Westport outlast Crossmolina in epic Mayo semi-final

MAYO SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL

Westport 1-24

Crossmolina 1-20

In O’Hara Park

Where to even begin to sum up this one?

Let’s start with the basics: Westport are in the Mayo senior final.

They did so by coming through a Trojan battle with Crossmolina that swung back and forth like a see-saw and required extra time to separate the two sides in Charlestown.

In the end, Kevin Keane was on hand with a pair of scores to prove the age-old adage that any team is only as strong as their bench, and fresh legs coupled with a relenting engine were the foundation for Westport to edge ahead in the 78th minute and head for home.

However, let’s take nothing away from the men from the banks of the Deel. The side looking to complete the fairytale of winning intermediate and senior crowns back-to-back threw heaven and earth at the Clew Bay men.

Teenage midfielder Kobe McDonald was exceptional, while the likes of Dylan Flynn and Sean Óg McGuinness were first rate also.

That said, they will rue that missed Conor Loftus penalty in the second half, and in spite of an exceptional season they headed home empty-handed.

Westport, though, were absolute warriors. Full-forward Killian Kilkelly showed an unerring accuracy, while Conal Dawson was nothing short of exemplary. The livewire that is Colm Moran proved hard to handle, and Lee Keegan was his usual classy self.

There was never more than a score in this until the death, and if we’re talking scores that would make even the best blush, Kobe McDonald’s two-point free was from so far out and wide to the right he could have tapped Pat Holmes on the shoulder in the Westport dugout.

However, that was not the decisive two-pointer. That came in the dying moments, when Paddy O’Malley pushed the tie beyond the reach of the intermediate kings and ensured a rematch of the 2022 decider with Ballina Stephenites.

Maroon bodies collapsed to the turf at the sound of John Glavey’s whistle at the end of extra-time. They’d given their all, were leading with three minutes to go, but couldn’t hold out.

The Westport cheers, though, could probably be heard inside Saint Patrick’s Chapel on the top of the Reek itself. They were battered, bruised, bloodied (literally in Lee Keegan’s case), but they were in the final.

The men in blue remain the last side to beat Ballina Stephenites in the knockout rounds of the Mayo Senior Championship. Time will tell if they can repeat the trick on the biggest stage of all.

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