Mitchels dispatch Knockmore to stay top of the league in Mayo

SENIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 1A

Knockmore 1-12

Castlebar Mitchels 3-16

In Knockmore

Knockmore may have shown heart and resilience to claw themselves back into this one on multiple occasions, however Castlebar Mitchels always seemed to have an answer to every flurry of punches that were landed by the hosts. The men in red and yellow delivered heavy blow after heavy blow to take the sting out of proceedings just as things were looking promising, going about their business with a minimum of fuss.

By the full-time whistle in St Joseph's Park, it was Kevin Filan and his side who maintained their spot at the league summit with a professional showing in North Mayo.

Early on, the visitors from the county town aimed to make the most of the wind on their backs, and were three up after a few minutes via a Mark Cunningham effort and a two-point free from ‘keeper Rory Byrne.

A Cian Walsh single from the left provided the fourth point for Mitchels, and was sandwiched by a pair of tap-over frees from Peter Naughton at the other end.

The hosts knew they needed to keep the score down in the first half, and did their best to be defensively solid.

That said, they found it hard to repel some of the evasive running play from the guests. This flowing football was epitomised in the 14th minute, when a searing run from James Durcan saw him primed to fire. His effort, however, was wayward.

Two minutes later, a fine slaloming offensive from Cunningham saw his missile cannon back off the bar.

Cunningham was causing headaches inside, and Mitchels were adamant that David McHale had taken the livewire corner-forward out inside the square. However, their sentiments weren’t shared by referee Kevin Connelly, who instead flashed a black card to Cunningham.

The spate of opportunities for three-pointers weren’t the only chances for Mitchels to alter the arithmetic, and the likes of Durcan, Walsh and co continued to extend the lead with points.

Although 14 minutes elapsed between Pearse Rutledge’s 18th-minute effort and Connell Dempsey’s third of the day, Ray Dempsey’s men would have been happy to go in having managed the deficit against a sizeable breeze.

That was, moments before half-time, when Durcan turned on the style. His teammates may have been denied, but he stood tall to find the net with a fine finish.

After the resumption, Knockmore flew out of the traps early on, and a trio of points in as many minutes eroded Durcan’s green flag.

Mitchels replied when two white flags via the boot of Durcan and Gavin Forry provided a swift response, before the second goal of the day provided a further hammer blow.

The move from the Castlebar men was fluid and, when the ball was played across to Cunningham, he had the easy task of palming home and giving the away side a hefty advantage.

Knockmore responded well with another Naughton free, but Byrne clipped over a '45 with little fuss.

It was going to take a mammoth effort to drag the men in saffron and blue back into contention, but they set about their efforts feverishly.

As the final quarter loomed, Oliver Armstrong fielded stunningly before charging at Byrne. After he found the net, the home confidence only grew, and that momentum was aided by a fine two-pointer from the very same Armstrong.

The gap was brought back to four at one stage, and there was a sense that the crowd was going to be treated to a grandstand finish.

But disaster struck for Knockmore when, only seconds after his introduction as their final substitute, Keith Ruttledge was forced off with an injury, forcing them to play the rest of the game with a numerical disadvantage.

Five minutes later, Castlebar Mitchels’ own sub Joe Forry found the net in a manner not dissimilar to Cunningham’s palmed finish. At that stage, the competition had petered out, and both sides had already largely accepted the fact that the points would be making their way back down the road.

A full report, plus reaction, will be carried in Tuesday’s edition of The Mayo News