Late drama sees Garrymore inflict first league defeat on Westport
Aaron Hughes kicked three early points, including two-pointer, for Garrymore. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
This was surely one of the matches of the weekend. If you’re a football lover, you couldn’t help but sit back and appreciate it – an enthralling finish from start to finish that entertained the audience up to the very last kick of the game.
Those fortunate enough to be in Garrymore on Saturday evening certainly won’t forget this one for a while. Westport will be kicking themselves, as not for the first time in recent times, they failed to hold onto a lead in the dying seconds and had victory snatched away from their grasp deep into injury time and made the journey back west wondering how they left with nothing.
The football played by both sides was highly commendable, and some of the scores kicked were of the highest order, with a game that ebbed and flowed throughout. Both sides were missing many of their established players, including all involved with the Mayo senior panel, but that didn’t stop some outstanding long-range scores being kicked, especially by the home side, while overall, the team-play and the effort put in will have pleased the two management groups big time.
The clock had exceeded the 60-minute mark, and somehow, Westport held the lead by one point, when in the third minute of added-on time, Garrymore won a free just outside the two-point arc, and the pressure lay on the shoulders of young Mark Gibbons. His initial attempt wasn’t successful, but to add to the drama, referee Ronan Gurren ordered that it be retaken again for ill-discipline by Westport players, believed to be verbal, and on the second attempt, Gibbons made no mistake and struck it over with aplomb, raising the orange flag. The final whistle immediately followed, and a much-needed win was secured for Garrymore.
The first half was a strange chapter as Garrymore were playing the better football but conceded a hat-trick of goals to Westport’s Ben Holmes and trailed 3-3 to 0-11 at the break. All three goals by Holmes were close in finishes, the last being a tap-in after an initial shot rebounded off the upright and just fell into his path in the goal line, and he just tapped it in.
All three of their first-half points came from Killian Kilkelly, two from play and one free. In contrast, the home side had a range of scores which is always more promising. Aaron Hughes kicked three early on, including a two-pointer, while Trevor Nally and Michéal Connolly rolled back the years with early points.
Andrew Glennon struck a splendid two-point free before Adam Gallagher got his first. Mark Gibbons added a point before Glennon rounded off his best half performance of the year with two further points, one a free, but his side still trailed by one at the break.
The opening twenty-two minutes of the second half were where Garrymore produced their best football, possibly of the year to date, and outscored Westport 0-9 to 0-3 and led by four with just eight minutes remaining. The Nally brothers, Trevor and Shane, kicked four of these, all from play, while Patrick Hession surged forward to get on the scoresheet.
Mark Gibbons hit over three, including a two-point free and young Evan Gannon came off the bench to score on his Division 1 league debut just seconds after coming on to leave his side five up, 0-20 to 3-6, with just eight minutes to play. But these eight minutes were enough for Westport to roar back into the tie, and that they did spectacularly.
Two points by Killian Kilkelly, one free, narrowed the gap to three and with just 30 seconds of normal time remaining, up stepped substitute Eoghan McLaughlin to score a spectacular solo goal from the stand side of the pitch and blasted home a low-range strike.
It got even better as Kilkelly kicked over another from play, his eighth in total, to go one up, one minute into injury-time. But it still wasn’t enough, and victory was ultimately snatched away from Pat Holmes' side late on, courtesy of Mark Gibbons’ kick to end an epic contest that everyone will agree on.
