One-way traffic as Coveys bounce past Balla into final
Senior player Lorcan Silke was pulling the strings at centre-back for Westport U21s in their county semi-final demolition of Balla.
Mayo U21 ‘A’ Football Championship Semi-Final
Westport 2-21
Balla 1-7
Stuart Tynan in St Patrick’s Park, Westport
Over thirty miles away, the U21 ‘A’ semi-final between Claremorris and Aghamore was a gripping battle that went the distance. The other pairing? Well, not so much.
Unfortunately for Balla, they ran into a Westport side that left the men in maroon in a tailspin as this game was effectively over at half-time. By that stage Westport had had made full use of the wind to put themselves sixteen points clear. An early second-half goal for Balla offered a glimmer of hope but erratic shooting thereafter cost them and Westport’s second goal on 38 minutes killed off whatever hope had remained for the Maroons.
There were outstanding displays across the field for Westport. Mayo senior starter Conal Dawson finished with 1-8, his tally all coming in the first-half, with four two-pointers included. The Holmes brothers Ben and Joey were as effective in their ball-winning abilities as they were in front of the posts while Tom Lambert, Darragh Corrigan, Lorcan Silke and Leon Askin were largely untroubled at the back by the Balla attack.
Balla only led this game once and that was after Oisin Cronin got the opening score. That false dawn saw their West Mayo rivals shoot ten points without reply. Conal Dawson struck the first of his twos which was followed by a pair of singles by Ben Holmes, a point from Dara Dawson, monster efforts from outside the arc by Fionn O’Hora and Conal Dawson and a well-taken point by Rian Durkan.
Aaron Dunleavy got Balla’s second from a free on 17 minutes but Westport would counter again with another ten-point haul, with Conal Dawson scoring 1-4, including another pair of two-pointers, the latter a stunning strike off his left boot from 50 metres out.
The goal itself arrived on 22 minutes and Balla will be disappointed with how it was conceded. They had received a warning seconds earlier when a poor kickout was intercepted by Rian Durkan, but Balla goalkeeper David Dolan remedied his error to palm Ben Holmes’ strike past the post, with Colm Meaney converting the resulting ’45. However, another unforced error at the back was punished and Conal Dawson buried his effort past Dolan.
Tom Lambert and Fionn O’Hora also split the posts in the latest rout as Westport led 1-17 to 0-4 at half-time, Balla goalkeeper David Dolan striking over a two-point free of his own in the closing moments of the half.
Jamie Moran found the net for Balla in the opening minute of the second-half with a well-taken goal, but the visitors could not inflict any further damage on Westport in what was their best period of the game, with Dolan, Liam Glynn and Paddy McHale all shooting wide of the posts – the latter having a great chance to add a second goal for Balla.
Darragh Corrigan found the net for Westport on 38 minutes to definitively end matters and the game lost much of its intensity from here. The Coveys tagged on four more points through two Ben Holmes efforts and one each Joey Holmes and Dara Dawson, with a two-point free from Dolan and a free from Oisin Cronin the final scores for Balla.
Claremorris now await in the final and on this evidence, Westport will take some stopping.
Scorers – Westport: Conal Dawson 1-4-0 (2tpf), Ben Holmes 0-0-4, Darragh Corrigan 1-0-0, Fionn O’Hora 0-1-1, Dara Dawson 0-0-2, Rian Durkan, Tom Lambert, Colm Meaney (’45) and Joey Holmes 0-0-1 each.
Balla: David Dolan 0-2-0 (2tpf), Jamie Moran 1-0-0, Oisin Cronin 0-0-2 (1f), Aaron Dunleavy 0-0-1.
Westport: Colm Meaney; Peter McGowan, Tom Lambert, Darragh Corrigan; Leon Askin, Lorcan Silke, Danny Brennan; Conal Dawson, James Noonan; Dara Dawson, Darragh Hoban, Ben Holmes; Rian Durkan, Joey Holmes, Fionn O’Hora. Subs: Michael McDonnell (for O’Hora 44), Anthony Browne (for Corrigan 48), Fionn O’Cinnseala (for Hoban 46), Cillian McKeown and Elcmar O’Toole (for McGowan and Noonan 52).
Balla: David Dolan; Sean McCann, Sean Brohan, Sean Kavanagh; Mark Jennings, Ryan O’Donnell, Conor Brett; Brian O’Donovan, Adam Walsh; Luke Flatley, Jamie Moran, Oisin Cronin; Liam Glynn, Paddy McHale, Aaron Dunleavy. Sub: Ronan Lyons (for Dunleavy 39, inj).
REF: Jerome Henry (Castlebar Mitchels)
