Connolly remains wary of ‘curve ball’ despite Westport win

After they were pipped in extra-time in last year’s decider, Westport looked eager to make things right in last Saturday evening’s Mayo SFL Division 1 final – and did so in convincing fashion.

A battle between Division 1’s undisputed top two looked a tantalising one on paper but the Clew Bay men were very much the better and, backed by the wind, established a first-half lead that 2023 winners Castlebar Mitchels could never claw back.

“We're happy obviously to get the win, it's always tough against Castlebar, they beat us here after extra-time last year which was a really ding-dong affair,” said Westport manager Martin Connolly afterwards.

“We were expecting much the same this year but I suppose we had a reasonably strong wind in the first-half and Paddy O'Malley was on song with the kicks. They really helped us, like when you get that kind of lead it’s kind of difficult to get us back. We kicked on from there so we're happy enough with that.

“The other thing I suppose is that Castlebar have won it in the last two years. Maybe we were a bit more anxious today to win it. For us, it's important to add a league title to the cabinet. I think Castlebar, maybe not so. It was a very good league for us. We went through the thing without losing a match, as did Castlebar,” Connolly reflected.

All in all, it was good night’s work for Westport and it sets them up perfectly for the start of the Mayo senior club championship and their attempt to regain the Moclair Cup that they won in 2022.

“It's all hands on deck now, starting tomorrow, getting ready for the championship. But the league was very satisfactory for us, we really enjoyed it. Lots of players have got game time and it's a very well run league at the moment. The fact that all the games are in quick succession and that it's over then before the championship really works well. It's a very good game for both sides, just to know where you are and what needs to be done for the championship in two weeks’ time.

“It's much better than having a challenge match or going up the country playing somebody or something. We're very happy with it and we'll have a nice night out tonight and then we'll reset the dial Monday and tear into it again.” 

On the league itself, Martin Connolly offered: “We got a few extra players, we got game time because we had different guys injured and fellas away and all that, so we found it very useful. Then we got a run of wins. That helped the confidence and guys who were injured were finding it hard then to get back into the team, so that was good.

“We're bringing on the next generation hopefully as well. The greats are still there, a few of them still hanging around, so we need them as well. Trying to get the combination right is the thing.” 

It would come as no surprise should both teams meet again in the latter stages of this year’s senior championship but Martin Connolly says it would be a “whole new ball game” and added that after Westport’s quarter-final exit to Breaffy last year, “painful lessons” have been learned.

“We're all at the same starting line now, and more or less you take each game as it comes after that. Hopefully they will progress and we learned painful lessons last year. You can never take your eye off the ball. There's always a curve ball around the corner,” he warned.