Claremorris battle past Balla in league thriller
Two goals in a minute help Blues beat Balla
MAYO SENIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 1B
Balla 0-11
Claremorris 2-8
Nally Park, Balla
THIS Friday night meeting between local rivals proved to be an entertaining one with the result in doubt until referee Kieran Barnicle sounded the final whistle with Claremorris three points to the good.
The sides were level at 0-5 apiece at half-time but a two goal salvo in the third quarter pushed the men in blue six points clear and try as they might, Balla couldn't close the gap before the finish.
This wasn't a match for the faint-hearted. There was nothing spared and some of the tackles and clashes left very little to the imagination.
The evening turned out to be a very positive one for Claremorris. Not only did Kevin Beirne's men win the valuable league points on offer, they also welcomed back former Mayo attacker Conor Diskin from a long-term injury lay-off. The corner-forward was sprung from the bench in the second half and made an immediate impression, sending Matthew McCormack through for their team's second goal.
A minute earlier, defender Aidan Butler had crashed home a goal when he got on the end of a long ball into the square from Cathal Joyce.
The two goals left Claremorris 2-6 to 0-6 clear as Paddy Barry, Stephen McGreal, James McCormack, Matthew Macken and Daniel Murphy caught the eye for the guests.
There had been nothing between the teams on the scoreboard in the first half, but Balla had more of the ball and it required a fine save from Darragh Fallon to keep out Balla's Conor Walsh after nine minutes. The home side pushed forward at every opportunity, but the final ball wasn't always what it should be and the Claremorris back division, powered by teenage substitute Rio Mortimer, steadied the ship.
The home side created a goal chance of their own after eight minutes of the second half but Colm Murphy's effort flew inches wide after fine approach play from Walsh and Matthew Flanagan. Claremorris had more luck at the other end and the goals from Butler and McCormack made a massive difference.
It looked ominous for Balla at that stage but Declan Sweeney's men stuck to their task and powered back into it. Two points apiece from Gary McHale and Oisin Cronin only elicited a Butler point in reply and the gap was down to three with five minutes to play.
However, the home side couldn't get any closer and Claremorris recorded a hard-earned victory which will stand to them going forward.
A full match report will be carried in Tuesday's Mayo News.