Knock’ rocked by noisy neighbours

When the teams reappeared for the second-half of last Saturday’s Mayo SFC final, they did so to the sound of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. But dumbstruck is how most of the attendance was feeling, struggling to understand how what traditionally is one of the great fixtures in Mayo club football was failing miserably to live up to its billing.

Ballina Stephenites were blameless of course, except if it’s a crime to be so much better than your next door neighbour. The eight points that Knockmore scored across the hour would have seen them enter the winner’s enclosure in the 2023 final but here, it wouldn’t have won the first-half.

Stephenites held a six points lead at the change of ends, 1-6 to 0-3, but rather than Knockmore reappear and tap into some of that Thunderstruck vibe, they were on a Highway to Hell instead; the defending champions were able to comfortably build out their lead to the extent they were 10 points in front with a quarter of the game still left to play.

It won’t sit easy with the 2020 and ’21 champions that they were so limp in their challenge at MacHale Park, one that saw them score only three points from play, but whether they can use Ballina’s achievements as motivation like how Ballina were motivated by Knockmore’s (the Stephenites have contested all three county finals since Knockmore’s back-to-back wins), only time will tell.

But what shouldn’t get lost in any discussion about the uncompetitive fare of Saturday night last is that one of the main causes was the sheer excellence of Ballina Stephenites. Niall Heffernan’s outfit is growing into the sort you sense could seriously challenge for a provincial title – and considering the Shane McGettigan Cup has come to Mayo only twice since Ballina were last crowned Connacht champions in 2007, both times courtesy of Castlebar Mitchels (2013 and ’15), it would certainly come as a welcome boost to football in the county if they were able to break the stranglehold that Roscommon and Galway clubs currently have on the competition.

Practically the entire Ballina team has represented Mayo at some level or other, and there’s no point saying anything other than playing the London champions (North London Shamrocks) first, on the weekend after next, and then the Sligo champions (Coolera-Strandhill or St Molaise Gaels), gives them every chance to prepare superbly for the immense challenge that either Padraig Pearses or Corofin would provide in the Connacht final. Pearses were the team who shot down Knockmore in the 2021 final, at James Stephens Park ironically enough, while Corofin, needing no introduction, ended Ballina’s 2023 provincial hopes on a windy Salthill day last year.

It'll help shorten the winter if nothing else.

Thankfully, last Saturday’s disappointingly one-sided senior final was compensated wonderfully by the other two finals of the weekend, where both the junior and intermediate deciders ended up as stalemates.

Unlike Ballina and Knockmore, Sunday’s intermediate clash of Crossmolina and Moy Davitts was every bit as enthralling as had been hoped.

Four points behind, reduced to 13 players and the game already one minute into stoppage time, Moy Davitts rallied to the extent that they were disappointed only to draw, despite having never held the lead.

Crossmolina had given an attacking masterclass, with some brilliant finishing by James Maheady and Fionan Duffy in particular, and one of the quickest county final goals on record from the dynamite Niall Coggins, helping the Deel Rovers lead by seven points before half-time. But they didn’t heed that to be forewarned is to be forearmed and their opponents, who had come from six points down to beat Rovers convincingly in the group stages, were soon back to their old tricks again, with Cian McHale’s glorious long-range kicking and a true poacher’s goal by Brian Heneghan meaning the teams must do it all over again in MacHale Park next Saturday.

They’ll be accompanied by the men of Cill Chomáin and Bonniconlon who offered a wonderful advertisement of the junior championship in the first of the weekend’s three finals, the conclusion to which was almost as dramatic as the intermediate final.

Bonniconlon, despite playing with only 14 men since late in the first-half, scored the final three points of the match to earn a draw.

Their Erris opponents, beaten finalists in 2021 and ’22 and desperately searching for promotion out of the bottom tier, looked to have the hard work done when they recovered from a very slow start to use their extra player wisely and lead 2-6 to 1-6 after 44 minutes. But the Gaeltacht outfit failed to score again, with two points by Jonathan Lavelle and a late free by substitute David Walsh earning Bonniconlon another day out.

///////BOX OFF///// 

Saturday, November 2 

Mayo JFC Final (replay)

3.30pm at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park 

Bonniconlon v Cill Chomáin 

REF: TBC 

Mayo IFC Final (replay) 

6pm at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park 

Crossmolina Deel Rovers v Moy Davitts 

REF: Garryowen McMahon