Burrishoole hoping to bounce back from poor showing in last year's Championship
Liam Joyce of Islandeady will be a danger man in the forwards for the west Mayo club
The Neale may be expected to top the group but second spot could be anyone and this opening game between neighbours Burrishoole and Islandeady could go a long way to deciding the outcome.
Both teams operated in Division 2A this year, and while Islandeady were beaten by fellow intermediate side Hollymount-Carramore in their promotion playoff, Burrishoole will look forward to Division 1 football next year after a great win over Louisburgh in extra time.
2023 was a disappointing year for Burrishoole. They suffered a heavy defeat against Ballinrobe in their opening game, shipping six goals and things got no better against Hollymount-Carramore.
A narrow defeat to Kiltane in their final group game saw them into a relegation semi-final before they secured safety with a comfortable win over Bonniconlon.
Now under the management of clubman and former Mayo senior star Liam O’Malley, fortunes have certainly changed and Burrishoole will hope for a much better championship this year.
Experienced stars like Alan Ryder, Fintan McManamon and Adrian McManamon remain, while former county star Jason Doherty is still the man that makes them tick. They have also added former Cavan U20 player Adam Reihill to their squad and he made a huge impact in the promotion playoff, scoring 1-6.
After winning the junior title in 2022, Islandeady enjoyed a solid return in intermediate, getting out of the group with an impressive win over Davitts before suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Ballinrobe in the quarter-final.
Veteran Peter Collins is a real leader in the middle of the park, Levi Barrett, Seamie Lally and Liam Joyce are dangerous up front while Peter Gordon commands the defence.
Burrishoole may have won 0-16 to 0-4 when these two met in the league earlier this year but this will be one of the tighter games in the group, but Burrishoole’s edge in firepower may be enough.
