Knockmore survive surging ‘Tubber comeback

DRESSED FOR THE WEATHER Midwest Radio co-commentator Martin Carney pictured with RTÉ commentator Ger Canning in Bekan for Saturday’s Mayo SFC Quarter Finals. Pic: Conor McKeown

SeΡn Rice

In conditions scarcely fit for ducks, two games at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence in Bekan on Saturday got the championship play-offs to a flying start, both with spectacular finishes.
Knockmore, the title holders, scraped through, but a rousing finish by Ballintubber almost caught them dreaming.
Leading by six points at the start of the second half and playing keep-ball Knockmore had the match under control with Ballintubber shut out of any semblance of  recovery.
But doggedly, the Tubber men got stuck in, peeled the lead back to a couple of points in injury time. As the final seconds ticked away, a ball in a moment of desperation was hoofed from midfield towards the goalmouth. As he went to contest it Diarmuid O’Connor was obstructed by Shane McHale.
The Knockmore midfielder was then sent to the line by referee Declan Corcoran for having had two yellow cards shown against him. The free from just outside the box was taken by O’Connor. They needed a goal to send the game to extra time, so his shot was low and rebounded off someone in the packed Knockmore goalmouth.
But the referee detected an encroachment infringement and ordered a penalty.
O’Connor placed the ball on the spot, but was denied the equalising score by the brilliance of goalkeeper Ryan McDonnell, who some minutes earlier had replaced regular ‘keeper Colm Reape.
Suddenly, the match was over and the young Knockmore man became the hero of the hour, under a smothering hail of pats and hugs and thumbs from his ecstatic colleagues.
It was an event he could not have expected when togging out as a sub in the dressing room. Colm Reape, on one knee, called for the replacement in the second half, feeling he could not continue.
Gripping though the end was, the scale of excitement or the standard of the game was not as high as that of the match that preceded it between Westport and Ballina.
The conditions were atrocious and Ballintubber elected to play into the teeth of the wind and rain, a correct decision it seemed when they trailed by only three points at the interval.
The champions could not believe their luck, however, when minutes after the turnover a close-in free by Peter Naughton dropped short in the storm . . . and right through the hands of Ballintubber’s luckless goalkeeper Frank Walsh.
From that moment the challengers were struggling. Suddenly they were six points adrift. The wily Knockmore men commenced to recycle the ball, dragging out every second of possession and frustrating their opponents.
They lost their Mayo star Bryan Walsh and ten minutes before the end their totemic midfielder Jason Gibbons was sent to the line having received two yellow cards.
It was not their day.
But their famous fighting spirit had not deserted them, and inspired by Diarmuid O’Connor they worked assiduously, climaxing in those final exciting minutes which almost sent the match into extra time.
Two men stood out in the first half for the winners. The work rate of Aidan Orme in the dreadful conditions will have pleased watching Mayo boss James Horan. The young full-forward was all over the field and his goal in the 12th minute was the launchpad of their success.
The accuracy of Peter Naughton was also admirable in the conditions. The corner forward accounted for 1-6, although his goal had about it a rub of the green.
Kevin McLoughlin was also outstanding, throughout the hour. Kieran King, Nathan Armstrong, Conal Dempsey, Pearse Ruttledge and Conor Flynn all linchpins.

Westport find a way  
Westport finally squeezed through. But throughout the match they trailed the Stephenites, and only a seismic score by Fionn McDonagh in the dying seconds of injury time cleared their way to the semi-finals.
Ballina came that close, finally losing out to the fine skill of Alan Kennedy whose tricky shot from the left wing brought them level for the first time . . . in the 62nd minute. It was the corner forward’s sixth point of the game.
That’s how close Ballina came to causing an upset. All through they had controlled the game, holding on in the second half by cleverly adapting to the tricky wind and squally rain.
By a hair’s breadth they lost, but the driving will of the Westport men was their undoing in the end. Greater stamina, and a burning wish not to stumble at one of the final hurdles inspired their recovery.
They spent the first quarter trying to adjust to the conditions. In those moments Ballina streaked away with help from the wind, a brilliant goal by Luke Doherty launching them into a lead of seven points without reply.
It was a full 16 minutes before Colm Moran whipped over Westport’s first point, a lovely left-footer from the right wing. It was the first of his five points, from left and right foot, all of them coming at crucial stages, all of them irresistible.
They trailed by three points at the interval. They lost Kevin Keane halfway through the first half with injury and Rory Brickenden at the start of the second half for a black card offence.
Marshalled by Lee Keegan, the defence closed ranks and with Kennedy and Moran reaching remarkable degrees of accuracy they kept that blue flag flying until McDonagh added the final flourish.

Garrymore and Belmullet drive on
Any hopes Castlebar Mitchels entertained of renewing their acquaintance with the Moclair Cup were finally killed off when they fell to Garrymore at Claremorris.
In stormy conditions the Michels’ old fire was doused before it ever took flame. The old stalwarts of the team have aged and the young promising players have yet to mature. It’s time for renewal.
All through the campaign they have been struggling to make the quarter-finals. Having eventually scraped through, Garrymore was a bridge too far, and long before the end the outcome was not in doubt.
Leading by four points at half-time having played against a gale, the south Mayo men were never under any real pressure. Their play was coordinated and positive. Led by Gary Golden in the middle of the field with strong support from Enda Hession, their goal scorer, the Nallys and Caolan Crowe they were the superior side.
How it might have ended if Brian Lynskey had not come to their rescue just before the break we will never know. His save from Neil Douglas, who had broken through the defence, was top class.
Yet while Castlebar fought valiantly against the wind they lacked the power and the organisation to find that uplifting goal.
Belmullet, the rising star of the championship, keep rising. Breaffy are their latest conquest and Westport will not be treating them lightly as they prepare to meet in the semi-final.
Like Castlebar, Breaffy must also rebuild. The O’Shea brothers and Matthew Ruane have been keeping their flame lit for years, but the flame is guttering now. Too much hope has been placed on the shoulders of their few stars, too little support coming from the rest of the team.
They have got to reassess.