Iorras and Achill win league titles, relegation battles take another twist 

MAYO FOOTBALL LEAGUE ROUNDUP

It was a weekend to remember for both Iorras Aontaithe and Achill Rovers as the final weekend of the action in the CastleCourt Hotel Premier League, Killeen Sports Ground League One and McDonnell Construction League took place.

The big game in the Premier League saw a title decider between Iorras Aontaithe and Crossmolina in Carne Nash. Iorras needed to avoid defeat while a win for Crossmolina would force a title playoff, and it was the visitors who got off to an electric start when Joshua McNulty-Helly found the net inside the opening minute.

The home side were in front by half-time however thanks to goals from Jamie Reilly and Keelan Barret before Cillian Reilly’s goal with ten minutes to go secured the league title, with Iorras set to play Super League football for the first time since 2018.

The defeat for Crossmolina opened the door for Castlebar Celtic ‘B’ to finish second and the Hoops finished as runners-up as a Rhys Saville hat-trick secured a 3-1 win away to Swinford. As Celtic ‘B’ cannot get promoted, Crossmolina will now face a promotion/relegation playoff against Ballinrobe Town, who finished ninth in the league.

The other games in the Premier League saw Ballyhaunis Town and Ballina Town ‘B’ play out a thrilling 3-3 draw, with Gabriel Marcos Luiz de Moraes and Tiernan Tighe netting a brace for their respective sides, while Eoghan Powell (3) and Cathal Howley (2) helped Westport United ‘B’ to an 8-2 win over Ballyheane ‘B’.

In League One, Achill Rovers made it back-to-back promotions and league titles after they captialised on Fahy Rovers dropping points to Kilmore while winning their game away to Castlebar Town with ease to claim the League One title.

Brandon McGing netted a hat-trick while Callum McDonnell, Michael Moran, Tiorlach Dever and Joe Cooney completed a 7-2 rout, with Aaron Naughton and Connor Parsons find the net for Town.

Fahy missed out on the title as a result of their 1-1 draw with Kilmore, but they still get promoted. Ian Higgins put Fahy in front but Joe Mason’s equaliser would be fatal to their title aspirations.

The results for Achill and Fahy meant Killala missed on promotion, despite winning 3-2 in the end against Partry Athletic.

At the other end of the table, the defeats for Partry Athletic and Castlebar Town, combined with the point Kilmore earned, means all three teams are locked on 16 points and playoffs will be needed to see who joins Claremorris ‘B’ in League Two next season. Claremorris finished their league campaign with a defeat as two goals from Aaron Faughnan and one from Luke Clayton helped Conn Rangers ‘B’ to a 3-2 win.

In the Elverys Sports Super League, Westport United had a 5-2 win over Glenhest Rovers. Despite the scoreline, the game was in the balance until the closing stages. The sides were locked at 1-1 at half-time, with Dan O’Malley’s opener for United cancelled out by Shane Finnerty. Another O’Malley goal and an own goal put United in command on 64 minutes before Finnerty found the net again for Glenhest with seven minutes to go. However, a late brace by Kevin Kitterick saw Westport restore their six-point lead over Celtic, who have two games in hand, after Celtic defeated Ballyheane 6-1 last Thursday.

Ballyheane finished their season with a 5-2 win over Ballina Town. Two goals apiece from Joseph Mulcahy and Michael Fahy and one from Sean Kilcoyne saw them ease to victory in the end over Ballina, who had Dylan McKee and Brendan Lavelle on the scoresheet. The defeat for Ballina however was overshadowed by the departure of Mick Duffy as manager on Sunday evening.

The bottom half of the Super League table saw Manulla finish their season with defeat as Tadhg O’Sullivan, Adam Gallagher, Owen McNamara, Michael Bourke and Caolan Hopkins helped Conn Rangers to a 5-1 win. The other game saw already-relegated Ballyglass pick up their second win of the season, again coming against Ballinrobe Town. Gilligan and Tiernan Egan put the Swans in front before Ballinrobe were back level before the breaks thanks to Jesper Frisch and Oisin Connolly. Seven minutes into the second half, Jack Keane netted what would be the eventual winner for Ballyglass.

League Two saw Charlestown Athletic clinch promotion to League One on their first season back in the Mayo League after an 8-0 win over Crossmolina ‘B’. The other games saw Manulla edge Glenhest Rovers ‘B’ 1-0 and Fahy Rovers ‘B’ defeat Westport United ‘C’ 2-1, while the game between Ballyvary Blue Bombers and Conn Rangers ‘C’ was postponed.