Super League is set for a rollercoaster run-in
Castlebar Celtic are chasing a fourth Super League title in a row, but face their biggest challenge to date. Picture: Sportsfile
Even with only a round or two of games played, the split of the Elverys Sports Super League midway during the season into the top five and bottom five looks to be an inspired decision.
The top half sees a potential four-way battle for the league title while the relegation battle in the bottom half looks like it will go to the wire.
It all sets up for an exciting final two months, as the looks at what each team can strive for between now and the final round (17) of fixtures.
Castlebar Celtic have won the last three Super League titles in a row, but they are facing the biggest test of their credentials since their dominance began following their 2022 Mayo Super Cup success.
Stevie Gavin’s side have won everything at domestic level, as well as back-to-back Connacht Cups in 2024 and 2025. The departures of Jordan Loftus, Dylan Edwards and Cathal Coyne (although the latter has since returned) robbed them of key quality and experience, but new names have stepped up this season.
Oran Murphy, Daniel Ajenipa and Dylan Felle have seamlessly adjusted, and new signings Paul McDermott, Oisin Tighe and Aidan McHale have added further quality depth to a side that still contains top stars like Mark Cunningham, Ioseph O’Reilly, Brian Walsh, Niall Brennan and Jason Hunt, and it will be all needed given a ruthless upcoming schedule.
As well as the Super League, they are in the Benson Cup final and Super Cup semi-final. Outside the county boarders, they have a FAI Senior Cup tie away to Douglas Hall next weekend and a FAI Junior Cup last 16 game against Tulla next month.
The hectic programme is nothing new to the Hoops, but could it all finally catch up with them? Time will tell but until someone dethrones them, Celtic remain the favourites for the title and the team everyone else wants to beat.
What a difference a fortnight can make. A heavy defeat away to Castlebar Celtic placed serious questions on their title hopes but two big wins since have put Ballyheane right in the mix.
Just three days after their loss to Celtic, two stoppage-time goals saw Ashley Stevenson’s side come out with a big three points away to Glenhest Rovers. But their deserved victory over Castlebar Celtic over a week ago has blown the title race wide open. It was even more impressive given they were without Cillian Redmond and Liam Irwin, stalwarts of their back-to-back Super League triumphs in 2021 and 2022.
Unlike Celtic, Ballyheane can fully focus on the league as they have no cup distractions and that may prove a tremendous help for the run-in.
The likes of Jack Tuffy, Sean Kilcoyne, Michael Fahy, Nathan Reilly Doyle, Dan Purcell and Luca Meldrum all remain also from those league triumphs. While Ben Edeh will soon depart to Mayo FC ahead of the FAI National League season, there is more than enough ability, along with the rise of the talented Adam Blake and return of Niall Vahey, for Ballyheane to believe the Tom Kelly Cup can return to Pat Quigley Park.
Before the season began, few outside of Belleek Park would have penned Ballina Town down as title contenders. But in similar fashion to Ballyheane, heroes of their last title success feel another is within their grasp.
Men like Stephen Melvin, Tommy Forde, Dylan McKee, Jamie Cawley and Benny Lavelle remain from the 2018 triumph, as well as the man who guided them there in Mick Duffy. But a look across their team sees them boast former League of Ireland stars David Cawley, Jesse Devers and Raff Cretaro, the former an eye-opening signing before the season began and the latter signing during this month’s transfer window.
Throw-in former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Emmet Peyton, veteran centre-back Chris Maughan, young stars Alex Monaghan and Daire O’Connor and current Super League top scorer PJ Gilmartin, and they have threats across the pitch.
The likes of David Cawley, Cretaro, Lavelle, Maughan, Peyton, Melvin do have milage on the clock and, as evidenced in games like the extra-time Benson Cup defeat to Westport and league defeat to Celtic, games against a young, energised side could prove a challenge, but if they keep supplying Devers, Gilmartin and Lavelle, they can win the league.
Of the four title contenders, the one team who still has real question marks about them are the black and red of Westport United.
Given that they have ended Castlebar Celtic’s near four-year unbeaten league home run, beat Ballyheane away from home and have the best defensive record of the top five teams, that analysis may seem harsh. But other results lend credibility to the claim that consistency remains their biggest enemy.
Victory away to Celtic and at home to Ballyglass was followed by a loss to Glenhest Rovers. Indeed, since the start of the May, they have won only four of their eight games in all competitions, and losses have included cup exits against Celtic and Ballina Town, while the latter also beat them in the league in United Park, although Westport did battle back well to earn a point in Celtic Park at the end of last month.
The ability has never been in question but unless consistency arrives, a wait for a league title will go into a tenth year.
An impressive start to the season had many observers wondering whether Glenhest Rovers could improve on their record third-place finish from last season.
But the last three league games have ended those chances in what was a brutal reality check to the ‘Hest.
The final game of the first half of the season was a narrow home defeat against Ballyheane, and Ballyheane also edged them in the first game after the split.
But the manner of the loss – conceding two-stoppage time goals – has been one they have not recovered from.
A surprise Super-Cup quarter-final exit to Claremorris, also at home where they have been so strong, and a heavy league defeat away to Ballina Town has seen their title hopes squashed while Connor McCarthy’s upcoming move to Mayo FC will rob them of quality and leadership.
They do have an upcoming Benson Cup final to look forward to, which is the club’s first ever divisional cup final in the Super League, but their league games following that will be unforgiving for a team with little to play for other than pride.
Still, they are tough to beat on their day.
The league may be beyond them, but they could have a big say on where it goes in the end.
Since their promotion to the Super League, the last three seasons have seen Conn Rangers firmly become an established Super League side. But making the next step to challenge the elite has proven a challenge so far.
Finishes of 6th, 4th and 5th have been a fair reflection of an ambitious club looking to make the breakthrough but proving a step too far. This season will have a similar outcome, although injuries to key players have not helped their cause, and Joe Faughnan’s men will wonder whether they would be competing in the top half if they had a full squad available.
Conn lost three of their first four league games but regrouped well with a hard-fought point away to Ballinrobe Town and an eye-opening win over local rivals Ballina Town. They also took Westport United to extra-time in the Super Cup, further proof that they can compete with the best on their day.
The return of Colm Rutledge from the United States has been a boost and will offset the imminent departure of Conor Gorman to Mayo FC, although injuries limited the latter’s involvement this season. An important win over Ballyglass last Thursday saw Conn take a big step towards league safety, and they will survive with a bit to spare. But the men from Mount Falcon know surviving in the Super League will not be enough at this stage for them.
Promoted from the Premier League last season, the story of Claremorris since returning to the Super League has been a peculiar one.
Draws in their opening two games against Manulla and Ballina Town, as well as a rout of Ballinrobe Town made them an outside bet of crashing the top five. The attacking power was not in question, with Liam McCormack, Cathal Walsh and talismanic captain Mark Maloney capable of causing damage to the best. But as good as they were going forward, issues at the back saw them fail to win any of their last five games before the split.
A heavy defeat to Conn Rangers at home has left them looking over their shoulder, but Claremorris bounced back well to defeat Manulla. In between those games, they also caused one of the biggest surprises of the season when beating Glenhest Rovers away from home to secure a place in the Super Cup semi-finals.
But Super League survival should be their number one priority. They are not safe yet, and the rumoured departure of Mark Maloney to Mayo FC would be a huge blow. Their next two games at home to Ballinrobe this Thursday and away to Ballyglass represent a major opportunity to pull clear.
With little to no distractions from other sporting codes, Claremorris should have much of their squad intact for the run-in and they will give themselves leeway before Maloney heads away for a new challenge.
Far from being the force that took them to a Connacht Cup final over seven years ago, Manulla are more accustomed nowadays to fighting for their place in the Super League.
Like Claremorris, Manulla enjoyed a bright start to the season, with a win a over Conn Rangers and a draw against Claremorris. Indeed, Manulla have enjoyed much success against the teams who join them in the bottom half, with wins also over Ballyglass and Ballinrobe Town in their first nine games of the season.
Their biggest strength is their defensive resolve, having conceded the least goals (24) of the five teams in the bottom half of the table. The full availability of goalkeeper Matthew Flanagan has been a big plus, adding composure and experience to a disciplined backline that includes Ruairi Henry and former Oscar Traynor panellist Andrew Shally.
It is at the other end where the problems lie, with only Ballyglass (10) scoring less goals than Manulla (13). Dylan Dunne and Gary McHale are their top scorers on three goals each, but McHale has not played for the Blues since the start of June however and Dunne will need his teammates to step up in a big way over the coming weeks. Should Manulla find their touch in front of goal, they will be safe. But it is far from certain.
It looked ominous for Ballinrobe Town midway during the first half of the season, but signs are there a great escape is not beyond them.
Without a win in any competition throughout March and April, a point at home against Conn Rangers in mid-May offered hope ahead of a relegation six-pointer away to Ballyglass last month. Ballinrobe were pegged back twice but Sean Vahey’s late winner bagged a crucial three points, which was even more impressive given they finished the game with nine men.
The first game of the split saw them pick up their first home win this season against Manulla. With a game in hand and three points away from Manulla and Claremorris, Chris McGauley’s side now find themselves with a great chance of staying up.
Liam Kilcullen, their top scorer with four goals, found the net in all games the Robesiders have picked up points this season and he, along with the experienced Tarek Yassin, Jesper Frisch, Jonathan Lawrence and Jamie O’Donnell can propel them out of relegation.
Their next two games against Claremorris and Ballyglass, as well as a mouthwatering showdown with Manulla on the weekend of August 9, will be critical to their hopes.
The trio of Claremorris, Manulla and Ballinrobe Town will all have belief that can beat the drop, but the return of Ballyglass to the Super League looks all but set to be a brief one.
The Swans have not won a game all season, with their solitary point coming in a goalless draw against Claremorris. Ballyglass have suffered narrow defeats to Conn Rangers (twice) and Glenhest Rovers, all coming on a 3-2 scoreline, but a defeat to nine-man Ballinrobe Town last month and a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Manulla, two teams who are in the relegation dogfight, give little indication that Ballyglass can pull off the greatest of escapes.
The upcoming Mayo GAA Club Championships will also place great strain on their playing squad, with the likes of Bryan Walsh, Liam Hughes and goalkeeper Nathan McGurrin unlikely to be available. Ballyglass are mathematically still within a chance of survival, but their next two games are at home against Manulla on Thursday and away to Ballinrobe a few days later. Anything less than maximum points will see them all but relegated.
