Five Crossmolina players who caught our eye during the Connacht Intermediate Club Championship Final

Five Crossmolina players who caught our eye during the Connacht Intermediate Club Championship Final

JAMES MAHEADY

They’ll have to start calling this fella Jimmy Twinkle Toes.

May God grant James Maheady the serenity to accept the shots he cannot take, the courage to take the shots he can, and the wisdom to know the difference. 

If he proceeds accordingly, young Maheady will play like he did on Sunday every day. 

Since his first senior championship, all he’s wanted to do is shoot, shoot, shoot. That’s why he’s so exciting to watch. 

That mindset has yielded mixed results, but with every game, he’s gaining in cuteness without losing that adventurousness and eye for goal that makes him one of the most exciting forwards in Mayo. 

Long may that continue. 

KEVIN MULHERN

Probably the unsung hero of this Crossmolina team. 

Happy-go-lucky off the field, he’s as dogged and reliable a full-back as you’ll find in the county on his day. 

His job against Elphin was a free role which involved sweeping, tackling and directing the rearguard each and every way.

He kept a tight lead on former Roscommon forward Fintan Cregg, who still takes fair watching even though he’s well into his thirties. 

Any day you only concede one point from play - even against a team that only scored 1-6 - is to be commended. 

NIALL COGGINS

This lad again. 

For the fourth game in a row, one-third of the most dynamic trio in Mayo football scored a cracking goal that amounted to more than mere window dressing. Take this goal out of it, and Crossmolina could have been crying into their cornflakes this morning. 

The green flag aside, Coggins was his usual busy self, bombing up and down the wings with his two brothers like three maroon and white Olympic figure skaters. 

FIONÁN DUFFY 

Mr Reliable strikes again. 

Though Cross’ will be concerned at the number of wides they kicked in the second half, Fionán Duffy wasn’t found wanting from placed balls - a vital skill in such a low-scoring game. 

None were more vital than his late effort which ended up being the only thing standing between a Connacht title and extra time.

He proved he has a number of strings to his bow with a well-taken score from play. 

PATRICK LEDDY

Another good outing from the big man from Cavan. 

When there’s not much on, you could do a lot worse than whack an odd ball into the Breffni bruiser. 

Though he didn’t score, his influence was constant. Never more than when he turned over an Elphin restart 20 yards from goal before toe-poking it to Niall Coggins who grabbed the glory by smashing the ball into the roof of the net. 

Between this fella, the Coggins, James Maheady, Diarmuid Walsh, and with Mayo Minors Kobe McDonald and Oisín Deane soon to graduate to senior football, Crossmolina will boast some of the handiest senior forwards in Mayo in 2025.