Clubs chasing the dream

CATCH US IF YOU CAN Castlebar Mitchel’s Paddy Durcan is held up Ballinrobe’s Shane Biggins during last year’s Mayo SFC group game. Castlebar are aiming to win four in a row of county titles in 2018. Pic: Michael Donnelly

Feature
Mike Finnerty

NEXT weekend the 2018 Mayo Senior and Intermediate club football championships begin with matches scheduled for all four corners of the county.
The first round games signal the start of summer for 16 senior teams chasing the dream of winning a Moclair Cup, and 16 intermediate squads who have aspirations of claiming the Sweeney Cup.
But it’s worth remembering that the second round matches in both competitions won’t be played until the Mayo seniors exit the championship. This will present a big challenge to most club managers and players as they try to keep their eyes on the prize and stay focussed on game two.
Here are five key questions to ponder ahead of the fun starting next weekend:

1 Can Castlebar win another Moclair Cup?
THE Mitchels are aiming to win the first four-in-a-row of Mayo senior club championships since the Castlebar legends of the early 1950s who won five titles in succession.
And judging by the way they started the Senior League recently, blitzing Charlestown, it looks like they mean business.
One of Mitchels’ biggest advantages over the rivals is the fact that their squad is now big enough to absorb the absence of so many county players for much of the season.
Sure, it’s not ideal, but over the last three seasons Castlebar have been able to slot their Mayo contingent into their team and drive on better than every other team.
With everyone back on board, and Declan Shaw and ‘Benji’ Smith now running the show, there is no doubt that Mitchels are still the team to beat.

2 Which teams can put it up to Mitchels this year?
THERE is no easy answer to this one at this early stage of the season but it’s hard to look past last year’s other county semi-finalists.
Beaten finalists Ballintubber will hope they have another kick in them, with a new manager (Kevin Johnson) and the old master (Alan Dillon) spearheading their title challenge.
After coming so close to taking down Castlebar last year, Garrymore will feel that they can have a right crack again this time around, especially with new arrival Paul Deeley giving them some more firepower.
And then there’s Claremorris, who will be out to prove that last year’s defeat of Breaffy wasn’t a flash in the pan.
Time will tell if they can stay one step ahead of the likes of Aghamore, Knockmore and the aforementioned Breaffy.
But the challenge for all the contenders trying to close the gap on Castlebar is to keep everyone fit, motivated and in form before the pace really picks up later in the summer.

3 Will James Horan work some magic in Westport?
THERE is no doubt that the arrival of the former Mayo manager to St Patrick’s Park means that the spotlight will be trained on this young Westport team this season.
After winning the All-Ireland Intermediate title last year, the question now is how long it will take them to make a real impact at senior level.
Getting out of their group and qualifying for the quarter-finals would represent significant progress, but they will have to go through Crossmolina, Claremorris and Hollymount/Carramore to achieve that goal.
And with Lee Keegan out of action for at least their first game, it will be fascinating to see how Horan sets them up for games against experienced senior outfits.
If Westport can make the last eight, then they will fancy their chances against most teams in a knock-out scenario.
The return of experienced duo Kevin Keane and Lewis Cawley is also a big boost to such a young squad.