Westport United 7
M MacNally 23, 55, J Lawless 30,
P Fitzgerald 33, J Fallon 65, D Scahill 70, D Hoban 88
Conn Rangers 1
J Cocozza 10
Neill O’Neill
Westport
MAYO football’s top trophy will spend anther season in the shadow of Croagh Patrick, after Westport United retained their Super League crown in fine fashion on Sunday.
John Brennan’s side picked up their first piece of silverware this season in front of a healthy home crowd in the Sports Park, after dispatching Conn Rangers in convincing fashion in the penultimate league game.
The result renders their final match obsolete, which before Sunday was a potential title decider against Ballina. So the focus invariably now turns to the Connacht Cup and FAI Junior Cup campaigns in the coming weeks.
It has been a pretty routine season to date for Westport, and this success is a ninth Super League title for many of the current team, whose hunger to keep winning shows no sign of abating.
There were unseasonably glorious conditions on Sunday at Westport’s Horkan’s Hill venue for the 11.30am kick off. Brennan was forced into some changes through injury, but he has more than enough talent on the bench, and the likes of Mark MacNally has proven this season that he is worthy of a starting position.
For all that, it was the visitors who snatched an early lead, after Joe Lawless and goalkeeper Gary Cunningham presented a chance to Conn Rangers after ten minutes.
Lawless’s header back for Cunningham was short, and Johnnie Cocozza slipped in to lob the ball into the net past the advancing goalkeeper.
There was no panic setting in, however, and Westport were utterly dominant.
Colin Cameron, David Cameron and Martin Geraghty all missed chances before MacNally pulled his side level on 23 minutes, finishing low and hard from ten yards after the ball was laid on for him by Colin Cameron.
Seven minutes later Joe Lawless put the champions in front, when lingering on the edge of the area the ball broke to him from a corner and, back-peddling, he volleyed sublimely to the corner of Mikey Barrett’s net. “Who signed Eric Cantona?” someone shouted.
At the other end, Cunningham was called on to prevent an own goal from a misplaced defensive header.
From the resultant surge down the field, Jamie Fallon broke into the danger zone and created havoc, the outcome of which was Patrick Fitzgerald ending up in a one-on-one situation with Barrett. The midfielder made no mistake from ten yards. Shane Bourke and Brian Hughes came closest for Conn Rangers in the closing stages of the first half.
With no substitutes on the bench, Conn Rangers emerged for the second half minus a man. They found themselves further behind when Colin Cameron and Kevin Joyce linked well down the left, with Mark MacNally on hand to finish from close range.
Fallon was next to find the net with a rasping shot from about 30 yards which goalkeeper Barrett got a hand to but could not keep out, and Westport were truly cruising down the home straight towards Super League glory.
A raft of Westport substitutions followed, and Danny Scahill scored his team’s sixth on 70 minutes, a tap-in after more good build-up play by the home side.
Substitutes Mikey O’Brien and David Hoban combined for the final goal of the afternoon, a floating cross from O’Brien being controlled and finished in great style by Hoban.
There was still time for Vinny O’Malley to hit the Conn Rangers crossbar with a volley before referee Damien McGrath brought proceedings to a conclusion.
WESTPORT UNITED
G Cunningham, P Moran, J Lawless, M Geraghty, K Joyce, J Fallon, D Cameron, P Fitzgerald, D Scahill, C Cameron, M MacNally.
Subs used: P Keegan for Fitzgerald; D Hoban for MacNally; V O’ Malley for Fallon; M O’Brien for Lawless; C Keane for C Cameron.
CONN RANGERS
M Barrett, P Armstrong, A Dempsey, O McNamara, T Naughton, D Coleman, A Mullane, B Hughes, J McNamara, J Cocozza, S Bourke.
Referee: D McGrath
