Dominant second half sees Ballinrobe crowned South Mayo kings

SOUTH MAYO MINOR ‘A’ CHAMPIONSHIP

Claremorris 1-10

Ballinrobe 2-15

In Garrymore

A dominant second-half performance from Ballinrobe paved the way for a convincing win in the end to secure the South Mayo Minor ‘A’ title on Tuesday evening.

The first half had been nip-and-tuck, with neither side able to shake off the other, and when the boys in maroon couldn’t find their shooting boots early on in Act Two, it looked like curtains.

However, in a resurrection Lazarus would have been proud of, they found a second wind, scoring 1-8 without reply to power to a well-earned victory.

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The men from the banks of the Robe started the game brightly, and a pearler of a long-range effort from Rory Gilrane opened the scoring, swiftly followed by a placed ball to double his takings and a Ben Donnelly effort.

Their Claremorris counterparts found their groove themselves soon after, as a trio of Jack Comer white flags, including when he turned on a sixpence to find his range seven in, had them level going into the second quarter.

Kevin Tuffy's troops almost had a goal to go along with their three singles in the eighth minute. Perpetual dangerman Comer played a fine dinked ball to Cian O’Connell, who raced in unopposed. He aimed for just inside the far left post, but was narrowly off as it fizzed past the upright.

At the other end, the other number 15 wasn’t as forgiving. Ben Place seemed to run forever, and turned inside his man before rifling into the net past John Gilmore, re-establishing that gap on the scoreboard.

Claremorris weren’t to be fazed, though, and two more white flags from Comer once more had the gap down to the bare bones.

When midfielder Mikey Rabbitt sold his marker and drove goalwards, he elected for a daisy-cutter, which reaped maximum benefits and swung the pendulum back in the men in blue’s favour.

A placed ball from Gilrane, coupled with a Burke effort, secured parity once more. Wily full-forward Gilrane had half a goal chance, but sensibly elected for a point.

That would be their last score of the half, and two quick-fire scores from Comer and Rabitt saw the Claremorris cubs inch ahead at the changing of ends.

That barren spell for the boys in maroon continued into the second half. Meanwhile, their opponents from up the R331 kept ticking away.

The deadly duo of Comer and McGuire bisected the posts to extend the lead to three, and Cian May pulled one back for the trailing side.

The 41st minute saw a sliding doors moment, as a fisted ball over the top had McGuire clean through.

His shot was over-enthusiastic, and while he did get a point, his hands were on his head, as he knew that was a chance to open up real daylight.

From there, Ballinrobe only grew. Jack Tuffy’s first point of the evening set in motion a devastating flurry of punches.

Firstly, Ballinrobe number 9 produced a goal eerily similar to that scored by opposition midfielder Rabbitt, rolling under Arthur Vaitekunas to send the travelling support into delirium.

They weren’t done there. Three points in a row from Caelan Tansey helped to carry his side out of sight.

They continued to dominate, and as it transpired, McGuire’s blazing 41st-minute effort was the last Claremorris score.

An outrageous May two-pointer mere seconds from time was the icing on the cake for Ballinrobe, and as the final whistle was blown, they were the ones hoisting the cup into the dying sunlight.

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

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