Keane edge gives Westport every chance
Westport know a thing or two about dramatic county senior semi-finals.
In 2005, they took Crossmolina to a replay after a tension-filled drawn game.
In 2022, a late penalty appeared to have secured victory for Castlebar Mitchels before Westport substitute Shane Scott scored a goal for the ages to change the course of history for the Covies who would go on to win their first ever senior title against Ballina.
And then there was last Saturday in Charlestown and a sensational clash with Crossmolina.
Kevin Keane is a veteran of All-Ireland senior and minor finals as a full-back but he has been reinvented in recent years as a forward. On Saturday, he was sprung from the bench by Pat Holmes two minutes before half-time in extra-time. His impact would be seismic.
He played key roles in Westport’s next two points but Crossmolina led by one when Keane’s shot off his weaker right foot went wide three minutes into the second-half of extra-time.
With just under three minutes to go and no scores subsequently, he got the ball in the right-corner forward position and angled over a beauty off his left to level the game. His passion-filled celebration was aptly described by Mike Finnerty on Mayo GAA TV as reminiscent of Waterford hurler John Mullane. From the next attack, Keane kicked over the lead score from the top of the D and he was the hero.
How did it feel to be the matchwinner?
“It’s brilliant. You play your career and you always want to be playing at the far end of championships. We were there three years ago so to be back there again and to have some part to play in it, it is magical, it’s brilliant.”
Though he might be a defender by trade, Keane has adapted as a forward and is never afraid to pull the trigger, as evidenced late in this game.
“I’d be very much confident in my kicking ability and I’d be kicking them off my right in training, not all of them might be going over but you have to back yourself. When I came in I said to myself I am going to take a shot on if it’s on because I am kicking them well in training, I know it is in the bank and thankfully on the left foot they went over, maybe not on the right!”
It was an incredible game to watch. What was it like to play in?
“I went in at half-time and I said to Lee ‘well done’ and he said ‘fast game!’ That’s the way it is gone, the new rules have brought that bit of pace into it, all teams are built for that kind of athleticism now and we’re no different.
“The new rules have offered forwards a new lease of life. The three up has boded well and for any team that has any silky forwards or out-and-out forwards, it is a dream come true. There are pockets of space, teams are finding it hard to get back to utilise that defensive stuff. The last couple of years, I won’t lie, it has been a bore-fest and it has not been enjoyable so it has been a new lease of life.”
After winning in 2022, Westport fell at the quarter-final stage to Breaffy in 2023 and ’24 but made it third-time lucky this year, with a late surge. Keane feels they’ve been overlooked somewhat in the conversation this year.
“There is no point in beating around the bush, we haven’t been the talking point in this season at all, even throughout the league, for some reason. It is sometimes hard to pinpoint why that is. We beat Castlebar fairly decently in a league final last year, rampantly, to be fair and obviously our championship campaign didn’t go well but no wheels came off the wagon but yet we weren’t really in the conversation. Plus we don’t mind that, it suited us down to the ground.”
Do they get motivation from that?
“I wouldn’t even say motivation. We just tucked away to our own little corner this year and ground it in. Thankfully we came out on the right side today but that team in Crossmolina, their day is coming. While we’re here now, the likes of me, I might not see another one so we need to make it count and by God we’ll give it a right shot.”
The final is a repeat of the 2022 decider and while Westport triumphed then, it is Ballina who have dominated the Mayo club scene since.
“We were on about it today coming up in the car, Ballina are in the last four finals. We’ve huge respect for Ballina, we know what they’re about. Look, we’ll tuck away this week, we’ll get our bodies right, recovery. We’ll come out fighting, we’ll give it a right shot and we’ll see where it goes and hopefully it’ll be enough to get us over the line.”
