Mitchels are outclassed in routine win for Bally’ boys

Mayo SHC – Quarter-Final 

Ballyhaunis 1-25 

Castlebar Mitchels 0-08 

Anthony Hennigan at Josie Munnelly Park 

There was nothing out of the ordinary about another victory for one of Mayo hurling’s ‘big two’ against Castlebar Mitchels, as this year’s senior championship commenced with the expected comprehensive win for Ballyhaunis on Saturday evening. In fact, just about the only thing out of the ordinary was the pleasant conditions in which the game was played – a welcome break from the incessant rain of late.

What dripped here instead were the Ballyhaunis scores, one after one after one, with a whopping 1-25 posted over the course of the hour, including 1-19 from play. The end result was a 20 points margin.

Cormac Phillips was in red hot form for the East Mayo side, firing 1-6 during the opening 20 minutes alone, which in itself would have been good enough to secure Ballyhaunis the spoils. The full-forward would end the game with 1-9 to his name while also impressive was Keith Higgins who, having not featured in his club’s senior championship clash with Garrymore the weekend before, scored five points from his corner-forward berth. He should probably have had a first-half goal too, but scuffed his attempt across goal and wide. There was also an eye-catching display by full-back Danny Hill, exerting the sort of command that inspired the rest of the Ballyhaunis defence to restrict their opponents to only four points from play for the entire hour.

Castlebar were on the thin end of the 1-14 to 0-3 half-time scoreline and while there was a marginal improvement in their performance in the second-half, the gulf in class between the teams was very obvious, with no fewer than nine Ballyhaunis players on target from play come full-time.

Half-backs Eoghan Collins and Brian Hunt, and Ryan Kilbane, had joined with Cormac Phillips in scoring what saw Ballyhaunis lead by 1-7 to duck eggs after 13 minutes, with Phillips blasting the goal past ‘keeper Martin Parsons who had been let down by a defence that had fluffed its opportunity to clear the danger.

Colm Enright, from play and a free, and Ryan Butler, from a 70-metre free, scored all three of Castlebar’s first-half points in a 10-minute window, but with Cormac Phillips filling his boots at the other end, from play and from frees, and with Collins and Kilbane picking off their second points, and Pat Kiely and Keith Higgins scoring their firsts of the evening, by half-time the Black and Red were already 14 points in front, with Castlebar Mitchels now also down their injured midfielder Alan Gavin.

The second-half had all the intensity of a poor challenge match; Castlebar did reply to an early Adrian Phillips point with two of their own, from Conor Murray, a free, and full-forward John Kennedy, but that only preceded eight on the spin from ‘Haunis between the 35th and 52nd minutes. Included in those were one apiece from substitutes Stephen Hoban and Michael Farrell, whose effort from a tight angle on the left wing was perhaps the best score of the game. Also finding their range during that hot spell were Cormac Phillips, three, Adrian Phillips, Pat Kiely and Keith Higgins.

Colm Enright, Pearce Murray and Ryan Butler, with another monster free, hit late consolation points for Mitchels but the final say rested with Higgins whose two late singles, the first of those from a 50-metre free, sealed an utterly convincing triumph for the 2021 champions. With better accuracy, Adrian Phillips might even have bagged his side a second goal in stoppage time but he blasted wide.

The other quarter-final planned for last Saturday between title holders Tooreen and junior amalgamation St Ciaran’s did not take place on account of Ballina Stephenites’ involvement in the upcoming county junior ‘A’ hurling final.

Scorers – Ballyhaunis: Cormac Phillips 1-9 (0-6f), Keith Higgins 0-5 (1f), Eoghan Collins, Ryan Kilbane, Pat Kiely and Adrian Phillips 0-2 each, Brian Hunt, Stephen Hoban and Michael Farrell 0-1 each.

Castlebar: Colm Enright (1f) and Ryan Butler (2f) 0-2 each, Conor Murray (f), John Kennedy, Pearce Murray and Anthony Rowland 0-1 each.

Castlebar Mitchels: Martin Parsons; Ciaran Treacy, James Lowe, Ronan Treacy; James Lyons, Ryan Butler, Conor Murray; Alan Gavin, Barry Lane; Colm Enright, Bernard Kennedy, Anthony Rowland; Pearce Murray, John Kennedy, Tony Sweeney. Subs: Conor Donaldson (for Gavin 25, inj), Art Ó Súilleabháin (for Lane 37).

Ballyhaunis: Donall O’Brien; Shaun Morley, Daniel Hill, Sean Gildea; Diarmuid Phillips, Brian Hunt, Eoghan Collins; Sean Griffin, Luke Cribbin; Pat Kiely, Adrian Phillips, Ryan Kilbane; Keith Higgins, Cormac Phillips, Eoin Ryan. Subs: Michael Farrell (for Ryan ht), Mark Phillips (for Gildea 35), Stephen Hoban and Adrian Brennan (for Griffin and Morley 41), Joseph Flynn (for Kilbane 51).

REF: Mel Kenny (Westport)