Regan to rescue as rivals can’t be separated

Mayo SFL Division 1A – Round 9 

Ballina Stephenites 0-16 

Knockmore 0-16 

Anthony Hennigan at James Stephens Park, Ballina 

If I told you that by the fourth minute of stoppage time on Saturday fifteen players had scored from play but Evan Regan wasn’t one of them, you’d probably have accused me of suffering from sunstroke. But encounters between Ballina Stephenites and Knockmore have a habit of turning up the unlikely.

But that wasn’t the only but. On the hottest day of the year, and his side sweating at the thought of defeat to their arch rivals from next door, there remained ice in the veins of Regan.

There may be no hooter operating in club football but you just knew this was the last play. Losing by two points, nothing other than a score from outside the arc, or a goal, would do if the Stephenites were to avoid a third home defeat of the Division 1A campaign. Evan Regan, who in his last game had scored 2-13 away to Castlebar Mitchels, including 2-2 from play, took possession of the ball in front of the Knockmore sideline, who had sheltered from the elements on the stand-side of James Stephens Park, and while the visiting party did all they could to distract the Ballina attacker, Regan twisted his marker Sean Holmes in so many directions that the Knockmore corner-back eventually crumpled in a heap with a serious looking ankle injury. Regan seized his opportunity and fired the equaliser straight through the posts. Class really is permanent.

Knockmore had paid a price for finishing with thirteen players, after black cards were shipped out to Aaron Timlin and substitute Adam Battle in the 58th and 61st minutes; had they maintained a full complement, there’s every chance they’d have returned to winning ways after losing to Breaffy and Castlebar Mitchels in their previous two games.

Nor was it their only disciplinary issues on the evening; twice in the second-half referee John Glavey brought Ballina frees forward to the 13-metre line because of the remonstrations of the Knockmore sideline. Those gimme points were just as crucial as Regan’s last gasp kick in what was only the second drawn game out of the 45 played in Division 1A this season. The top half of the table finishes by both sides mean they will take their place in Division 1 of a restructured Mayo Senior Football League in 2026.

While Ballina were minus regulars like Sam Callinan, Frank Irwin, Dylan Thornton and Brendan Collins, Padraig O’Hora did make his first appearance of the season as a half-time substitute. And while the former Mayo defender was overturned several times too many for his or his side’s liking while driving at Knockmore, it’s a fact that Ballina had trailed by five points when he joined the game and ended up sharing the spoils.

The Green and Red had threatened an early goal when wing-back Daniel Feeney had a second minute shot smothered by Mayo stopper Colm Reape but by the twelfth minute they were 0-5 to 0-1 in arrears. Conor McStay had replied to Dylan Coleman’s opener but the visitors added further scores courtesy of Peter Naughton, Pearse Ruttledge, a two-pointer, and Aiden Orme, while Coleman was unlucky to see a goal effort crack the outside of the post after excellent link-up play involving Charlie Bourke and Naughton.

Stephenites levelled the game with four points either side of a first-half water-break, with Evan Regan, a free, Mikey Murray, David Tighe and Matthew Leonard each on target, but the closing ten minutes of the half were totally dominated by Ray Dempsey’s side.

Naughton and Coleman both scored second points, the latter a glorious effort after a left wing dummy, while Oliver Armstrong struck three in five minutes, to leave Knockmore 0-10 to 0-5 ahead. They were unlucky to not also raise green with the final play of the half, as Orme fed Naughton whose shot was turned past the post by Ballina goalkeeper David Clarke, whose opposite number Colm Reape was unable to convert the ’45.

Evan Regan, a free, and Niall Feeney scored the opening points of the second-half but Knockmore negated those through Pearse Ruttledge and Sean Holmes, who had come from deep to run onto a pass from Conor Flynn. Barry Walsh, a transfer from Knockmore to Ballina this year, scored the home side’s eighth point, but they remained four points behind and had keeper Clarke to thank for not falling even further behind, when he smothered Connell Dempsey’s 40th minute attempt on the Ballina goal.

Substitute Liam Durkan had two points on the board inside six minute of his introduction for Knockmore, however, by the time of the second water-break, the Stephenites had reduced their arrears to three points as David Tighe, who had been drifting between defence and attack all game, fired over his second point, while Conor McStay and Evan Regan, a free, added to their tallies.

The teams were level by the 54th minute, 0-14 apiece, after Regan’s two point free was augmented by Tighe’s third single, and while Aaron Timlin restored Knockmore’s lead four minutes later, something Timlin said in the immediate aftermath displeased ref Glavey who black carded the corner-back.

When Regan missed a long range free with what was Ballina’s only wide of the second-half, and Knockmore, despite having now also lost sub Adam Battle for a deliberate pull down, moved two clear thanks to Charlie Bourke’s fisted point, it looked like Niall Heffernan’s men were going to have to settle for second best. But Evan Regan had other ideas, wriggling free to draw the curtain on the league in sensational style.

Next stop, championship – and an attempt by Ballina to win a third Mayo SFC in succession for the first time since the club’s six-in-a-row from 1924 to ’29.

Scorers – Ballina: Evan Regan 0-2-3 (1tpf, 3f), David Tighe 0-0-3, Conor McStay 0-0-2, Mikey Murray, Matthew Leonard, Niall Feeney and Barry Walsh 0-0-1 each.

Knockmore: Pearse Ruttledge 0-1-1, Oliver Armstrong 0-0-3, Dylan Coleman, Peter Naughton and Liam Durkan 0-0-2 each, Aiden Orme, Sean Holmes, Aaron Timlin and Charlie Bourke 0-0-1 each.

Ballina Stephenites: David Clarke; Ciaran Boland, Liam Golden, David Tighe; Keith Tighe, James Doherty, Daniel Feeney; Mikey Murray, Ciaran Sweeney; Ben Thornton, Conor McStay, Niall Feeney; Evan Regan, Barry Walsh, Matthew Leonard. Subs: Padraig O’Hora (for Thornton ht), Luke Feeney (for K Tighe 33), Adam McAndrew (for Leonard 50), Stephen Mullin and Sean Fitzpatrick (for Murray and McStay 55).

Knockmore: Colm Reape; Aaron Timlin, Adam Naughton, Sean Holmes; Keith Langan, Ryan Casey, Conor Flynn; Tadhg Staunton, Pearse Ruttledge; Connell Dempsey, Oliver Armstrong, Dylan Coleman; Charlie Bourke, Peter Naughton, Aiden Orme. Subs: Liam Durkan (for Staunton 38), Caolan Hopkins (for Langan 43), Adam Battle and Darragh Staunton (for 55).

REF: John Glavey (Aghamore)