Mayo soccer round-up: Town keep pressure at the top
Ballina Town are keeping the pressure on league leaders Castlebar Celtic after a 4-0 win over Manulla last Saturday evening. Picture: Ballina Town FC
Ballina Town kept up their pursuit of Castlebar Celtic at the top of the table with a 4-0 win over Manulla in Belleek on Saturday evening. Trevor Nash’s side had the three points in the bag before the break as they led by three goals as Matthew Cowan, Ryan Moran and Dylan McKee all got on the scoresheet. Cowan got his second of the day five minutes into the second half.
At the other end of the table two teenagers put a huge spanner in the relegation battle as Crossmolina recorded a 5-1 win over Kiltimagh/Knock United to move off the bottom of the table and within two points of safety.
Amazingly this game was scoreless at the break with all six goals coming in the second half and the first two coming within a minute of each other. Aaron Coggins opened the scoring on fifty two minutes with a wonderful acrobatic effort (check this goal out on Twitter) from the edge of the area and fellow teenager Oisin Deane making his first appearance of the season added a second just a minute later.
Rafael Costa pulled a goal back for Kiltimagh/Knock midway through the half but it was Crossmolina who got the crucial fourth goal as Oisin Deane got his second on seventy six minutes. Deane then completed his hat-trick in the eighty sixth minute before Coggins put further gloss on the scoreline with his second of the day shortly after.
Two second half goals were enough to earn Westport United a deserved win over Conn Rangers on Sunday afternoon as they got their second win in four days. Westport had to wait until the second half to get the opening goal and it arrived on 65 minutes as Kevin Kitterick’s low shot from 25 yards found the back of the Rangers net. Westport played the better football on the day and added a second in injury-time when Cian Halpin fired low past Brian McMahon after finding himself through on goal following a short corner routine.
It may be the last day of June but it won’t be long until Glenhest Rovers are crowned CastleCourt Hotel Premier Division winners as their march to the title goes on after a convincing win over Ballyheane ‘B’ to earn them maximum points from eleven league games. Their star striker Conor McCarthy did most of the damage as he added another five goals to his tally while Pat Mulchrone also struck a hat-trick and the other goals came from Levi Barrett and Chris Rowland. Adam Blake hit the sole reply for Ballyheane ‘B’.
Ballyglass came from a goal down at half-time to leave Straide and Foxford United still searching for their first points of the season with a 6-3 win in Green Road. Liam Hughes had opened the scoring for Ballyglass after ten minutes but his side went in behind at the break as Kevin McDermott and Paul Walsh scored for S&F. Two quickfire goals from Jimmy Killeen and Hughes just before the hour mark put Ballyglass back into the lead and when Darren Murray added a fourth on 75 minutes it looked like Ballyglass would take all three points. Chris Downey gave the home side some hope when he pulled a goal back on 82 minutes but that hope was quickly extinguished when Killeen got his second of the day a minute later. Ryan Connolly then added another three minutes from time to leave Ballyglass in the driving seat for the second promotion spot.
Castlebar Celtic ‘B’ moved into second place in the table as they recorded a 3-0 win over Westport United ‘B’ on Sunday morning as the sides faced off a week before they meet in the Tuohy Cup Final while in the late kick-off, Ballyhaunis Town came from behind to keep in touch with Ballyglass as they hit six goals in the final 30 minutes to see off a Kilmore side that battled hard.
Iorras Aontaithe moved back to the top of Killeen Sports Ground League One overnight as they ground out a 1-0 away win over Conn Rangers ‘B’ on Saturday evening, Oisin Reilly hit the winner on 52 minutes to remain in the title and promotion race with five games to go.
Killala went back to the top of League One with a 6-2 win over neighbours Crossmolina ‘B’ in Abbeyview. They did not have it all their own way as Crossmolina were only a goal behind at the break but a dominant second half performance seen them run out comfortable winners in the end. Fergal McHale, who was not a renowned goalscorer for Killala, did most of the damage as he four of the six goals while Cian Donnelly and Jason Muldoon got the other two for the visitors.
Fahy Rovers kept in touch with Killala and Iorras Aontaithe with a very good 5-2 win over Swinford on Sunday on Sunday morning. They scored four of their five goals in the first half with Rian McNally getting a hat-trick.
Claremorris ‘B’ eased their relegation worries with a 4-2 win over Partry Athletic in Concannon Park on Saturday evening as they came from behind twice to take the three points on offer. Ballyvary Blue Bombers also eased concerns at the bottom half of the table with a 5-0 win over Castlebar Town.
In McDonnell Construction League Two, Conn Rangers ‘C’ got their second win of the season as they recorded a 2-1 victory over Westport United ‘C’ in United Park.
Balllina Town ‘B’ more or less ended Bangor Hibs hopes of promotion with a 3-0 win over the North Mayo side on Sunday morning, Ryan Moran netting a hat trick.
Snugboro United maintain their unbeaten start in League Two with an excellent 3-2 win over Achill Rovers in Edward Conway Park to remain just two points behind Ballina Town ‘B’ at the top of the table, and Snugboro will have a chance to narrow the gap when they face the league leaders this Thursday.
Elsewhere, Ballinrobe Town ‘B’ got their first win in three games to move back into third position in League Two as they recorded a 4-2 victory over Ballyvary Blue Bombers ‘B’ even though they had to come from two goals down to take all three points.
