthew Ruane and Jack Livingstone, two other starters from Breaffy’s win over Garrymore a week previously, Aidan Cunningham and Mark Ward, were also absent. As a result, Breaffy’s forward line was severely lacking in creativity and scoring power as well as some luck, with two of the goals they conceded coming from point attempts by Crossmolina that had come back off the woodwork.
That is to take nothing away from Crossmolina, however. What Breaffy were lacking, Crossmolina had in abundance, even without their own county trio of Jordan Flynn, Conor Loftus and Kobe McDonald. Mayo under-20 forwards Dylan Flynn and Oisin Deane were excellent while Niall Coggins was a key threat in the full-forward line alongside James Maheady.
Yet it was Breaffy who had the better start to the game, with James Minogue denied a goal inside the opening two minutes thanks to a save by JP Mulhern. The hosts did get the opening score through Paul McDermott, after Breaffy had turned over the Deel men in their own half, and they added another through Conor O’Shea after good work by Davitt Neary.
Crossmolina were level through a brilliant Dylan Flynn two-pointer and went in front seconds later through Cathal Carolan, only for Niall Carter to draw Breaffy back level with ten minutes played.
It remained deadlocked at the end of the first quarter after Patrick Leddy and Conor O’Shea, a free, traded efforts. Crossmolina were beginning to build momentum, and they went back in front after a James Maheady score from outside the arc.
Maheady would restore Crossmolina’s two-point lead again on 18 minutes following Conor O’Shea’s third point. Both sides missed chances to split the posts before Crossmolina captialised on some good fortune on 26 minutes. Dylan Flynn’s attempt at a two-point free struck the post and dropped into the hands of Cathal Carolan, who quickly fed substitute Oisin Deane to thunder home Crossmolina’s first major.
There was nothing fortunate about Crossmolina’s second goal before the break however, as Mikie Loftus, Aaron Coggins and Niall Coggins combined in a swift attack, and Niall Coggins fired home past Luca Meldrum to make it 2-8 to 0-5 at half-time.
Any faint hopes for Breaffy were extinguished three minutes after the restart. Again, the frame of the goal came into play as a fisted effort by Mikie Loftus came back off the woodwork and Diarmuid Fox was quickest to react for Crossmolina’s third goal.
The visitors had tagged on another three points by the end of the third quarter through James Mulhern, Dylan Flynn and Oisin Deane to make it 3-11 to 0-5. The game lost much of its intensity from hereon as both sides ran their benches. Deane tagged on another two points for the visitors while Breaffy got their first score of the half on 58 minutes thanks to Conor O’Shea, while Ben Murphy got the game’s last from a free in added time, but the outcome had long been decided by then, Both sides are on the road next weekend. Breaffy make the short trip to Ray Prendergast Park to take on Ballintubber while Crossmolina travel to the county town to face Castlebar Mitchels.
Scorers – Crossmolina Deel Rovers: Oisin Deane 1-0-3, Niall Coggins and Diarmuid Fox 1-0-0, Dylan Flynn and James Maheady (f) 0-1-1 each, Patrick Leddy 0-0-2, Cathal Carolan and James Mulhern 0-0-1 each.
Breaffy: Conor O’Shea 0-0-4 (1f), Paul McDermott, Niall Carter and Ben Murphy (f) 0-0-1 each.
Breaffy: Luca Meldrum; Daire Morrin, Mark Devan, Yousif Coghill; Ross Connolly, James Minogue, Gavyn McManamon; Niall Carter, Conor O’Shea; Paul McDermott, Pierce Deane, Davitt Neary; Tommy O’Reilly, Gareth Dunne, Jude Lavin. Subs: Ben Murphy (for Dunne 39), Keith Mulchrone (for Carter 48), Adam Ruane and John Deane (for Minogue and McDermott 52), Liam Irwin (for Lavin 57).
Crossmolina Deel Rovers: JP Mulhern; Diarmuid Fox, Matthew Gordetskyy, Sean Óg McGuinness; Mikie Loftus, Aaron Coggins, Patrick McAndrew; James Mulhern, Cillian Fergus; Jonathan Murtagh, Patrick Leddy, Dylan Flynn; Niall Coggins, James Maheady, Cathal Carolan. Subs: Oisin Deane (for Murtagh 24), Adam Mills (for Carolan 51), Darragh Duffy and Luke Williams (for McGuinness and Flynn 54), Liam Connor (for McAndrew 60), Edward Gough (for Fergus 60+1).
REF: Ronan Gurren (Aghamore)
