Championship picture becomes clearer after action-packed weekend
Former Mayo GAA secretary Sean Feeney and former West Mayo GAA officer Ollie Dillon with Covey, the Westport GAA mascot who was at Sunday's Mayo SFC game against Balla promoting the club's €5,000 prize fundraiser.
I don’t get to book the holidays in our house so for rounds one and two of this year’s Mayo club championships it was a case of being there in spirit but not body. I must, however, admit to a fleeting moment of giddiness when turning up to James Stephens Park last Saturday evening and reading across the cover of the match programme that the game between Belmullet and Breaffy was Round 1 of the Mayo Senior Football Championship.
Had it all just been a bad dream that I had missed out on Belmullet’s sensational victory away to Castlebar Mitchels or the drama of Crossmolina’s come-from-behind victory over Ballina Stephenites or Kiltane’s stunning win at Parke or Ballycastle’s brilliant and unexpected derby triumph over Killala? Was the championship really only starting last weekend?
The truth is two-fold: that, in some ways, the championship really is only now getting started, in part because for some teams their championship is already over, which means the knockouts are upon us.
The biggest, most important weekend of the Mayo club calendar so far this year mightn’t have offered quite as much drama as rounds one and two, but there remained an air of unpredictability about so many of the games, with who’d qualify for the quarter-finals of the senior and intermediate championships, who’d have home advantage, who’d be travelling away from home, in some cases only being decided in the very final seconds.
The possibility of the back-to-back champions exiting the Moclair Cup race at the group stage brought a level of intrigue to Sunday’s proceedings in Group 1. Anything less than a victory over Garrymore and Ballina Stephenites were destined to watch the knockout stages from afar, with Garry’ advancing in their place. But the Green and Red advanced, albeit unspectacularly, after a 0-16 to 0-13 win at Fr O’Hara Park in Charlestown.
The other game had an air of inevitability before ever a ball was kicked between Crossmolina and Ballyhaunis, the latter already consigned to the relegation playoffs, the former all but assured of their place in the quarter-finals. And then there was the fact that whereas Ballyhaunis had nothing other than pride to play for, a win for Crossmolina would guarantee them home advantage for their last eight clash. So it was no surprise at all that Brian Benson’s team romped to a fifteen points win, 5-17 to 1-14.
This group stood unique entering the final round of games as the only one in the senior championship where all four teams were still able to reach the quarter-finals. Of course, Belmullet’s last eight berth was already confirmed and yet there was as much interest in their clash with Breaffy as there was in any of the weekend’s eight senior championship fixtures. That’s because not only was there the massive carrot of them securing home venue for their subsequent knockout game but because anything less than a Breaffy win was likely to see one of the perennial contenders for the Moclair Cup take an early shower.
Few could have foreseen the drama as a last gasp Robbie Fadden point earned the narrowest win for Breaffy, 0-14 to 0-13, who went from exiting the championship to topping their group in a matter of seconds.
There was a strange backdrop to the meeting of Aghamore and Castlebar Mitchels, who both entered on one point apiece in the table, because there remained the risk that a victory would not be enough to see either through to the quarter-finals – and so it proved for Mitchels, who prevailed 2-14 to 0-12. And yet before ever a ball had been kicked, even a draw would have been enough for Aghamore to advance in the event of a Breaffy defeat by four points, which looked very possible when they trailed by that margin against the wind early into the second-half of their clash with Belmullet. Imagine that, Aghamore qualifying for a quarter-final without a win to their name. But it wasn’t to be and instead they are consigned to the relegation playoffs.
There was more clarity about this group than any other in the senior championship before the weekend’s throw-ins and yet much still needed to be ironed out. Ballaghaderreen and Ballintubber were already confirmed quarter-finalists before their meeting under the lights of Garrymore on Saturday night but what had to be decided was who would play their quarter-final on home turf and who would have to hit the road. Ballaghaderreen’s better scoring difference meant they could afford to draw and that looked a likely outcome until a late goal and point by Cian Hanley and Cormac Doohan respectively saw Ballagh’ safely home.
The other Group 3 game involved two teams without a win between them and who as a result were to face off in the hope of steering clear of the relegation playoffs. A draw would have sufficed for Charlestown Sarsfields based on their one point advantage over Claremorris in scoring difference and sure enough, the sides were level after 58 minutes until Claremorris ground out a 2-13 to 0-16 victory.
Three into two doesn’t go and so with Knockmore having already cemented their place in the last eight, it was left to Westport and Balla to duke it out for the other qualifying spot in Group 4. Westport held the upper-hand to some degree, knowing a draw would be enough to send them through, but there was also the incentive of registering a win large enough to pip Knockmore to top spot in the table, assuming of course that Knockmore were going to do like Westport and Balla had already done and beat Mayo Gaels in the group’s other game.
Knockmore did just that, having thirteen points to spare in the end, 3-19 to 1-12, which left Westport far too much to make up in the scoring stakes, as they could only beat Balla by four points, 0-15 to 0-11.
Four teams woke up on Sunday morning believing that reaching the intermediate quarter-finals was within their capabilities yet three of them also knew they could end the day facing into the relegation playoffs, such was the topsy-turvy nature of Group 1. Ardnaree Sarsfields began as the only one of the four teams yet to experience defeat while Lahardane MacHales were yet to experience victory, and their games against Ballinrobe and Castlebar Mitchels ‘B’ were to determine which two of the four would retain hopes of Sweeney Cup glory, who’d be stuck in purgatory and who’d have the threat of relegation hanging over them.
Adding to the uncertainty was that while sitting third in the table at the start of the play, Castlebar Mitchels actually held a +11 scoring advantage over Sunday’s opponents Ardnaree and a +8 scoring advantage over second placed Ballinrobe, who were fancied to have too much for Lahardane. The latter wasn’t the case, as the game ended in stalemate, Ballinrobe 1-9, Lahardane 0-12, but it was enough to sneak ‘Robe through to the quarter-finals as group runners-up. That’s because Mitchels ‘B’ had a seven points lead ruthlessly wiped out by Ardnaree who stormed to a 1-17 to 1-10 win – and to a home quarter-final for good measure.
In other groups, teams on one point after two rounds still had a chance of advancing to the last eight but that wasn’t the case for Burrishoole who paid a desperate price for squandering a six points advantage very late into their Round 2 clash with Cill Chomáin. Their fate instead was to take on The Neale on Sunday with the ambition of both simply to avoid finishing bottom of Group 2 and so dodge the relegation playoffs. Liam O’Malley’s side ended up leapfrogged by The Neale who secured their place in the intermediate championship for next season with a 1-16 to 0-12 win.
At the top end of the group, Cill Chomáin knew they had to beat Kilmeena if wanting to have the advantage of playing their forthcoming quarter-final in Glenamoy, as Kilmeena sat one point ahead of them in the group table, but the 1-21 to 1-12 scoreline speaks volumes about how well tuned in Kilmeena were for this game.
Perhaps no group had fascinated like this one after the opening two rounds. The form of Davitts and Parke-Keelogues-Crimlin in Mayo SFL Division 1 had encouraged many to tip them as occupiers of the top two positions in Group 3 but with one round to spare it was Kiltane who had already made sure of their berth in the intermediate quarter-finals. In fact, only a heavy defeat to Davitts and an equally sizeable win for Parke-Keelogues-Crimlin against Islandeady on Sunday was going to deny the Erris side home advantage in the quarter-finals. Neither occurred, with Kiltane only beaten by the narrowest margin against Davitts, 0-21 to 1-17, and Parke-Keelogues-Crimlin only managing to draw with Islandeady, with that game finishing 1-12 apiece. It was enough however, to ensure the Black and Amber advanced as group runners-up on the head-to-head rule, having beaten Davitts in the previous round.
This was the only group in either the senior or intermediate championship last weekend where the four teams involved did not play their respective matches at the same time. That was largely because nothing that was going to happen in the South Mayo showdown between Kilmaine and Hollymount-Carramore on Friday night was going to alter the fact that Moy Davitts were going to stay top of the table and Louisburgh were going to stay bottom.
The prize therefore for the aforementioned Kilmaine and Holly-Carra was for the winner to join Moy Davitts in the last eight, except there wasn’t one; the drawn game (although this has been contested by Hollymount-Carramore), 0-18 to 1-15, saw Kilmaine take second spot by virtue of scoring difference after both teams finished on three points.
Moy Davitts, last year’s finalists, enjoyed a 5-13 to 2-16 triumph over Louisburgh. Themselves and Kilmeena are the only two intermediate teams to have won all three of their group games.
