Mitchels ask questions but Knockmore rise to the challenge
Castlebar Mitchels captain Lisa McManamon
2021 senior champions Knockmore were pushed all the way by 2021 intermediate champions Castlebar Mitchels in Sunday’s second round of fixtures in the race for the Mayo LGFA Senior Championship crown.
Mitchels will rue that while playing with the breeze, it took them 23 minutes to register their opening score of the match by which stage they were already seven points in arrears. A sensational ending to the first-half did see Castlebar take a single point lead into the dressing-room at half-time, however, rather than hit the panic button, Knockmore returned for the second-half with all the look of a team intent on regaining the county title this season.
Beaten by a solitary point at home to Hollymount in Round 1, nothing went right for Castlebar in front of the posts in the early throes of this contest, with Anna Tuohy, twice, and Marita McDonald both kicking wides while a free from Niamh Hughes rebounded off the post. In contrast, Lara Sweeney couldn’t miss down at the other end, with her three excellent points from play supplemented by one from a free, along with two points from Amy O’Connor and one by full-forward Clodagh Keane. But those seven points inside the opening 20 minutes amounted to all of Knockmore’s first-half points, as the visitors roared back into contention.
Suzanne Tuohy exchanged passes with Orla Conlon to squeeze over Castlebar’s opening score from a tight angle before a long delivery from 2023 All-Star nominee Danielle Caldwell bounced neatly off Anna Tuohy into the path of Conlon who showed lightning quick speed to break the Knockmore cover and fire home the game’s opening goal.
Suzanne Tuohy added an almost identical point to her first before Knockmore goalkeeper Deirdre Devine found herself beaten for a second time, again by Conlon. It was a move that began with Devine’s opposite number, Anne Reilly, driving a clearance towards Kathryn Sullivan, another LGFA All-Star nominee, with the Mayo captain catching superbly in the greasy conditions and picking out Anna Tuohy. Niamh Hughes showed well as the next link in the move and unselfishly squared the ball to Orla Conlon who sent a rocket into the top right corner, giving underdogs Castlebar a one point advantage at the break, 2-2 to 0-7.
The response from Knockmore couldn’t have been any more emphatic, with goals scored by Clodagh Keane and Lara Sweeney inside six minutes of the restart. Keane’s low finish past Anne Reilly was the result of Sarah Mulvihill’s mazy run from the right wing, while Sweeney had the speedy Ciara Durkan to thank for the low delivery that allowed Sweeney to spin her marker and shake the rigging.
With Lara Sweeney having also swung over a free, wind-assisted Knockmore remained six points in front up until the 45th minute at which point Castlebar Mitchels showed there was another kick left in them yet.
A foul on Sullivan allowed Anna Tuohy to curl over a free and moments later a looping ball over the Knockmore defence by Conlon saw substitute Aisling O’Reilly win the foot-race with the onrushing ‘keeper Devine to prod home Castlebar’s third goal, thus reducing their arrears to two points, 2-8 to 3-3, with thirteen minutes left to play.
That was as good as it got for Fintan Keane’s side however, with Amy O’Connor’s third point of the game preceding two from experienced midfielder Shauna Howley, enabling Knockmore to secure back-to-back wins having already accounted for Carnacon in the opening round.
Orla Conlon, who was superb throughout for Castlebar, was unlucky not to complete a hat-trick of goals in the dying moments when Emma Lowther appeared from nowhere to produce a flying block. It’s just that sort of spirit that, more and more, has Cormac Reape’s side looking like the one to beat this season, especially with title holders Burrishoole losing to Kilmovee Shamrocks on Sunday, 2-11 to 0-16, after a first round draw against Charlestown who, on Sunday, were themselves beaten 3-8 to 2-7 at the hands of Westport.
