Ballintubber’s midfield general leads the way

THEY won five county senior titles in nine years during the most successful period in the club’s history. But despite the fact that it’s only four years since the Moclair Cup last spent the winter in Ballintubber, it seems they are no longer seen as title contenders.
Champions Westport are the current favourites, with last year’s finalists Ballina Stephenites, Castlebar Mitchels and Knockmore all fancied to be in the mix.
Right now, Ballintubber are ranked as the fifth best team in the county by many.
Their veteran midfielder, Jason Gibbons, is aware of the rumours about their demise.
But he’s heard it all before.
“To be honest, I don’t think we’ve ever really been mentioned,” he told The Mayo News.
“I remember when we were winning games and doing well in championships, I don’t think we were ever really mentioned.
“Castlebar, and these sort of teams, they’re town teams with big populations, but they can still only put 15 on the pitch.
“We always believe in ourselves, we’ve a good structure, we have some of the best players in the country playing with us. So we’re happy enough to keep going, keep plodding along, and see where it takes us.
“We’ve been unlucky in a few campaigns recently, but it suits us.
“Castlebar, Westport, Ballina, Knockmore, Breaffy, all these clubs are all serious contenders, but I think we’re very much up there with them. And we like to see ourselves pushing.”
Gibbons broke into the Ballintubber team just in time to win an Intermediate title in 2007 and captained them to a county senior championship seven years later.
Last Sunday week he produced a man of the match display against The Neale in Cong, scoring a trademark point and drilling in a superb goal at a crucial stage.
“I actually scored one in training the very same as that during the week!” he smiled.
“I score a few in training, but when it comes to games, sometimes it doesn’t work out.
“It’s not really my forte!”
As always, the 34 year-old left everything on the field.
“To be honest, I thought Diarmuid [O’Connor] was man of the match, I thought he was excellent and really kept us in it in the first half,” he offered afterwards.
“But it’s great to be still lining out with the club.
“It’s a huge honour for me to put this jersey on and represent Ballintubber.
“And it always will be. I played with some great players down the years, but at my age now every day is a bonus. I’m just enjoying it, I’m enjoying winning. And long may it last.
“If I could turn back the clock to the early days, I would,” he added.
“Football is my life and Ballintubber is my life. It’s a huge honour to play football and hopefully my body will keep going.”
Next Sunday afternoon Belmullet come to Ray Prendergast Memorial Park, with both teams knowing that a win will put them in pole position to qualify for the knock-out stages.
It should be one of the games of the second round.
Two of Jason Gibbons’ old team-mates, Damien Coleman and Cathal Hallinan, are now in charge of Ballintubber and there are still plenty of five-time Mayo SFC winners in the dressing-room. Along with a cluster of new faces who are mad for road.
Sunday will tell us a lot about where they stand.