Ding-dong battle sees Davitts deny ‘Mullet men
Liam Kearns scored a superb goal and five points as Davitts edged out Belmullet.
Belmullet made a 220 kilometre round trip to Ballindine on Saturday evening only for the home side to prevail in what was a thoroughly absorbing Mayo SFL Division 1A encounter. The result hung in the balance right up to the final whistle but Davitts were able to withstand all that the visitors could throw at them during a tense five minutes of stoppage time.
Two Niall Treacy points in the opening three minutes got Davitts off to a flying start before Seamus Howard, a most impressive midfielder, fired over an excellent point for Belmullet in the fifth minute. The same two players swapped points in the next ten minutes but scores were hard to come by despite the ideal conditions, thanks to the hardworking and committed defending by both sides.
Dáithí Cosgrove levelled the game in the 20th minute but Davitts’ centre-forward Liam Kearns, who was to have the game of his life, opened his account in the 26th minute with a fantastic long-range point. The same player added another fine point in the 30th minute but by half-time, two well-taken scores from Evan Ivers and Anthony Barrett had levelled matters at 0-5 apiece.
The second-half started well for Davitts and in the second minute that man Kearns finished a terrific move involving Charlie Philips, Darragh McGale and Colm Boyle to the Belmullet net to put his side ahead. Liam Kearns extended the lead to four points in the 34th minute with another brilliant single.
Belmullet were rattled but they responded well and points from Seamus Howard, Ryan McIntyre and Darragh Murray in the next six minutes narrowed the deficit to the minimum. A Niall Treacy point in the 42nd minute was closely followed by another Kearns point, an outside of the boot line-ball, a score that delighted the home crowd and restored Davitts’ three point lead.
Belmullet wing-back James Lavelle pulled one back in the 46th minute and points from Brian Keane and Dáithí Cosgrove in the 51st and 54th minutes levelled the game.
A neat Colm Boyle point put Davitts ahead again in the 55th minute but a similar score from Dáithí Cosgrove restored parity a minute later. Liam Kearns lit up the ground with another superb point in the 57th minute and Colm Boyle put Davitts two ahead in the 59th minute. Belmullet tried in vain to get a goal to rescue the tie but the Davitts team defended in most impressive fashion to deny the visitors in the closing six minutes of an enthralling match.
Davitts had brilliant performances from Cathal Higgins, Mark Birmingham, Sean Keadin, Charlie Phillips, man of the match Liam Kearns, Niall Treacy, Darragh McGale and former Mayo defender Colm Boyle. Best for a gallant Belmullet team were James O’Donnell, James Lavelle, Oisin O’Donnell, Evan Ivers, Seamus Howard, Fionnan Ryan, Dáithí Cosgrove and Anthony Barrett.
Scorers – Davitts: Liam Kearns 1-5, Niall Treacy 0-4, Colm Boyle 0-2.
Belmullet: Seamus Howard and Dáithí Cosgrove 0-3 each, James Lavelle, Evan Ivers, Darragh Murray, Ryan McIntyre, Brian Keane and Anthony Barrett 0-1 each.
Davitts: Tristan Diskin; Jordan Flanagan, Cathal Higgins, Kieran Fahy; Mark Birmingham, Thomas Ronayne, Sean Keadin; Cian Naughton, Charlie Phillips; Shane Treacy, Liam Kearns, Stephen Nyland; Niall Treacy, Darragh McGale, Colm Boyle. Subs used: Fionn McLoughlin, Michael Hett, Ronan McNamara.
Belmullet: Aaron Carey; Daniel Barrett, Conan Connor, James O’Donnell; James Lavelle, Leo Howard, Oisin O’Donnell; Evan Ivers, Seamus Howard; Darragh Murray, Fionnan Ryan, Ryan McIntyre; Dáithí Cosgrove, Brian Keane, Anthony Barrett. Subs used: Shea O’Donoghue, Shane Nallen.
REF: Benny Holmes (Ballina)
