Stunning Stephenites fightback sees Moysiders complete historic three-in-a-row
Evan Regan of Ballina Stephenites lifts the Moclair Cup after helping his side to a stunning recovery against Westport on Saturday afternoon. Picture: INPHO/James Lawlor
Three-in-a-row at the second time of asking, rarely has a county final win seemed as unlikely as this one.
Ballina Stephenites trailed this replay by 10 points with 10 minutes to go. By full-time they were celebrating a first three-in-a-row of Mayo SFC titles since 1929.
Distraught Westport players didn’t know which way to turn.
It’s impossible to pin the transformation – or capitulation – on any one thing. However, Westport did concede 2-6 and scored only two points after losing their Mayo defender Eoghan McLaughlin to injury in the 48th minute. Before that they had scored 1-13 and conceded only 0-7.
Ballina Stephenites, in particular their captain Evan Regan, smelled blood. Regan blasted a 51st minute goal from a free and during stoppage time kicked the final three scores, including a two-pointer, to secure the Moclair Cup for a 39th time for his club.
McLaughlin’s absence down the stretch was heightened by the fact Westport were already without five-time All-Star Lee Keegan, injured in the drawn game. When cool heads were required, they popped out the top of green and red jerseys.
And yet Ballina had looked a beaten docket when Padraig O’Hora, who played despite injured in the same collision with Keegan six days previous, eventually had to succumb to his war wounds just twelve minutes into the second-half. The defending champions had scored only six points at that stage (O’Hora with one of them) having struck six by the eighth minute of the drawn game.
Westport made all the running in the first-half, with Finbar McLaughlin fisting a pass from brother Eoghan to the Ballina net after only 16 seconds. Teenager Joey Holmes, son of manager Pat, had scored three points by the 17th minute, and with goalkeeper Paddy O’Malley and Killian Kilkelly on target from frees, and midfielder Rory Brickenden landing a two-pointer on the short whistle, the 2022 champions led 1-10 to 0-6 at half-time – Regan having struck half of his side’s scores.
Ballina Stephenites were incensed, perhaps with some justification, that Conor McStay wasn’t awarded a penalty five minutes into the second-half, and their substitute Ciaran Treacy had a point blank effort saved by O’Malley. So when O’Hora exited and Kilkelly and Finbar McLaughlin helped extend Westport’s lead to double digits, there looked only one winner.
But Regan’s quick thinking derived a goal from a 13-metre free and Dylan Thornton punched Frank Irwin’s ’45 to the net in the 56th minute, to leave four points between the teams.
A free by Kilkelly couldn’t stem the tide and after points by Irwin and McStay had reduced the gap to three, the rest was left to Evan Regan whose four points from three kicks, including the winner from the very last attack, will go down in Ballina folklore.
Ballina Stephenites: David Clarke; Liam Golden, Luke Jordan, Ciaran Boland; Sam Callinan, Padraig O’Hora (0-0-1), David Tighe; Mike Murray (0-0-1), Frank Irwin (0-0-2); Dylan Thornton (1-0-0), Conor McStay (0-0-1), Niall Feeney; Evan Regan (1-2-4, 1-0f, 2f), Jack Irwin, Luke Doherty. Subs: Ciaran Treacy (for Feeney 30), Sean Regan (for O’Hora 42, inj), Luke Feeney (for J Irwin 44), Ben Thornton (for Boland 51).
Westport: Paddy O’Malley (0-1-0, 1tpf); Ben Doyle, Niall McManamon, Brian McDermott; Conal Dawson, Eoghan McLaughlin, Ryan Askin; Rory Brickenden (0-1-0), Brian O’Malley, Lorcan Silke, Mark Moran (0-0-1), Finbar McLaughlin (1-0-1); Killian Kilkelly (0-0-6, 5f), Joey Holmes (0-0-3), Luke Tunney. Subs: Joe Grady (for Askin ht), Tom Lambert (for E McLaughlin 48, inj), Kevin Keane (for Tunney 53), Colm Moran (for M Moran 64).
REF: Kevin Connelly (Hollymount-Carramore)
